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THE BUZZ

Glenn Gamboa; Verne Gay; Robert Kahn

October 22, 2006

Touring Madonna wins a Billboard nod

With her latest "Confessions on a Dance Floor" tour, Madonna has crossed over to that rarest of artists - the ones where the performance of their albums doesn't affect the success of their tours.

To back that up, Madonna leads the nominees in this year's Billboard Touring Awards, which will be handed out Nov. 9 at Manhattan's Roosevelt Hotel. She is a finalist in four categories, including top tour and top draw, categories where she will duke it out with Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones, and top boxscore, where her run at London's Wembley Arena goes against Billy Joel's Madison Square Garden run and Luis Miguel at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City.

In other categories, Madison Square Garden, which has won the award the past two years, is nominated for top arena, against TD Banknorth Garden in Boston and Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh is a finalist for top amphitheater, against PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., and Tweeter Center at the Waterfront in Camden, N.J.

Madonna's tour also topped the list of summer concerts at StubHub, the Internet ticket trading site, finishing ahead of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's Soul2Soul Tour and Jimmy Buffett.

It looks like she will have plenty of success to share with her newly adopted son, David, and other children in Malawi, where she is building an orphanage and a child-care center.

- Glenn Gamboa

Slimmer pickin’s for 'Studio 60’

If recent history's a reliable guide, the number of those watching Monday night's episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" probably won't be overwhelming. But NBC execs will be paying special attention. Reason: Decision time is here.

As we speak, NBC - in third place and struggling - is laying plans for the November sweeps, which begin Tuesday. So what to do about that Monday at 10 p.m. time slot? The much-hyped "Studio 60" - about the goings-on at a late-night comedy show - hit a 3.1 rating in adults 18-49 last week. Translation: only 3.1 percent of those humans between the ages of 18 and 49 in the TV audience were tuned in. (By comparison, "Medium" averaged a strong 4.1 in the time period last year.)

Translated further: This is not good, because that was .6 of a decline from the week before, and (in fact) the low-water mark for the show this season. Translated further still: A lot of viewers simply appear to have tried "Studio 60," and rejected it.

And that - no translation required - bodes ill.

What's the problem? You mean - other than "Studio 60" is often silly, sanctimonious and unbelievable? Perhaps this: "Heroes," a big new hit for NBC at 9, is totally incompatible with the Aaron Sorkin-penned drama, so NBC will likely consider a schedule move before summary execution. So here's a thought: Why not move it to Tuesdays at 8, and bring the superior, but ratings-challenged "Friday Night Lights" to Mondays at 10?

- VERNE GAY

A theater company plays the name game

A new theater company whose founding members include playwright Neil LaBute and comedian Janeane

Garofalo almost had a substantially different moniker from The Fire Dept, the name its three artistic directors ultimately settled on. Because four of the trio's six parents are psychotherapists, Erica Gould, Jessica Blank and Audrey Rosenberg tell pals they were going to call their new undertaking something like Child of Shrink.

"It kind of explains a lot," says Rosenberg, a Port Washington native, actor and producer ("Infamous"). Their final choice was more in keeping with plans to "ignite" controversy, she says.

The Fire Dept's launch project is a meeting of the minds, nonetheless. "SpeakEasy," unfolding at Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre today through Tuesday, was written by company members LaBute, Theresa Rebeck, Anton Dudley, Rajiv Joseph, Rob Ackerman and others. In the "giant play," two- to 10-minute stories are woven together to create one cohesive tale.

The top-notch cast includes Garofalo, Chuck Cooper, Kathleen Chalfant and Josh Lucas. To learn more, check out thefiredept.org.

- ROBERT KAHN

QUOTABLE

'Before I met my husband, you are about the best man I thought I ever knew. ...You can do wacky things with shaving cream and Neosporin, and I don't mean that in a sexy way.' - JULIA ROBERTS, before presenting George Clooney with the American Cinematheque Award.