Prosecutors and an attorney for Chris Brown were discussing a possible deal Thursday to resolve probation issues faced by the R&B singer over his 2009 attack on singer Rihanna. Brown was led into a Los Angeles courtroom in handcuffs for a short hearing after U.S. marshals transported him from Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge James Brandlin ordered Brown to return to court next Friday when a possible deal could be addressed in court. No possible terms were discussed Thursday. Brown could face continued confinement or other punishment if Brandlin or another judge determines he violated his probation by getting arrested after a man was punched in October outside a hotel in the nation’s capital.Brandlin revoked Brown’s probation in December and ordered him into treatment for anger management and other matters. Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos, said that if a deal could not be reached by Tuesday, he would request the release of the singer. “I’m hopeful that we get it resolved and we get it resolved quickly,” Geragos said. “He turns 25 next week. So I’d like to give him an early birthday present if I can.” The Grammy winner has been in custody since March 14 when he was expelled from a court-ordered rehab for violating its rules. Brown’s trial on a misdemeanor assault charge in Washington is on hold while his bodyguard appeals an assault conviction for the same incident.

Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, who made comic gold out of showbiz shenanigans in The Producers, will team up again, in an updated version of Terrence McNally’s comedy It’s Only a Play, with Jack O’Brien directing. Broderick will portray a nervous playwright suffering through the opening-night party for his play The Golden Egg, while Lane will play his envious, backbiting friend, a role assumed by James Coco when the play was presented at the Manhattan Theater Club in 1986. A spokesman for the production said Thursday that it would open in September at a theater still to be announced. Tom Kirdahy, McNally’s husband, is the lead producer. “I’ve wanted to do the play for a while, but so much has changed,” McNally said. “So I did a rewrite.”

Front Section, Pages 2 on 05/03/2014