Scene is bright on Broadway

Broadway came back to life yesterday as fans lined up for tickets and theaters reopened following a 19-day stagehands strike. Tourists, actors, stagehands, restaurant workers, musicians, hot dog vendors were all thrilled about the return of shows. Officials estimated that the city lost $2 million a day because of the strike. Most plays and musicals that were shut during the walkout were up and running last night. "Chicago" held a last-minute afternoon rehearsal before going back on with a new cast that included "Sopranos" actors Aida Turturro and Vincent Pastore. Michael Van Praagh, a stagehand who was returning to work on Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll," said the settlement was a sign "that we're finally getting the respect we deserve on Broadway." Actor Jeff Perry was also relieved: He would finally appear in "August: Osage County," the acclaimed Tracy Letts play that was to have opened Nov. 20. (AP)

Goran Visnjic has agreed to pay child support for the infant daughter of a Croatian woman. Mirela Rupic, 36, had sued Visnjic, claiming he is the father of her 8-month-old child. At a hearing before a Zagreb court, Visnjic's lawyer, Marijan Hanzekovic, said the 35-year-old "ER" actor had abandoned requests for a paternity test and recognized the child as his own. He agreed to pay $1,800 a month in child support. Visnjic, who lives in Los Angeles, was granted visits once a month, said Rupic's lawyer, Nenad Skare. (AP)

Jennifer Love Hewitt (inset) is engaged to Scottish actor Ross McCall, said her publicist Sarah Fuller. Fuller said she had no details on the couple's wedding plans. (AP)

Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle has been arrested in Florida after failing to properly register as a sex offender. Pyle pleaded guilty in 1993 to charges of attempted capital sexual battery by an adult on a victim younger than 12 and being principal to lewd and lascivious behavior on a child younger than 16. He was sentenced to eight years of probation. (AP)