Kennedy Center to honor Streisand, Freeman

Kennedy Center to honor Streisand, Freeman

WASHINGTON — Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman and country singer George Jones will be awarded the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement in the arts, along with choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who.

The performing arts center in Washington announced the 2008 honorees last week.

Performers from New York, Hollywood and Nashville will salute the honorees at a Dec. 7 gala. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will host the honorees at the White House before the performance.

Classic rockers Yes will tour with new singer

WASHINGTON — The classic rock band Yes, which was forced to cancel their 40th anniversary tour this year because of the illness of its lead singer, has decided to relaunch the tour with an “understudy” — a Yes tribute band singer.

Benoit David, who sings in several Yes tribute bands in Montreal, will replace Jon Anderson on the “In the Present” tour, which kicks of Nov. 4 in Ontario, Canada, according to bassist Chris Squire.

Yes, which consists of Squire, Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White, scrapped their anniversary tour in June after Anderson suffered acute respiratory failure and was ordered by doctors to rest for six months.

Squire found David on the Internet after a friend sent him a YouTube clip of David’s tribute band, Close To The Edge. Squire liked what he saw and called David to offer an audition.

Revival of ‘Hair’ moves to Broadway

NEW YORK — The Age of Aquarius will dawn again on Broadway.

The Public Theater’s Central Park revival of “Hair” will move there sometime after the first of the year.

“The success of ’Hair’ has been thrilling, proving that this show speaks as powerfully today as it did 40 years ago,” said Oskar Eustis, the Public’s artistic director. “We are moving the show indoors, but the celebratory joy of this production will remain intact.”

The production, directed by Diane Paulus, has been a critical and popular success for the Public at the outdoor Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Its summer run has been extended twice. It closes today.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Harve Presnell is 75. Actor Walter Koenig (“Star Trek”) is 72. Actor Nicol Williamson is 70. Singer-actress Joey Heatherton is 64. Actor Sam Neill is 61. Singer John “Bowser” Baumann of Sha Na Na is 61. Guitarist Ed King (Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lynyrd Skynyrd) is 59. Saxophonist Steve Berlin of Los Lobos is 53. Country singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is 52. Actress Mary Crosby is 49. Singer Morten Harket of A-ha is 49. Country singer John Berry is 49. Actress Faith Ford (“Faith and Hope,” “Murphy Brown”) is 44. Actress Michelle Stafford (“The Young and the Restless”) is 43. Actor Dan Cortese is 40. Singer Mark Hall of Casting Crowns is 39. Bassist Craig Montoya (Everclear) is 38. Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley (“According to Jim”) is 37. Rapper Nas is 35. Singer Amy Winehouse is 25. Actor Adam Lamberg (“Lizzie McGuire”) is 24.