The line outside the Fox Theatre, stretching down Peachtree Street to Ponce de Leon Avenue to West Peachtree Street early Saturday morning was, well, "Wicked."

Hundreds of fans of the hit Broadway musical began lining up as early as 1:30 a.m. to snag advance tickets to this fall's 3 1/2-week run at the Fox Theatre.

Bouquets of black and green balloons, free coffee and two uniformed cops greeted the early-bird buyers. At the box office, fans happily parted with $127 apiece for the best seats.

About 30 minutes before tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. to the general public at Ticketmaster, sisters Stacy Shanley and Lauren Kehrli nervously eyed the box-office window.

"I'm holding my breath," Shanley told Buzz. The two Atlanta mothers were pushing their newborns in strollers. Both babies were fast asleep.

"We had a strategy," explained Kehrli. "If one of the babies starts to melt down, there's one of us to take care of it without losing our place in line. It's a tag-team effort."

The tickets are a gift for "Wicked" fan and grandma Susan George of Lilburn.

"She's worth it," said Shanley.

A few feet away, Cheryl Miller, her daughter Amber and Amber's boyfriend Chris Manning already were taking a victory lap in the muggy heat.

Their tickets were in Cheryl's purse. The trio hadn't slept since Friday. They started off the weekend standing in line at a Snellville Borders to grab copies of "Breaking Dawn," author Stephenie Meyer's latest vampire romance novel. Then they drove to Atlanta to spend the night on Peachtree Street. The fans passed the time by listening to the "Wicked" cast album on their iPods and staging group singalongs with other fans.

"It's really all about the music for us," explained Cheryl Miller. "It's just wonderful."

None of them have yet seen the actual production.

"It was something fun to do together," explained Manning.

"And look at this," Cheryl Miller said confidentially, showing us images on her digital camera. "I took pictures of the two of them standing in front of the Georgian Terrace over there just in case they get married some day. Aren't they adorable?"

Added Amber: "Mom!"

Back to School rally draws crowd

Sacramento Kings forward and Marietta native Shareef Abdur-Rahim returned home over the weekend —- with a small warehouse of free school supplies for local kids.

"Reef," a former Atlanta Hawk, distributed 500 bookbags of school stuff at Greenbriar Mall on Saturday as part of his annual Back to School Rally 2008: Taking Back Our Community.

In 2001, "Reef" formed the East Point-based nonprofit organization that "provides positive academic, social, cultural and recreational programs" for kids.

"Is everybody ready to go back to school?" Abdur-Rahim asked the crowd of 800.

And no, there were no audible groans.

"Most of the kids were really excited to be going back," event rep Tenisha Mercer told us Sunday. "But I don't think he anticipated 800 people. There really wasn't that much advertising for it aside from the mall's marquee. It's grown steadily every year."

Attendees were also able to partake in parenting workshops, raffles and a teen summit at the mall gathering.

Earlier this year, Reef was in town to pick up a 2008 Trumpet Award honoring his community outreach efforts.

Applegate treated for breast cancer

Christina Applegate is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, but the disease was caught early and the actress is expected to fully recover, her publicist said.

The Emmy winner's cancer was detected through an MRI ordered by a doctor and is not life-threatening, publicist Ame Van Iden said in a statement Saturday.

Applegate is scheduled to appear on a one-hour television special, "Stand Up to Cancer," to be aired on ABC, CBS and NBC on Sept. 5 to raise funds for cancer research.

The 36-year-old actress has been nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the show "Samantha Who?" in which she plays a woman who wakes from a coma with no memory of who she is.

The show, which debuted last October, marked a return to series television for Applegate, who helped establish the Fox network in 1987 as ditzy teenager Kelly Bundy on "Married ... With Children." The raunchy comedy ran 11 seasons and has been airing in syndication since.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Actor-comedian Richard Belzer ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit") is 64. Actor Billy Bob Thornton is 53. Producer Michael Gelman ("Live with Regis and Kelly") is 47. Actor Daniel Dae Kim ("Lost") is 40. Rapper Yo-Yo ("Miss Rap Supreme") is 37.

Contributing: News services