By Belinda Luscombe

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM

"Broadway" and "SAM SHEPARD play" are not words that normally belong together. After all, this is the edgy, reclusive intellectual who collaborated with Patti Smith, Bob Dylan and Wim Wenders. Ah, well, nothing lasts forever. Shepard's 1979 Pulitzer-prizewinning Buried Child will open April 30 on Broadway. "The play was never designed for Broadway," says Shepard. "It started in a 95-seat theater in San Francisco." But under the direction of another sometime film star, Gary Sinise, things changed. "It's a lot clearer now," the playwright says. "And the humor has been brought out." Fans of Shepard's chiseled appearance can stay at home. He doesn't intend to do Broadway himself. "I wouldn't want to act onstage," he says. "I don't have the rigor for it." Followers of his work have more luck: Shepard's collection of short stories, Cruising Paradise, is due out in May.

BUT IT STARTED SO WELL...

TONYA HARDING, whose nuptials made news not four months ago when she rammed a photographer's car, has filed for divorce. This despite the fact that her husband MICHAEL SMITH recently told a reporter that the only bad thing about his wife was that she drummed her fingernails. "Their thoughts on their futures were not on the same page," says Harding's spokesman. "And I want to make it clear to potential suitors that she's not looking for husband No. 3." Instead, Harding is concentrating on Tonya II, her comeback effort.

SEEN & HEARD

Old soldiers never die; they get nominated to the board of Home Shopping Network. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, former commander in chief, U.S. Central Command, looks set to become a director of the tireless purveyor of high-quality nylon garments at its annual meeting in May. Does this mean a chance to buy Desert-Storm-in-a-Teacups?

American football enjoys all the cachet in Britain that soccer does here. But not for long, if William ("the Refrigerator") Perry can help it. He's playing for the London Monarchs and doing promotional appearances for the World League. It's fair to say the 340-lb. Perry is still very big in England. An ad in the British papers reads, "Any refrigerator can store mincemeat. This one makes it."

IF A. SHUE'S FIT

Major League Soccer, the latest attempt to bring the world's most popular sport to the U.S., needs all the help it can get. But one team has already scored: the Los Angeles Galaxy (so many sports, so few good names) has its first star, ANDREW SHUE. The Melrose Place naive turned conniver has signed a one-year deal to play midfield. "Two years ago, I let it be known I was interested in playing in a pro league," says Shue. "I've been training for the past six months." This isn't his first pro soccer gig; he played for the Bulawayo Highlanders in Zimbabwe before joining Melrose. "This is icing on the cake," says the actor, who has again become known as Elisabeth Shue's brother. "To be able to finish out my career and have a big impact on building soccer in America. That's what it's all about." So what's the Shue shoe? "Cleats, not screw-ins."