Here is an article from the New York Post reprising the latest news and rumours about madonna’s tour coming from the UK press in the past days.

“If you were shocked by Madonna‘s lesbian lip-lock with Britney Spears during the MTV awards, don’t go within spitting distance of her upcoming “Re-Invention” tour.

Madonna -who opens the tour on Monday in L.A. – doesn’t skip a beat in making sure the $1 million-plus production is her most outrageous yet, complete with an electric chair, nearly nude pregnant women and plenty of lesbian love, according to reports out of London yesterday.

The show reportedly opens with a frisky Madonna simulating sex with a female tango dancer – which is quaint compared with other segments of the “Re-Invention” (search) show.

When she sings “Papa Don’t Preach,” she’ll be backed by a chorus line of scantily clad, heavily pregnant babes.

That ought to provide comic relief from the setup for “American Life,” when the audience gets to hear the sounds of bombs dropping and watch a video montage of troops battling in Iraq.

A video of sickly, starving children will reportedly unspool while Madonna delivers her cover of the John Lennon classic “Imagine.”

But the kicker to the provocative production promises to be the sizzling finale.

After she wraps her rendition of “Lament,” the lights will go down and, following a flash-storm of fireworks, Madonna will reappear strapped into an electric chair and writhing to escape, according to reports.

She rises from the dead and sings her sentimental, Kabbalah-inspired lullaby, “Bedtime Story.”

An estimated 750,000 people in the U.S. are expected to see the extravaganza – which hits Madison Square Garden for six shows from June 16 to 24, at ticket prices ranging from $65 to $930. CBS is planning a concert special based on the tour, though no air date has been set.

“The last tour was so visually extravagant and teeming with so much violence and hostility, it’s hard to believe this tour can be more outrageous,” says Joe Levy, deputy managing editor at Rolling Stone magazine and noted Madonna follower.

“Madonna always has a message to put across. Some people get the message, others don’t – but everyone gets a fair amount of value for their entertainment dollar.”

Just about the only thing about the “Re-Invention” tour that’s not jolting is Madonna’s choice of wardrobe designers, which is safe rather than spectacular.

Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld are on the lineup, as are Dolce & Gabbana, Miu Miu and Jimmy Choo, according to Women’s Wear Daily, which revealed a first glimpse of Madonna’s costume yesterday.

The one surprise is Madonna’s jewel-encrusted corset from less-than-hip Christian Lacroix, the French designer used repeatedly as the butt of fashion-victim jokes in the TV giggle-fest “Absolutely Fabulous.”

For shock value, it falls far short of her most famous outfit: Jean-Paul Gaultier‘s iconic cone bustier.”

Source: Orla Healy, New York Post