FISHBURNE PRACTICES ALCHEMY Laurence Fishburne just signed on to star in and direct the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel, The Alchemist.

In other Fishburne news, he won a Drama Desk award this weekend for his portayal of Thurgood Marshall in the Broadway play, Thurgood. Passing Strange, a play about a black bohemian in search of new experiences, won for best musical.

The Drama Desk Awards are decided by a committee of theater critics, writers and editors, and every year the honor excellence in New York theatre. This year, the committee made it quite clear that Debbie Allen's groundbreaking, all-black production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was not so excellent, despite its box office success. Neither the play nor its cast were nominated in any categories. [BV]