People: Jan. 23, 2006

BRAD AND ANGIE BROOD WATCH

It’s official. The world’s hottest human is in utero. “Yes, I’m pregnant,” ANGELINA JOLIE told an aid worker in the Dominican Republic, according to PEOPLE. That pretty much snuffs out any doubts about the relationship between Jolie, 30, and BRAD PITT, 42, who for months have been cozily co-parenting two international adoptees, Cambodian-born MADDOX, 4, and Ethiopian-born ZAHARA MARLEY, 1. The oft denied romance began amid rumors that Pitt and his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston split because he wanted to start a family. Enter irresistible, orphan-toting U.N. spokeswoman Jolie, and by December, a smitten Pitt was formally adopting Maddox and Zahara. Jolie has said she would like to adopt again. Apparently, the couple’s shared dream of a U.N.-style playroom has only just begun.

BECAUSE EVERY STORY NEEDS A TORY

It’s a wonder Andrew Lloyd Webber didn’t beat them to it. In Thatcher: The Musical, opening next month in Britain, an all-female cast will sing its way through the life of former Prime Minister MARGARET THATCHER, 80. The Foursight Theatre troupe plans to tour the nation with Iron Lady–inspired ditties like The Cabinet Shuffle. Nothing says toe tapper like the champion of free markets.

FIRST LOOK

BEYONCE GOES FROM BOOTYLICIOUS TO BOUFFANT

Before casting BEYONCE, center, in his big-screen version of the musical Dreamgirls, director Bill Condon had one worry: “I needed to know she could become a restrained, sedate character,” he says. Once the singer proved she could put a clamp on the amps, Condon picked Tony winner ANIKA NONI ROSE, left, and American Idol’s JENNIFER HUDSON to fill out the Dreams, a 1960s group loosely based on the Supremes. None of the stars has seen the 1980s musical, but no matter. The dramas that show-biz women endure are timeless.