ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

Ex-Beatles to Team Up for Harrison Tribute

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will headline a tribute concert in memory of their late colleague George Harrison, officials announced Thursday. The show at London’s Royal Albert Hall is set for Nov. 29, the first anniversary of his death, and will feature Tom Petty, British pianist Jools Holland and Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who greatly influenced Harrison.

The concert, which Eric Clapton is helping to organize, will feature a mix of Harrison’s own music and his favorite songs. Proceeds will go to the Material World Charitable Foundation, which Harrison funded. The foundation supports the arts, music, education and people with special needs. The former Beatle died of cancer last year at 58.

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Hollywood’s Palace

Gets New Owners

A Boston nightclub operator has taken over the Palace in Hollywood. John Lyons, who helped launch the House of Blues chain, and partner Steven Adelman bought the Palace from owner-president Kay Neill, in a deal that was sealed Thursday.

Lyons declined to say how much they paid for the 75-year-old facility, but said they plan to continue with “business as usual” while he and Adelman evaluate the operation to determine what changes they’ll make. But, he said, “We won’t be turning it into a Gap,” and said he expects to retain the mix of concerts and late-night dance club activity hosted at the Palace in recent years.

Among the Boston clubs Lyons owns and operates is the Avalon Ballroom, named the city’s best dance club for three years running by the editorial staff as well as the readers of Boston’s City Search Web site guide to nightlife. The Avalon also combines concerts and dance club offerings.

Lyons and his brother Patrick have been running nightclubs in the Boston area since the 1970s. “One of the things that’s very important to us is not to try to foist upon the market some sort of culture that works or exists elsewhere in the world,” he said. “Whatever is done in this marketplace has to be relevant, or even somewhat indigenous, to this marketplace.”

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MOVIES

Studio Plans Move Forward in Wales

The Welsh Assembly has dropped its objections to plans to build a $450-million movie studio complex in an area of south Wales.

A consortium backed by actor-director Richard Attenborough wants to build the complex on 350 acres at Llanilid, creating up to 2,000 jobs. The complex, to be called Dragon International Studios, will have the latest facilities for making feature films, TV productions and commercials.

The Welsh government had blocked the development because of the need for a new highway junction, but officials now say that problem could be overcome. Local councils now must decide whether to approve the plans. They’ve said in the past that they support the development.

*THEATER

‘Les Miserables’ to End Its Run on Broadway

“Les Miserables,” the longest-running show currently on Broadway, will close in March.

The show, which opened March 12, 1987, has been seen by an estimated 9 million people and has brought in $390 million in ticket sales, not counting touring productions. But lately, “Les Miz” has been playing to half-empty houses, sometimes smaller.

Its run, the second longest in Broadway history after “Cats” (7,485 shows from 1982 to 2000), will end March 15, 2003, after the show’s 6,612th performance.

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MUSIC

Principal Cellist to Make L.A. Philharmonic Bow

The Los Angeles Philharmonic was due to have a new principal cellist when it opened its season Thursday night: Peter Stumpf, who had been associate principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra for the past 12 years.

He replaces Andrew Shulman, who was brought in from England amid much fanfare two years ago but resigned after one season, staying on for a second while a search for his successor was conducted.

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TELEVISION

Leno Bests Letterman During ‘Premiere Week’

NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” averaged 5.9 million viewers last week, compared to 4.1 million watching “Late Show With David Letterman”--the former’s widest margin of victory during TV’s “premiere week” in four seasons.

Viewing of both programs was down compared to the same period in 2001, which had marked their return after a hiatus due to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. ABC’s “Nightline/UpClose” averaged 3.2 million viewers.

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QUICK TAKES

ABC has picked up its freshman sitcoms “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” and “Life With Bonnie” for the full season.... Magicians Penn & Teller have signed a new, multimillion-dollar contract to appear six nights a week at the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas through 2004.... “All Growed Up,” a spinoff of Nickelodeon’s popular “Rugrats” series, is currently in production for 13 episodes. The series, set to debut next year, will feature Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica and the other infants on the cusp of teenhood.... Warner Bros. Animation is producing a new Daffy Duck/Porky Pig series, “Duck Dodgers,” for the Cartoon Network, but it won’t premiere until 2004. Also in the works for the Cartoon Network and the WB: “Teen Titans,” an animated series based on characters from DC Comics.... The date that tickets go on sale for Ana Gabriel’s Nov. 24 concert at the Universal Amphitheatre has been changed from today to Oct. 11.