Daily News from New York, New York • 681

CLOSE 8,986.28 CLOSE 1,878.52 16.84 DO, Theater big poised for that we believe are in the best interest of the company and its constituents." Despite the severity of its problems, Livent, the country's largest theater producer and the power behind the Broadway show "Ragtime," is about to launch two new Broadway musicals: Hal Prince's "Parade" and "Fosse," a tribute to famed choreographer Bob Fosse. In another ominous sign for the "Ragtime" producer, credit rating agency Standard Poor's lowered its investment rating on Livent's loans yesterday, citing "the possibility that a bankruptcy filing may become an appropriate option in the near future." By PHYLLIS FURMAN Daily News Business Writer The curtain is coming down on troubled theater giant Li-vent. Mired in an accounting mess, saddled with debt and burdened with massive production costs, the country's largest theater company appears to be heading for bankruptcy court, said a source familiar with the situation. A Chapter 11 filing would give Livent's execs some breathing room with its creditors as they prepare to bring several projects to the stage. A spokesman said yesterday, "Livent is carefully exploring the company's options and will pursue those actions Chap.

1 1 Livent's dilemma is the latest in a series of devastating setbacks for investment banker Roy Furman and former Walt Disney president and Hollywood powerbroker Michael Ovitz, who took control of the company in April. Soon after taking the stage, the theatrical newcomers uncovered serious accounting irregularities stretching back three years. Ovitz and Furman pointed the finger at Livent's flamboyant founder, Garth Drabinsky, and forced Drabinsky and his long-time partner, Myron Gottlieb, out of the company. Left on their own, the two have been struggling to salvage the massive production company which controls live entertainment venues across the country, including the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in Times Square on 42nd St. In September, they hired Todd Haimes, the artistic director of the Roundabout Theatre, to replace Drabinsky as Livent's creative chief.

Ovitz and Furman have also been struggling to shave expenses by canceling expensive road shows of their productions. Shareholders and creditors are now waiting for Livent to restate its financial results. The revisions, which have been delayed, are ex-' pected to surface this month. If Livent files for bankruptcy, one of the biggest losers will be Ovitz. The former Disney exec pumped $20 million of his own money into the theater company.

As a shareholder, it's unlikely Ovitz would recover any of his investment, though it's likely he will fight to remain in control of the company. desktop PCs with built-in high-definition tuner cards that will let users receive the digital TV signals. The cards are manufactured by Panasonic. Prices for the new Presarios have not been set, but insiders 1 rl r-K 7s. yesterday's Wall Street climate.

But by the end of the day, the Dow sputtered and closed with a loss of nearly 25 points. The Fed's policymakers explained in a statement that the latest round of interest rate cuts was necessary because of "unusual strains" in the financial markets. See story page 2 worth saving. Word of mouth is especially strong for "Parade," a serious musical based on the story of Leo Frank, an Atlanta businessman who was lynched by an angry mob who falsely accused him of raping a young girl decades ago. Jed Bernstein, who heads the League of American Theaters and Producers, said despite Livent's woes, the company still has some great material.

"On the one hand, they are faced with huge financial problems, but they own and manage some tremendously valuable assets." as Panasonic, Compaq and others are planning for the time when all television programs will be broadcast in high definition, signaling the end of conventional broadcasts. Some industry analysts said the new PC technology may be jumping the gun, since digital television is years away from being the industry standard. Despite all the hoopla over the new digital TV technology for computers, experts at the trade show said sales of tuner cards allowing users to tap into traditional TV have been slow in the past year, even though Microsoft embraced them in its Windows 98 soft- I I 'f i ft MIXED FLURRIES is apt term for Stocks ended mixed yesterday despite a brief but powerful rally after Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates a quarter point for the third time in seven weeks. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 92 points above Monday's close after being down more than 80 yesterday. In contrast, Haimes the creative force behind such hits as "Cabaret" won't see his reputation suffer from the debacle, because theater insiders are attaching Livent's woes to Drabinsky.

"Todd will never bear the brunt of the criticism," said one theater-industry insider. Other theater executives said yesterday they were not surprised Livent is close to bankruptcy, given Drabinsky's reputation for lavish spending on productions. But they also said that Livent, the first major corporation to invest in live theater, is that will allow digital TV viewing on PCs with Windows 2000 the company's next-generation operating system, yet to be released. Exploring yet another avenue of joining TVs with PCs, Panasonic an nounced a new wireless device the MicroCast A computer user could transmit in formation on a PC screen to a television screen even if the PC were in another room. While there are yet few digital broadcasts on television the format was launched just weeks ago companies such i 1 RICHARD CORKERY DAILY NEWS SPEEDY EXIT: Livent founder Garth Drabinsky shown with author E.L.

Doctorow at "Ragtime" fete, was forced out of the company. being channeled into new IPG models Igltai TO By KENNETH tion TV sets start at an astronomical $5,000. "As you look at digital TV emerging, it enables a whole new set of services," said Trey Smith, vice president of advanced consumer products at Compaq. Imagine be-ing able to shop directly off the televi-s i get a concert list ing while watching a music video or get sports stats while watching a game all potential features of the digital TV-PC marriage, computer executives said. Compaq plans to ship some versions of its Presario line of "As you enables TREY SMITH, Daily News Business Writer LAS VEGAS Digital TV is coming to a PC near you.

Consumers now can watch the enhanced video and audio quality of digital television only on a handful of megabuck high-definition TV sets. But computer companies exhibiting at the Comdex computer show announced plans to rush out products with digital televisions built in to personal computers. High-tech giants including Compaq Computer, Panasonic, Intel and Philips are hoping consumers and businesses will see the new technology they're calling PC-DTV as a cheap alternative to high-definition television sets. Right now, the high-defini look at digital TV emerging, it a whole new set of services. v.p.

of advanced consumer products at Compaq said the tuner card alone costs $800 to $1,000. Along the same vein, Panasonic also yesterday announced a partnership with Microsoft to deliver the next generation of circuit boards.