See Madonna for Free

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/10/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Madonna will be hitting the road for the first time since her 1993 Girlie Show. She will play a free show on Nov. 5 at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom, her only scheduled U.S. appearance, confirmed her spokesperson, Liz Rosenberg. Tickets will be handed out in various radio contests around the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Madonna, who won't be playing a full set at Roseland (there will be musical groups on hand), is viewing the show as "a chance for me to get my feet wet on the stage again and a way to say thank you to an intimate group of my fans for all their support over the years," according to a statement issued yesterday. Madonna is also reportedly due to perform at London's Brixton Academy on Nov. 28. A wider club tour is reportedly planned for 2001. In other news of the Material Mom and some younger competition, Madonna had this to say about Britney Spears to the Toronto Sun: "If she's being called the new Madonna, that's all right with me. I mean, there's a lot more to being Madonna than taking off your clothes, so I hope she can live up to it."