Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, 61, is in the early stages of prostate cancer, his spokeswoman said yesterday in London, adding that "Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year."

Lloyd Webber recently announced plans for a sequel to his phenomenally successful musical Phantom of the Opera. Love Never Dies is scheduled to open in London in March and follow on Broadway in November. Rehearsals will begin in the new year.

Producers say the original Phantom - a fixture of the London and New York stages - has been seen by more than 100 million people around the world. In September, it became the longest-running show in Broadway history, surpassing Lloyd Webber's Cats.

Dancing with the Redskins

OK, Dancing With the Stars fans, 6ABC figures there aren't enough of you to outweigh the hordes who want to watch the Eagles play the Redskins. The Monday Night Football game pre-empts Donny Osmond, Kelly Osbourne, Aaron Carter, and all the other remaining two-stepping stars tonight.

You can wait around to watch until sometime past 2 a.m. The channel will broadcast DWTS after Jimmy Kimmel, two hours and 35 minutes after the football game. It will also be available Tuesday morning on ABC.com, and you will be able to vote on-line until noon.

But you know Louie Vito is going to lose, so why not just watch How I Met Your Mother (8 p.m.) and The Big Bang Theory (9:30 p.m.) on CBS3, get a good night's sleep and a good day's work, and pick up with DWTS and the results show tomorrow at 9 p.m.?

- Jonathan Storm

Be very afraid, 'Saw VI'

Paranormal Activity won a weekend battle of fright films, demolishing part six of the Saw franchise. Paramount's upstart chiller went into nationwide release and took over the No. 1 spot with $22 million, compared to just $14.8 million for the debut of Saw VI, a franchise that has been an annual Halloween fixture since 2004.

It was the worst opening ever for Lionsgate's Saw series, whose previous low was $18.3 million for the original movie. Subsequent installments all opened at $30 million or better.

After four weeks in narrower release, Paramount slotted Paranormal Activity into 1,945 theaters - just under two-thirds of the 3,036 theater count for Saw VI. The low-budget movie was shot for a reported $15,000 but has become a horror sensation because of online fan buzz. Now at $62.5 million, it has a strong shot at topping $100 million, something no Saw movie has ever managed.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the Warner Bros. tale Where the Wild Things Are, fell to No. 3 with $14.4 million. Among other wide-release films, Summit Entertainment's Astro Boy opened at No. 6 with $7 million; Universal's Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant debuted at No. 8 with $6.3 million; and Fox Searchlight's Amelia premiered at No. 11 with $4 million.

Crowd pleaser

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey was released yesterday from a hospital in Swindon, England, where he was held overnight after collapsing on stage during a concert. Two band members rushed to his side and dragged him offstage.

A fan, Jillian Moody, told the BBC, "I didn't think he looked particularly well - but then again, he's well-known as a reclusive character, so I sort of thought that was just the way he was when he was on stage," she said. "He got through the whole song, though, to rapturous applause at the end."

Good girl

Madonna arrived in Malawi yesterday to visit the girls school she is building there, an official for her charity said. The 51-year-old celebrity was accompanied by her four children - Lourdes, 13, Rocco, 9, and her two adopted Malawian children, Mercy, 3, and David, 4. The official said she would take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the school today.

Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com. This column contains information from Inquirer wire services.