Minnelli back on Broadway

Minnelli back on Broadway

NEW YORK — Liza Minnelli will return to Broadway in December for the first time in nearly a decade in a two-week engagement of “Liza’s at the Palace.”

Minnelli will play the legendary vaudeville house Dec. 3-14, producer John Scher announced Sunday. She will be accompanied by pianist-musical supervisor Billy Stritch, a 12-piece orchestra and four dancer-singers.

The show will feature some of Minnelli’s best-known songs, particularly numbers such as “Cabaret,” “Maybe This Time” and “New York, New York,” all written by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

It will also celebrate Kay Thompson, Minnelli’s godmother and an entertainer who appeared in such films as “Funny Face” and who was a vocal arranger and vocal coach at MGM during the Golden Age of movie musicals in the 1940s. Thompson also wrote the “Eloise” children’s books about a little girl who lived in the Plaza hotel in New York.

No settlement finalized, Madonna’s publicist says

LONDON — Madonna’s divorce settlement with her estranged husband, Guy Ritchie, has yet to be finalized, the singer’s publicist said Sunday.

The Sun and The Mail on Sunday reported that the two had struck a deal over their finances and how to split their property. The Mail also reported that they had agreed to a custody arrangement for the couple’s children.

In a brief e-mail message sent to The Associated Press, Liz Rosenberg said she would not be commenting on media reports that the pop star and her film director husband had reached or were about to agree on how to share the couple’s multimillion-dollar fortune and custody of their children.

“I will not be commenting on the various reports regarding the divorce or of the settlement which has not been finalized,” Rosenberg said. A statement from Guy Ritchie’s representatives in London also declined to comment.

Madonna and Ritchie announced their separation Wednesday after nearly eight years of marriage, and Britain’s tabloid press has speculated wildly on the outcome of the high-profile split.

Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000 at a castle in Scotland. The couple are reportedly worth around $525 million, the bulk of that belonging to Madonna. Ritchie has an estimated $35 million fortune. They own homes in London, Los Angeles and New York, and a 1,200-acre retreat in Wiltshire, England.

The couple have two children: Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted in Malawi in 2006. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from her relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon.

Former ‘Soul Train’ host arrested after dispute

LOS ANGELES — Don Cornelius, the former host of the television show “Soul Train,” was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, police said Saturday.

Police were called to his Hollywood Hills home late Friday after someone reported a domestic dispute, Officer Sam Park said.

The 72-year-old producer was taken to jail, where he was booked for investigation of felony domestic violence, Park said. He was released on $50,000 bail and ordered to appear in court next month.

Park said he did not know whom Cornelius was suspected of assaulting.

A call to Cornelius’ production office was not immediately returned.

Today’s birthdays

Actor William Christopher (“M*A*S*H”) is 76. Country singer Wanda Jackson is 71. Musician Tom Petty is 58. Actress Melanie Mayron (“thirtysomething”) is 56. Actor Viggo Mortensen (“Lord of the Rings”) is 50. Drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld of Hootie and the Blowfish is 44. Bassist Doug Eldridge of Oleander is 41. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 37. Actress Jennifer Nicole Freeman (“My Wife And Kids”) is 23.