Former first lady Hillary Clinton took in a performance of "South Pacific" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center last weekend, according to Loretta Ables Sayre, the Island native and recent Tony nominee for her role as Bloody Mary.

"Hillary was a thrill," said Ables Sayre. "When she entered the theater, the audience erupted in applause. She was gracious to everyone."

Daughter Chelsea also attended, said Ables Sayre. The buzz surrounding the Clinton visit — and the high security, backstage and in the audience — made Ables Sayre and her actor colleagues feel extremely safe. "We felt like the most protected theater on Broadway," she said.

— Wayne Harada, Advertiser entertainment writer

WINEHOUSE'S DAD CHANGES HIS TUNE

LONDON — A discrepancy regarding the health of Amy Winehouse arose yesterday after the Grammy-winning singer's father said she had early stage emphysema brought on by smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes.

A publicist for Winehouse later said he had misspoken "out of his concern for her."

"She is not diagnosed with full-blown emphysema, but instead has early signs of what could lead to emphysema," her U.S.-based representative said yesterday.

Mitch Winehouse, in an interview later with BBC Radio 1, said: "Amy really hasn't got emphysema; there's traces of emphysema. Obviously, if she doesn't quit smoking, it's going to get worse, like everyone else ... with patience her lungs will recover completely."

IMUS DEFENDS REMARK ON RACE

NEW YORK — Months after returning to the radio with a pledge to mend the wounds caused by his comments about a women's basketball team, Don Imus is once again defending on-air remarks regarding race.

During an on-air conversation yesterday about the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones, Imus asked, "What color is he?"

Told by sports announcer Warner Wolf that Jones, who used to be nicknamed Pacman, is "African-American," Imus responded: "There you go. Now we know."

In the face of criticism that ensued, Imus said yesterday that he had been misunderstood.

"I meant that he was being picked on because he's black," Imus said in a statement released by his spokesman.

The on-air exchange came six months after Imus' return to work on a new show on WABC-AM following his firing from MSNBC and CBS Radio for making a sexist and racist comment about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.