Quick Takes: 25 years of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” will celebrate its 25th anniversary this weekend with a lavish birthday party that will certainly involve someone swinging from a chandelier.

Producers will broadcast on Sunday a live performance of the show from London’s 5,500-seat Royal Albert Hall to movie houses in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia. The live performance — one of three shows at the hall — will be followed by rebroadcasts to cinemas on Wednesday, Thursday and Oct. 11.

Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, who co-starred in the “Phantom” sequel “Love Never Dies” in London, will reunite for the special production. More than 200 original and current cast members, musicians and special guests are expected to make appearances at the Royal Albert Hall.

—Associated Press

O’Donnell’s first guest? Russell Brand

Rosie O’Donnell gets her wish: Comedian and actor Russell Brand will be the first guest on her new talk show.

“The Rosie Show” is set to premiere Oct. 10 on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Producers said Brand will be “one of many notable celebrities” during the show’s first two weeks.

—Associated Press

Trespass Parade inspires artists

Dozens of artists have penned slogans for themusic/dance/art/activism mash-up known as the Trespass Parade, taking place in downtown L.A. on Sunday. The artists each wrote one-liners printed on T-shirts to be worn at the parade.

“Less oil/more courage,” says one of three designs by Rirkrit Tiravanija, who was a guiding spirit of the event along with musician Arto Lindsay.

A group of students from Roosevelt Senior and South Gate high schools who also wrote slogans will join many of the artists in the procession.

“The idea was to do something really participatory inspired by Rirkrit’s practice — something very inclusive and about collaboration,” says organizer Emi Fontana of West of Rome, a nonprofit public art organization.

The parade, a kickoff event of Pacific Standard Time, begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday at 1933 S. Broadway and wraps up at MOCA and REDCAT.

—Jori Finkel

Steve Martin, band get bluegrass award

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers turned the International Bluegrass Music Assn. Awards into funny business.

Martin and his group of crack bluegrassers took entertainer of the year, the top award at Thursday night’s ceremony in Nashville, while super group the Boxcars took home a leading four awards.

“I want to thank all the other nominees … for losing,” Martin joked after accepting the award.

Martin, the Grammy and Emmy award winner best known as a comedian and writer, is also an accomplished banjo picker who has taken the medium to a wider audience with two albums of mostly original music and a high-profile series of performances. Entertainer of the year goes to the act that does the best job representing the genre.

“It really means a lot, sort of like winning two Oscars,” Martin said afterward.

It is the first IBMA award for Martin and the second for the Rangers, winners of the 2006 emerging artist of the year award.

The Gibson Brothers won album of the year for “Help My Brother” and the vocal group award.

—Associated Press

Rankin, Damien Hirst show in L.A.

Fashion photographer Rankin and skull-bedazzling artist Damien Hirst have chosen Los Angeles as the place for the world premiere of a collaboration titled “Myths, Monsters & Legends.”

The photo exhibition, which opens at the Rankin Gallery Los Angeles on Oct. 13, leverages the duo’s artistic skills to update, re-imagine and breathe creepy but beautiful life into assorted Greco-Roman mythological beasties including Medusa and Cerberus.

A similar exhibition is scheduled to open at London’s Annroy Gallery a week later, the same time that a book version is released.

—Adam Tschorn

Harry Potter e-book launch delayed

Harry Potter fans will have to wait a bit longer to buy the magic tales in electronic form.

The creators of the online Potter portal said Friday that the launch of an e-book store has been pushed back to next year.

The seven Harry Potter books had been due to go on sale in October, exclusively through the “Pottermore” website.

—Associated Press

Sting hopes for long musical life

At 85, Tony Bennett released an album that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart this week. Sting, who turns 60 on Sunday, is hoping he will still be going strong at 85, too.

“Hopefully the next 25 years will be the same if I have it,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said of his own success. “I couldn’t live without music. I’d rather play music or die.”

—Associated Press