Sting, Tony Bennet Among Performers Set To Re-Christen Radio City Stage

After a seven-month, $70 million restoration, New York's Radio City Music Hall will return to action with a grand reopening gala featuring Sting, Tony Bennett, 98 Degrees, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Wyclef Jean, Billy Crystal and Rosie O'Donnell.

The Oct. 4 celebration will be taped for an NBC television special scheduled to air on Dec. 1, according to Columbia Records. A portion of the proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Lustgarden Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

All of the building's public areas were restored, including the marquee, the lounges, the theater interior and the Art Deco ticket lobby. The infrastructure of the building was rewired and upgraded, including stage lighting, architectural lighting, sound systems and video technology.

The three-story Ezra Winter ''The Fountain of Youth'' mural in the Grand Foyer was restored, and the building's 4,178-pipe Wurlitzer organ was tuned and refurbished.

Cablevision Systems Corp. committed to the restoration of the 67-year-old art deco landmark when it won a 25-year lease on the building in December of 1997.