RAISING THE CURTAIN ON 2000

Time marches, and the stars can’t wait to celebrate in concert

Forget the computers. If you want a real Y2K problem, try booking a celebrity for your Millennium’s Eve party on Dec. 31, 1999. It’s still 12 months away, but many famous names have already made other commitments. Celine Dion will bid the old year adieu in a Montreal concert before temporarily retiring to concentrate on her family. Gloria Estefan is mulling plans to bring her Latin beat to a Miami gig. Naomi Judd will reunite with her daughter Wynonna in a Phoenix concert billed as a celebration of both the millennium and Naomi’s recovery from hepatitis C, a disease that has kept her off the concert trail since 1991.

Some performers are playing musical chairs. Barbra Streisand, who’s set to tour at the end of the year, is said to be interested in performing in either New York City or Los Angeles on the Big Night, but the New York Daily News says fears about possible Year 2000 computer problems will keep her away from concert halls on Dec., 31. Meanwhile, Hollywood columnist Marilyn Beck says that the Rolling Stones are ready to take Streisand’s place at Madison Square Garden that night if the diva demurs.

A ways from Times Square, Elton John plans to greet the new age with a pair of midnight concerts in two time zones: He’ll start singing in Perth’s Opera House to mark the new year in Australia, then fly to Hawaii to finish another show before the clock strikes 12.

As for venues, Queen Elizabeth 2 (the ship) plans a Millennium cruise from New York City to the Caribbean. Queen Elizabeth II (the monarch) plans to visit London’s new Millennium Dome, where rocker Peter Gabriel is set to create a dance for the occasion. Perhaps a two (K)-step.

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