NEW YORK, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Famed Broadway theater impresario Gerald Schoenfeld has died at his home in New York at the age of 84, the Shubert Organization said.

The New York native and World War II veteran had been chairman of the organization since 1972. The group owns and operates one Off-Broadway and 17 Broadway theaters, as well as the Shubert Theater in Boston and the Forrest Theater in Philadelphia. It also manages the National Theater in Washington. Schoenfeld was also the head of the nonprofit Shubert Foundation.

The New York Times said the cause of Schoenfeld's death Tuesday has not been released.

"I suppose as far as the decision goes to do a play or not do it, we do have tremendous power," Schoenfeld, a graduate of the University of Illinois, once told The Washington Post. "It's the ultimate decision. But beyond that, we're the ones who solicit the major authors, the major creative people, the major directors. For all this power we supposedly have, we're really wooing them. You have to woo a Michael Bennett or a Bob Fosse."

Schoenfeld is survived by Pat, his wife of 58 years; a brother, Irving; a daughter, Carrie Schoenfeld-Guglielmi, and two grandchildren, the Times said.

Stars flocking to Obama inauguration

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Scores of celebrities plan to attend, while others want to perform at U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration, the New York Daily News said.

Among those already confirmed to attend the Jan. 20 event are Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Kerry Washington, Susan Sarandon, Jane Krakowski, Alfre Woodard, Barry Levinson, Dana Delany, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Wendie Malick, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Connie Britton, Richard Schiff, Ellen Burstyn, Giancarlo Esposito, Gloria Reuben, Lynn Whitfield, Tamara Tunie and Tom Fontana, the newspaper said.

Those stars are to be guests of The Creative Coalition, a group that works to get the entertainment industry involved in social and political issues.

The Daily News said recording artist Beyonce Knowles has also volunteered to sing at the gala, while her husband, rapper Jay-Z, is also said to be in talks to perform.

British media reports claim Leona Lewis has been asked about her availability on the day and Bruce Springsteen has hinted he might make an appearance by publicly noting his latest album is set for release around the time of the inauguration.

The entertainment lineup for the event has not yet been announced, however.

Monk tribute concerts planned in NYC

NEW YORK, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Concerts are being planned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Thelonious Monk's Town Hall gig in New York, in which his music was first played by a big band.

Monk died in 1982 at the age of 64.

Duke Performances and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University said it has scheduled Monk tribute concerts for Feb. 26-27, during Black History Month.

Renowned musicians Charles Tolliver and Jason Moran are to salute the music icon by creating their takes on the original concert, using never-before-heard recordings and images shot during rehearsals from the historic event by famous photographer W. Eugene Smith, who also lived in the "Jazz Loft" rehearsal building where Monk and his band practiced.

The public station WNYC Radio 93.9 FM and its Web site wnyc.org air are to air an exclusive live broadcast of the Feb. 26 concert, anchored by "Evening Music" host Terrance McKnight. The station is to tape the Feb. 27 concert for later broadcast.

"Even though it was a daunting task working on this historic project, it gave me a great deal of pleasure while doing it, reliving and remembering how I absorbed Monk during my formative years and how and why I fell in love with what was to become my life's work (as) a jazz musician," Tolliver said in a statement.

Pianist's skull appears in Hamlet

STRATFORD-ON-AVON, England, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- An English concert pianist who died 26 years ago has been granted his final wish -- to appear on stage in Hamlet playing the skull in the graveyard scene.

Andre Tchaikowsky's skull has been used in rehearsals since he willed it to the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Sun reported. Now, the skull has finished a run of performances in Stratford-on-Avon, with actor David Tennant as Hamlet holding it up while intoning, "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio ..."

The company didn't let audiences know they were seeing a real skull until the last performance.

The Polish-born pianist, who died of cancer at the age of 46, was a fan of William Shakespeare and especially of "Hamlet." He made frequent trips to Stratford to see RSC performances.

"It was Andre's dream," Dave Ferre, a friend of the pianist's family, said. "They will be pleased he has made it on stage."

Tennant, best-known as the latest incarnation of "Doctor Who," plans to use Tchaikowsky's skull again when the "Hamlet" production opens in London. David Howells, the RSC archivist, says a real skull hasn't been used since the 19th century.