ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

MUSIC/ U2 TOP EARNING ACT IN THE WORLD: Forbes Magazine has released its annual list of the top earning music acts in the world. Leading the way at #1 is U2, with an estimated $195 million in earnings, with a good chunk of that coming from tour proceeds, the biggest money making tour in history. At #2 is Jon Bon Jovi with $125 milllion, followed by Elton John at #3 with $100 million. Lady Gaga is at #4 with $90 million, Michael Buble at #5 with $70 million and Paul McCartney at #6 with $67 million. The Black Eyed Peas come in at #7 with $65 million, The Eagles at #8 with $60 million and Justin Bieber at #9 with $53 million. Closing out the top 10 is Dave Matthews with $51 million. The full list, including details on the earnings, can be found on the Forbes website.

THEATRE/ KARA DIOGUARDI TO JOIN "CHICAGO": Former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, the Grammy-nominated songwriter and star of Bravo's "Platinum Hit," will make her Broadway stage debut in September in the Tony-winning revival of "Chicago" at the Ambassador Theatre. DioGuardi will step into the role of merry murderess Roxie Hart for an 8 week limited engagement, September 5 to October 30. The revival of "Chicago" began life as 1 of the 3 annual Encores! presentations offered by City Center. The musical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in November 1996 where it remained through February 1997. The musical transferred to the Shubert Theatre on February 11, 1997, and played that house through January 26, 2003. The revival reopened at the Ambassador Theatre, its current home, on January 29, 2003. "Chicago" won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Walter Bobbie, lighting designer Ken Billington and choreographer Ann Reinking. The original production was directed and choreographed by the late Bob Fosse.

THEATRE/ "LOVE NEVER DIES" TO CLOSE IN LONDON: "The Phantom of the Opera" sequel "Love Never Dies" is to close in London on August 27. The announcement comes a little over a year since Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 1st opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. The show opened to some poor reviews, and after substantial rewrites, was relaunched 9 months later. Although the new version gained a better critical reception, it failed to perform at the box office. A fresh production of the show opened in Melbourne, Australia, at the end of May with far more positive press. In an interview earlier this month, Lloyd-Webber attributed the show's failure to being treated for cancer during production, which meant he was unable to give it his full attention. "With hindsight we should have said, 'Let's put the whole thing on hold until I'm 100% again'. Frankly I wasn't feeling very well," he said. However, he added that the current Austrailian production "cannot be improved upon". The Australian version of the show is expected to transfer to Broadway after its run is completed there.

THEATRE/ "BLUE LEAVES" TO SHUTTER: The star filled Broadway revival of John Guare's "House of Blue Leaves," directed by David Cromer, will end its run June 25 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The production, which officially opened April 25 following previews that began April 4, had originally been announced as a 16 week engagement. When it closes, "House of Blue Leaves" will have played 21 previews and 72 regular performances. The cast is led by Ben Stiller as Artie Shaughnessy, Edie Falco as Bananas Shaughnessy (Falco was Tony-nominated for her performance) and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Bunny Flingus and also features Thomas Sadoski as Billy Einhorn, Alison Pill as Corrinna Stroller and Mary Beth Hurt as Head Nun. The synopsis of the show was described as: "Ben Stiller is Artie Shaughnessy, a zookeeper and wannabe songwriter, who is trying to cope with a schizophrenic wife (Falco), an impatient girlfriend (Leigh) and a visit from the Pope, all while sustaining his dream of hitting it big. The play is a satirical take on celebrity, religion, and the frequent merging of the two".