June 24, 2004

Arts Briefing

IGHLIGHTS

WHEN BILLY MEETS BROADWAY Billy Crystal will make his Broadway debut in the fall in an autobiographical play, "700 Sundays." Written by Mr. Crystal with Alan Zweibel and directed by the Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff ("The Who's Tommy" and "Big River"), the one-man, two-act play is to begin previews on Nov. 12 and open on Dec. 5 at the Broadhurst Theater. In the play Mr. Crystal will portray many characters who have shaped his life. In a statement he said, "This is not a history of my career; it is about periods in my life and people in my life that helped make me a man." The show played this year in California at the La Jolla Playhouse.

THE BBC TIGHTENS STANDARDS The British Broadcasting Corporation said yesterday that it would improve training for its newsroom employees, subject articles relying on anonymous sources to greater scrutiny and set up a new system to correct on-air mistakes. Under plans set out in a report by Ron Neil, a former BBC executive, the BBC will also establish a college for broadcast journalists. "As the largest employer of journalists in the U.K., the BBC has an obligation to take the lead in strengthening training in craft skills and promoting debate about journalistic standards and ethics in broadcasting," the report said. The BBC commissioned the report after an independent panel led by Lord Hutton concluded in January that a broadcast on BBC radio in May 2003, saying that the government had exaggerated its intelligence on weapons of mass destruction to make a stronger case for war in Iraq, was itself unfounded. Lord Hutton's condemnation led to the resignation of the BBC's two top officials and started a round of soul-searching about the BBC's mission and future.   SARAH LYALL

PAGING DR. DYLAN The weather wasn't good at the summer graduation ceremonies, but after the choral society sang its version of "Blowin' in the Wind," Bob Dylan, 63, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music yesterday by the University of St. Andrews, Scotland's oldest, the BBC reported. Calling Mr. Dylan an "iconic figure for the 20th century," the university principal, Dr. Brian Lang, said, "His songs, and in particular his lyrics, are still part of our consciousness." Mr. Dylan, who is on tour in Europe and scheduled for two performances in Glasgow, has accepted only one other honorary degree, from Princeton in 1970.

POP: BACK ON TOP After a six-year absence the Beastie Boys are again atop Billboard's chart of the top 200 albums, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group's new album, "To the 5 Boroughs," a follow-up to its 1998 hit, "Hello Nasty," took the top spot by compiling opening-week sales of 360,000 in the United States. Usher's "Confessions," which dropped out of the top spot last week when Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" took over, continued to hold second place, while "Contraband," after a 52 percent decline in sales to 123,000 copies, slipped to third place. The latest Celine Dion release, "A New Day: Live in Las Vegas," sold 58,000 copies in its debut, taking 10th place. Last year in its debut, her album "One Heart" took the second spot by selling 432,000 copies. Phish, singing its swan song before disbanding, took 13th place on the Billboard chart with sales of 56,000 copies of "Undermind."

JAZZING UP TORONTO Oscar Peterson's name now adorns the courtyard of the Toronto-Dominion Center in the heart of Toronto's financial district, Canadian Press reported. In ceremonies at the dedication of Oscar Peterson Place on Tuesday, Mayor David Miller proclaimed Oscar Peterson Day in honor of this jazz pianist and called him "one of the world's great musicians." Mr. Peterson, who was born in Montreal in 1925, said: "I feel much like Duke Ellington must have felt when they honored him in New York with a statue. It's a great, wonderful feeling to know that you're appreciated, certainly in a mecca this size."

FOOTNOTES

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark plans to announce a $10 million gift from the Prudential Foundation today. Some of the gift is for the center's endowment, given as part of Prudential Financial's 125th anniversary celebration, and some supports the center's Early Learning Through the Arts program and other purposes. Through the performing arts, the program teaches basic academic and life skills to 3- to 5-year-olds. . . . The acclaimed teenage singer Hayley Westenra, whose CD "Pure" has been an international hit, will give her first United States solo performance at 7:30 tonight at Joe's Pub in the East Village.