A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

hat Simon sent him a note , now also hanging on his office wall : `` Worry . I d

on't know how to fix it . '' CASTING ABOUT : We 're not going to see Judy Kuhn a

s the young love interest in `` Sunset Boulevard '' when Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 

megamusical comes to Broadway in the fall . In fact , she left the Los Angeles c

ast Sunday to get ready for motherhood . Her first child is due in October . Und

erstudy Anastasia Barzee has taken over the role in L.A. . No word yet on who 'l

l play it here .. . As of June 7 , the `` Blood Brothers '' will no longer be pl

ayed by the brothers Cassidy . Understudy Philip Lehl replaces David Cassidy and

 Ric Ryder takes over for Shaun Cassidy . On the same day , Carole King steps in

to the role of their mother , currently played by Petula Clark . Clark takes the

 road company out in September first stop , Dallas .. . Peter Bartlett , J. Smit

h-Cameron , John Cunningham , Debra Messing and Mary Beth Peil head the cast of 

the new Paul Rudnick play , `` The Naked Truth , '' now in previews at the WPA T

heater . The plot involves photography , pornography and politics .. . Dennis Pa

rlato , seen recently in `` Hello Again , '' replaces Howard McGillin in `` She 

Loves Me '' Tuesday . Starting June 6 , McGillin plays Molina , the gay window d

resser in `` Kiss of the Spider Woman . '' ON THE RECORD : Speaking of Judy Kuhn

 , her debut solo album is due out this summer : a collection of Jule Styne song

s on the Varese Sarabande label . Another star from the original cast of the cur

rent `` She Loves Me '' revival , Sally Mayes , is also recording solo for Vares

e Sarabande . With emphasis on the lyrics of Betty Comden and Adolph Green , the

 disc is due in the fall . Mayes is also moonlighting this month and next with l

ate Saturday night shows at Eighty Eight 's , the Greenwich Village cabaret .. .

 `` Ruthless , '' the musical about unbridled ambition in a preteen actress , en

joyed a good Off-Broadway run here last season but never made it into the record

ing studio . The show is having an even better run at Beverly Hills ' Canon Thea

ter and getting an album out of it too . Although the murder-minded moppet is no

w played at the Canon by Kathryn Zaremba , the production 's original star , Lin

dsay Ridgeway , is on the just-released Varese Sarabande recording . Zaremba is 

remembered here in the kinder , gentler guise of Annie Warbucks . REVIVAL UPDATE

 : The Drama Desk 's special award citing the 25-year record of York Theater Com

pany and producing director Janet Hayes Walker is prompting a preview of their l

atest show , a revised version of Sondheim 's `` Merrily We Roll Along , '' open

ing June 8 . The cast of York 's revival will perform two numbers at the awards 

ceremony June 5 at the Roundabout Theater . Carole King is also on the program .

. . American Jewish Theater 's revival of Jerry Herman 's `` Milk and Honey '' i

s proving enough of a box-office draw to warrant a month 's extension . The show

 , set to close this weekend , will now play through June 26 . Distributed by th

e Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service .

 HOLLYWOOD When Arsenio Hall takes his final bow Friday night , record company e

xecutives fear that the curtain may also drop on urban-oriented music on the lat

e-night talk-show circuit . Officials at MCA , Epic and other labels said for th

e past 5 years , the syndicated `` Arsenio Hall Show '' provided a valuable nati

onal outlet for urban music while other late-night hosts such as Johnny Carson ,

 Jay Leno and David Letterman focused on more traditional , mainstream musical t

astes . `` I 'm really bummed , '' said Laura Hynes , vice president of artist d

evelopment and media relations for Tommy Boy Records , a New York-based label sp

ecializing in rap and urban music . `` This show helped break a lot of our artis

ts Naughty by Nature , House of Pain , RuPaul , Queen Latifah , '' Hynes said . 

`` Before this show , there was no national late-night outlet where a viewer cou

ld tune in to see happening music that appealed to the segment of the audience t

hat liked rap or dance music . '' Even as Hall 's ratings slipped in the last fe

w years by 24 percent in the last year alone these executives and other observer

s of the urban music scene maintained that his show never lost its status as a d

esired gig for rap and rhythm & blues artists to reach their core young audience

 . An appearance on the Hall show often translated into a boost in popularity an

d record sales as much as 400 percent , said Kim Jackwerth , director of televis

ion media for Epic . It was , said Ernie Singleton , president of MCA Records ' 

black music division , `` the single best platform for urban music , even better

 than ` Soul Train , ' ` Showtime at the Apollo ' or the occasional Leno and Let

terman appearance . '' Hall not only gave visibility to established mainstream r

appers and groups such as Salt-N-Pepa , Arrested Development and Queen Latifah ,

 but also featured more controversial artists such as Snoop Doggy Dogg , Dr. Dre

 , Cypress Hill , Tupac Shakur and Ice T . Now , with Hall quitting after Friday

 's show , the music industry is wondering if those artists will be able to `` g

et busy '' with Leno , Letterman or Hall 's expected replacement , Jon Stewart o

f MTV . The opportunities to get a coveted slot on a late-night show will certai

nly be slimmer , they agreed . Reggie Miller , music editor of the Source , a ra

p and hip-hop-oriented magazine , said , `` The overall vibe of Arsenio 's show 

was a party , and it was also family . It was a real symbol to appear on Arsenio

 's show . There is definitely not another late-night show that would devote an 

entire program to rap . I 've seen that Jon Stewart has a lot of music acts on h

is ( MTV ) show and he feels very contemporary , but I doubt if any other show w

ill be of Arsenio 's essence . '' Another executive who asked not to be identifi

ed said there was a perception in the music industry that Leno and Letterman wer

e biased against rap and urban music acts . `` They 're white shows for white au

diences , '' said the official . `` Unless you have appeal to white people , you

 're not going to get a booking on those shows . '' A spokesperson for `` The To

night Show With Jay Leno '' disputed that claim and other perceptions that Leno 

placed less of a priority on urban-oriented music . `` We were the first to have

 on R. Kelly , '' said the spokesperson . `` In the past , we 've had Gang Starr

 , TLC and a number of hip-hop artists . On June 2 , we 've got All 4 One booked

 . '' The spokesperson added that Leno 's booking of rap and hip-hop artists wou

ld not change due to Hall 's departure . A spokesman for Letterman could not be 

reached for comment . ( Optional add end ) Marla Kell Brown , producer of `` The

 Arsenio Hall Show , '' said she does not believe the other late-night programs 

are biased against urban artists . `` Initially , we were an alternative to John

ny Carson , who had a whole different audience and didn't necessarily speak to t

he younger generation , '' Brown said . `` It 's more an issue of age than of bl

ack and white . It 's an issue of being uninformed . '' Some urban artists will 

get shots on the Letterman and Leno shows , she predicted , `` but many will not

 have a place to go . There are only so many slots available . '' And `` the oth

er shows are not going to change their format , '' she added . `` If you try too

 hard to be what you 're not , that looks strange , too . '' Brown said Hall , a

fter all , was only doing what came naturally to him . `` I always felt that the

re was this misconception by the media that we were on the cutting edge , '' she

 said . `` We just brought out what young America was listening to . In our firs

t week , we had Bobby Brown on as a guest . He had the No. 1 song in the country

 then ` My Prerogative ' but he had never been on a late-night show . There just

 wasn't a venue for artists like him to get their stuff out there . So we were n

ot cutting edge . We were just reflecting the mainstream of young America . '' T

hat reflection extended beyond the music scene , the producer said . `` There we

re actors and athletes that were very popular , but popular in a world that was 

different than the world populated by the producers of those other shows , '' sh

e said . While pessimistic , many of the urban music executives said they were w

illing to give other talk shows the benefit of the doubt in terms of the booking

 of rap and hip-hop artists . `` These musicians will have a place to go , but i

t just willn't be the same , '' said Lisa Jefferson , manager of West Coast pres

s and artist development for Elektra Entertainment . `` I don't know how hard it

 will be for an artist to get on . It may take a Top 10 single . With Arsenio , 

if he knew the group , he would put them on . Plus , it willn't be the same cama

raderie . He will definitely be missed . ''

 I get the calls a couple of times each year . A local public junior high school

 counselor , usually from a school boasting a `` mostly minority '' student popu

lation , will ask me to speak at Career Day . Unless my schedule is unyielding ,

 I cannot resist the invitation . I am a Role Model , capitalized : an African A

merican woman with an advanced degree who does work that many of the audience me

mbers have fantasized about . I may be the first person of color some of the kid

s have seen who does the work that I do . I may be the first real-life lawyer so

me have ever seen . Having been there , I cannot resist going back . I know that

 I have been invited because I represent possibility . My information kit usuall

y directs me to tell the students something about the education I needed to beco

me a law school professor . I am to impress them with the hard work it will take

 to get from where they are to where I am . They are at a crossroads , I am told

 , having to decide what to do about the rest of their secondary education in or

der to realize a dream or two . Some of them are considering whether to continue

 their education at all . Last fall , the Santa Monica , Calif. , YWCA Career Da

y was at the John Adams Middle School . The students were restless , wearing on 

the patience of their teachers and vice principal . The other panelists were a p

rofessional beach-volleyball player , a recreation supervisor and an intimidatin

g karate instructor with the fourth-degree black belt . As befits our host , the

 panel was all female . As I gathered my notes , I realized why I make the time 

to attend career days : It is a grounding exercise . I do not want to forget tha

t my present self is the sum of my life . As much as career days give me a chanc

e to represent possibility to young African Americans , I also get to remind mys

elf , `` Here is very much possible from there . '' I once was , in the language

 of social science , an economically disadvantaged , single teen mother . Statis

tically , I should not be a law-school professor , nor should my daughter be an 

only child or a college graduate . These facts are vital elements of my discussi

on , because the risk exists that some members of the audience are or will becom

e single teen parents . There is an equal likelihood that there are many economi

cally disadvantaged children at the school at which I am speaking . I tell them 

about my origins and my early parenthood , not merely as cautionary tale , but a

lso as an offering of hope . It is as important to me to include unplanned paren

thood in my presentation as it is to point out how I got into college , what my 

grades were like or the route I took from law student to law professor . It is p

art of my objective of presenting possibility to these students : You can have a

 life after early , unexpected parenthood . It will not be an easy life , but it

 can be productive and fulfilling . There are innumerable sources willing to sug

gest to them that they will fail in life . I like offering the possibility that 

they will succeed . I don't sugarcoat the teen parenting experience : Once I bec

ame a parent , I gave up dating as it is traditionally perceived and deferred a 

college education in favor of full-time employment until my daughter was 8 and a

ble ( if not particularly willing ) to accept an explanation for our changed eco

nomic circumstances . I tell the students that my daughter and I grew up togethe

r , that I was attending to the needs of a child while just out of my own childh

ood . And I always identify the life choices I made that were directed by the pr

omise I made to myself that my child 's life would be better filled with more op

tions and possibilities than mine . Nor do I forget to tick off the positives : 

Having a daughter gave me great joy and purpose . I discovered that , to persuad

e this child that she could do anything or be whatever she wanted , I had to liv

e my life in a way that affirmed that . It was not enough simply to tell her tha

t the world was her oyster if I , her primary role model , did not do what I wan

ted . She was a powerful catalyst , propelling me through college and graduate s

chool , keeping me from remaining in a job that bored me . And , my daughter has

 always been my most ardent fan and strongest supporter . She even helped me get

 through law school . She gave me a life-saving study tip : When studying for lo

ng periods , take a two- to five-minute break every hour . During this short bre

ak , wash your face , make a doctor 's appointment , prepare lunch , check the m

ail , check airline ticket prices to Tahiti . Whatever you do , she advised me ,

 get out of the chair in which you are studying and move your brain to something

 else . As promised , I came back from my breaks refreshed , ready for work . I 

continue to pass this hint on . ( It works for bar-exam preparation as well . ) 

It is with wonder that I tell students that life is change and growth , and what

 seems like a mistake can become an opportunity . I remember how my high school 

guidance counselor responded to my pregnancy . She suggested that I withdraw fro

m my college-preparatory public school for gifted and talented girls and enroll 

in vocational school , where I could `` learn a trade and maybe find a husband a

nd father '' for me and my child . I ignored her and graduated with my class ; m

y mother brought my daughter to the ceremony . Sometimes , surprised silence gre

ets my reference to my teen pregnancy . Usually , the students are more interest

ed in my annual income , whether I go to court , whether there is a test you hav

e to take to get into law school . Once a student asked if law-school professors

 are `` real lawyers . '' Then there are the other times . For instance , in San

ta Monica , a student asked my favorite career-day question : What is my daughte

r doing now ? She 's living in Philadelphia , finishing her MBA , working in mor

tgage banking . She is planning a July wedding . We are friends , she calls four

 times a week , she is happy . These are the most affirming facts of all .

 Time was compressed and accelerated for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , or so we '

d like to think . Things just seemed to have an awful habit of befalling her too

 soon and too quickly . It wasn't right . It wasn't natural . As Teddy Kennedy e

ulogized : `` Jackie was too young to be a widow in 1963 , and too young to die 

now . '' She died at 64 , which is way too young in my lexicon of denial . At th

e very least , it 's not the `` ripe old age '' in which we middle-aged survivor

s are accustomed to seeking relief . They say this is the age at which we begin 

scrutinizing obituaries . If that is so , Jackie 's death is the obituary page w

rit large . A lot of people I know , especially those who were children when our

 association between Jackie and the funeral hearse was forever forged , are busi

ly consulting our mortality calculators and computing how much longer her death 

date gives us . Twenty-five years ? Twenty ? A little more ? A little less ? Wha

tever it is , it 's not much . Certainly , it 's not enough . But then , as Tedd

y said , Jackie was `` too young to die . '' Phew . It has been said the intensi

ty of the public 's mourning has to do with our perception of Jackie as invincib

le , the perfect princess whose wealth and bearing and eternal slimness and styl

e enveloped her in a kind of magic shield . Yes , she suffered ; but look how no

bly she endured . It has been said , too , that her passing is particularly pain

ful because it marks the passing of our youth and its seminal events . Even the 

veteran broadcaster Sander Vanocur teared up while commenting on her funeral Mon

day ; the lights of his youth had gone out , he said , never to be seen again . 

For me , though , the sadness or is it the fear ? is more banal . It has more to

 do with the speed with which the cancer claimed her . Diagnosed in January , go

ne in May . Can it really happen that quickly ? To a woman who ate right , exerc

ised regularly , had the best medical care her millions could buy ? Can it happe

n this quickly , even to her ? Perhaps Jackie 's life seems unduly attenuated be

cause she embraced and embodied the length and breadth the sheer velocity of her

 time . She was so many things , in such a short space . The still photographs f

lash before us child equestrian , debutante , adoring wife , glamorous first lad

y , grieving widow , international swinger , stoic single mother , accomplished 

professional , proud grandmother . In such a short space , at such a breakneck p

ace , she created such a kaleidoscope of images . I tend to think of Jackie as p

art of a threesome of Kennedy wives she , Ethel and Joan forming a triumvirate o

f female possibility within that testosterone-rich patriarchy of sports and poli

tics . A quarter-century after Bobby 's death , Ethel remains his widow , a matr

only woman with a horde of children . After decades of drinking , personal decay

 and finally a legal split from Teddy , Joan remains the recovering alcoholic , 

the damaged divorcee behind the dark glasses . But Jackie was never static . She

 continually transcended the present and moved on . She was never stuck , never 

vanquished by the Kennedy code any more than by the prying paparazzi . Somehow ,

 Jackie managed to accomplish what her counterparts couldn't . She changed . It 

has been startling , in recent days , to hear her little-girl voice explaining ,

 back in 1962 , how important it is for a woman to worship her husband . It has 

been startling because it so sharply contrasts with the sophisticated Doubleday 

editor who shared her Park Avenue apartment with her `` companion of recent year

s . '' It has been startling , too , to see her walking one day in Central Park 

, and then , just a week later , buried at Arlington . Even in death , Jacquelin

e Kennedy Onassis moved fast , which is , of course , what we 've all got to do 

in life . We 've got to move fast , or we 'll miss it . We 've got to grab on an

d let go , again and again . We 've got to change . For the excruciating truth i

s that life is short , no matter how long it lasts .

 We may live in a wonderful world of color , but when it comes to television , m

uch of what we watch is still in black and white . A quick remote-control journe

y through network prime time reveals a lineup of programs divided by race . Most

 shows feature white characters ; a small but growing number star black performe

rs ; but very few offer both in major roles . Our viewing habits mirror those di

visions . A recent breakdown of Nielsen Media Research ratings showed a wide dis

parity between black and non-black households in television viewing preferences 

. For fall 1993 , the two groups had completely different lists of top 10 prime-

time programs , based on Nielsen ratings . Of the top 20 , only one show , ABC M

onday Night Football , appeared on both lists , according to BBDO , the New York

 advertising agency that analyzed the ratings . And the preference gap is wideni

ng . In a similar survey eight years ago , the top-20 lists for black and non-bl

ack audiences featured 15 programs that were on both . One reason for the dispar

ity in viewing habits is the greater variety of program choices . Only a decade 

ago , there were just a handful of shows featuring major black characters . For 

1993-94 , the networks , led by Fox , offered more than 25 shows starring black 

people or featuring them in major supporting roles . `` There 's no mystery . Bl

acks now have more options than they did in the old days , '' said BBDO Vice Pre

sident Doug Alligood , who conducted the survey . People , no matter their age ,

 race or socioeconomic status , are attracted to programs featuring people of si

milar appearances or circumstances , he said . For example , 13 of the top 20 pr

ograms favored by African-Americans feature black people as stars , while suppor

ting roles are the best they can do in programs in the non-black top 20 . Alligo

od said television programs are meant to entertain , and that it may not be wise

 to put too much weight into the differences in viewing preferences . Others are

 not as sanguine , however . They acknowledge that differences in viewing habits

 by race and the small number of programs with multiracial casts are symptoms of

 the divisions in our society . However , television is too powerful a medium me

rely to reflect such divisions . Its influence tends to amplify them , some said

 . `` To the extent that people take television as an indication of the way peop

le are in the world , it reinforces stereotypes . And there 's a lot of evidence

 that people take television as a reinforcement of the world , '' said Clay Stei

nman , associate professor of communications studies at Macalester College in St

. Paul , Minn . Television can be especially influential in matters of race , wh

ere social divisions often keep whites and blacks from knowing much about each o