STAGE

The New York-based council for the Actor’s Equity Assn. has refused a second time to grant permission to British actress Sarah Brightman to perform in the Broadway production of “Phantom of the Opera,” husband Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, according to the New York Times. The guild originally rejected the request June 9, unless the producers of “Phantom” could offer similar employment to an American actor in London. The producers offered no such exchange. The decision reportedly infuriated Webber, who threated to terminate the $7-million production. Webber is said to be considering an offer from Steven Spielberg to produce a film of the show and forget about Broadway altogether.