ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

STAGE

Rooney’s Wizardry: Mickey Rooney will play the title role in a 90-minute stage adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz,� to be produced by Radio City Entertainment at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood June 16 to July 4 and at Orange County Performing Arts Center July 7-18. Jo Anne Worley will play the Wicked Witch of the West, with 17-year-old Jessica Grove as Dorothy.

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As the Casting Couch Turns: Jamey Sheridan, who originally had been announced as Donald Sutherland’s co-star in the upcoming U.S. premiere of “The Enigma Variations� at the Mark Taper Forum before being replaced by Bruce Davison, is back in the show, slated for May 6 to June 13. Sheridan had left because of “scheduling conflicts,� a theater spokeswoman said. Then Davison left because of what was described as “a mutual and amicable parting of the ways� between him and director Daniel Roussel. The Taper then checked again with Sheridan, who was available to return.

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‘Catechism’ to Reopen Fonda Theatre: Maripat Donovan’s solo show “Late Nite Catechism,� which has been playing in Chicago since 1993 and off-Broadway since 1996, will open at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on May 9 for five weeks, starring Donovan in her role as a nun teaching an adult catechism class. The Fonda, dark in terms of theatrical productions since 1996, will be in a 542-seat configuration.

TELEVISION

New Late-Night Warrior?: John Henson, host of the tabloid TV-skewering “Talk Soup� on cable’s E! Entertainment Television, is in discussions with ABC to do a late-night talk show, a source confirmed. The show, which would air at 12:35 a.m. following “Politically Incorrect,� would give ABC a personality to counter NBC’s “Late Night With Conan O’Brien� and “The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn,� which debuted on CBS this week with new host Kilborn replacing Tom Snyder. ABC declined comment.

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Animated Road Trip: Fox has ordered eight episodes of a new animated series, “Gary and Mike,� for next season. The series, about two “suburban twentysomethings on the road trip of their lives,� is created by Fax Bahr and Adam Small of Fox’s “Mad TV� and will feature dimensional animation from Will Vinton Studios, which also does the animation for Fox’s “The PJs.� Harland Williams and Chris Moynihan will provide the principal voices for the comedy, which is also being produced by Big Ticket Television.

POP/ROCK

Probing Jones’ Crash: With a Williamson County district attorney citing “enough open questions� to warrant investigation, a Tennessee grand jury will determine whether country singer George Jones should be charged in a wreck that left him critically injured. Jones, 67, lost control of his sport utility vehicle and crashed into a bridge on March 6, suffering a punctured lung and lacerated liver. He was discharged from the hospital 13 days later. A half-pint bottle of vodka, described as less than half full, was found under the passenger’s seat of Jones’ vehicle, police said, though authorities have also said there was no indication Jones had been drinking before the crash. The singer’s family has said he was talking to his stepdaughter on his cell phone at the time of the mishap. Because no blood alcohol test was done at the scene, the grand jury will have to question witnesses and subpoena evidence from the hospital, the district attorney said.

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The Courtney Files: Courtney Love’s band, Hole, which recently dropped out of a national arena tour with Marilyn Manson, has fired its New York-based management company, Q-Prime, a representative for the band’s label, Geffen Records, said Tuesday. Hole left the Manson tour earlier this month after just nine shows, a move that Q-Prime’s Peter Mensch blamed on unanticipated production costs. Mensch could not be reached Tuesday, and a spokeswoman for Q-Prime, which also represents Madonna and Metallica, declined comment on Hole’s management situation or tour plans. Meanwhile, the group’s “Celebrity Skin� album has passed the 1-million sales mark.

QUICK TAKES

NBC’s “Suddenly Susan� is resuming production, halted by the death of cast member David Strickland, with a season finale tentatively scheduled to air May 24. Production of the comedy stopped after the actor was found dead March 22, having apparently committed suicide. The new episode will in part pay tribute to Strickland. . . . “Everybody Loves Raymond� co-star Peter Boyle was released from a Burbank hospital Monday, a week after suffering a heart attack. A spokeswoman for the CBS show said Boyle, 63, underwent an angioplasty. . . . Former “Seinfeld� star Jason Alexander has joined the voice cast of UPN’s animated series “Dilbert� in the recurring role of Catbert, Dilbert’s evil human resources director. His first episode will be April 5. . . . Actor Rodney A. Grant, who played Wind in His Hair in “Dances With Wolves,� has pleaded guilty to failing to pay child support for his three teenage sons. According to the indictment, Grant, 40, had made only one child support payment since August 1992. Sentencing is set for June. . . . Citing irreconcilable differences, actor Tom Arnold, 39, and his wife, Julie, 25, filed for divorce Tuesday after 3 1/2 years of marriage.