Quick Takes: U.S. OKs Alicia Alonso’s New York trip

Cuban prima ballerina Alicia Alonso will return next month to New York and American Ballet Theatre, one of the places where she got her start in dance seven decades ago, for an early celebration of her 90th birthday.

The National Ballet of Cuba said Friday that U.S. authorities have approved a visa for the grande dame of Cuban dance and that she will visit American Ballet Theatre to help mark the organization’s 70th anniversary.

Word of the visit comes a day after the office of Cuban folk legend Silvio Rodriguez announced plans to perform June 4 at Carnegie Hall, though Washington had yet to approve his visa.

—Associated Press

Nashville gets Swift donation

Taylor Swift is donating $500,000 to flood relief in Nashville. The money will go directly to various relief organizations in the city rocked by deadly storms and flooding that killed 30 in three states, including 20 in Tennessee.

Cleanup and repair are expected to cost more than $1 billion. Thousands of homes were damaged, along with some of Music City’s most important landmarks. Pleas to donate to relief organizations started early, and Nashville’s musical talent — from local bands and clubs to the biggest stars — are giving their time and money to the effort.

The announcement of Swift’s donation was made on Thursday night’s “Flood Relief With Vince Gill and Friends,” a telethon held on local station WSMV. Keith Urban played the show with a borrowed guitar after his gear was destroyed by the flood.

Country music cable network GAC plans to air a telethon on May 16 that will include Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins and other stars live from the Ryman Auditorium.

—Associated Press

County mulls Ford upgrades

Los Angeles County will spend $350,000 to take a detailed look at possible upgrades for the John Anson Ford Theatres near the Hollywood Bowl.

The key issues to be addressed in a new master plan, officials say, are improving cramped parking and designing an entrance that would command attention for the easy-to-miss venue on Cahuenga Boulevard.

As for the 1931-vintage amphitheater itself, designed to evoke the gates of ancient Jerusalem, the plan will address possibilities for future upgrades and methods of preserving their historic features. The amphitheater seats 1,250, and an 87-seat indoor theater is housed within the building.

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which runs the Ford, also is considering where new buildings, such as a rehearsal hall, administration building and restaurant, could be placed on the 45-acre site.

—Mike Boehm

What’s in store for Jack Bauer?

Get the Kleenex out, and brace yourself for some real-time drama as “24” reaches its end.

During a conference call with reporters Friday, “24” executive producer Howard Gordon said the Fox drama will not end with Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) smiling joyfully at the cameras, planning a trip to Disneyland with his granddaughter.

“One thing we tried and didn’t work was a happily-ever-after for Jack,” Gordon said. He wouldn’t specify what’s in store for the May 24 finale but said, “This show is a tragedy, and to give Jack a happy ending just didn’t feel authentic.”

—Maria Elena Fernandez

Fox revives ‘Apes’ franchise

A decade after they returned in Tim Burton’s remake, the apes are getting another fresh start. “Rise of the Apes,” a reprise of Fox’s “Planet of the Apes” franchise, is coming next summer.

The studio said the film, to be directed by Rupert Wyatt, would be set in present-day San Francisco, describing it as “a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of war.”

—Steven Zeitchik

NBC sets three new shows

NBC continued its march toward filling its many prime-time holes Friday with three new pickups for the fall season.

“The Event” is billed as a conspiracy thriller that stars Jason Ritter as an everyman who investigates the disappearance of his fiancee.

“Outsourced” is a single-camera comedy centering on an all-American company that sells whoopee cushions, foam fingers and wallets made of bacon — and whose call center has suddenly been outsourced to India. Ben Rappaport plays a manager who learns that he is being transferred there.

Becki Newton (“Ugly Betty”) and Jordana Spiro (“My Boys”) are teamed in “Love Bites,” a romantic comedy in which loosely connected stories of love, sex, marriage and dating are told in vignettes.

—Maria Elena Fernandez