Will You Play, Paul? Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Paul McCartney did Carnegie Hall. Now he may have landed a gig at Lincoln Center, as front man for a high school’s classical guitar ensemble.

During a taping of “Oprah” last week, members of the ensemble from Curtis High School on Staten Island asked the former Beatle to sing with them. The students were in the audience as Oprah Winfrey interviewed McCartney.

One of them, Rich Castellano, stood up during a break and shouted to him, “Will you sing with our symphony in Lincoln Center next spring?!”

When McCartney asked him to repeat the question, all 15 stood up and asked in unison.

“Sure, yeah, why not?” he replied.

The school’s music instructor, Lou Mannarino, said the classical performance will include a few tunes from McCartney, whose symphonic poem “Standing Stone” had its U.S. debut last week at Carnegie Hall.

Loose talk

Candice Bergen, debunking rumors that breast cancer will claim her fictional TV newswoman persona: “No, Murphy certainly isn’t going to die. We’re going out with a big bang. We’re going out with some noise. Murphy is a survivor.”

If Hollywood can resurrect Ripley, why not Lt. Yar?

Denise Crosby turns 40 today.

Lesson No. 1: Comedians not motivated by guilt

Here’s comic Jake Johansen’s version of a sidewalk encounter:

“A lady came up to me on the street and pointed at my suede jacket. ‘You know a cow was murdered for that jacket?’ she sneered.

“I replied in a psychotic tone, ‘I didn’t know there were any witnesses. Now I’ll have to kill you, too.”’

Lesson No. 2: Comedians not motivated by compassion

“Relationships are hard,” observes wise guy Bob Ettinger. “It’s like a full-time job, and we should treat it like one.

“If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks notice. There should be severance pay, and before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp.”

Suppose he’s now negotiating with Fergie?

Kevin Costner is peeved that the royals are denying Princess Diana was in negotiations about a sequel to “The Bodyguard.”

“I think they should be very careful when they challenge me on this one,” the actor-director said last week. “This is something that I kept quiet, my entire office kept quiet for over a year. How many times in her life did that happen?”

Workers can’t afford shoes, but they can afford lipstick

L’Oreal has picked movie star Gong Li to promote its cosmetics in her native China.

L’Oreal’s president unveiled a 132-by-50-foot billboard of Gong in Shanghai.

Gong will also appear in TV commercials.

Gong is best known for her roles in movies by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, including “Raise the Red Lantern” and “Judou.” Recently, she appeared with Jeremy Irons in “Chinese Box,” directed by Wayne Wang.

China is the French cosmetics company’s fastest-growing market.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Michael Guilfoil