"Lestat" sings on Broadway next April. The Elton John-Bernie Taupin musical featuring novelist Anne Rice's seductive vampire hero will open on Broadway April 13 at the Palace Theatre. Preview performances begin March 11. The musical will have its world premiere in San Francisco Dec. 17-Jan. 29 before moving to New York.

Hugh Panero, Broadway's most recent "Phantom of the Opera," will portray the title character in the show, which has music by John, lyrics by Taupin and a book by Linda Woolverton. The director is Robert Jess Roth.

Also in the cast of "Lestat'" are Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle and Jack Noseworthy as Armand.

And in other Broadway news:

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is branching out to produce a Broadway musical based on Alice Walker's critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple.

Winfrey starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1985 film version which depicts the struggles of a young black girl who is raped by her father. The plot is of harrowing significance for the talk show star as she also suffered sexual abuse as a child. And she hopes her fame will help the show reach a wider audience. She says, "I hope to open the door to the possibilities for a world of people who have never been or even thought of going to a Broadway show."

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