Broadway's Terrence Mann will play Jud Fry in the Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic, Oklahoma!, running March 24-April 2 at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in North Carolina.

Mann, a two-time Tony Award nominee for Les Miserables and Beauty and the Beast, created the role of Chauvelin in the first version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. He is the artistic director of North Carolina Theatre and has directed productions of 1776, The Sound of Music, Hello, Dolly!; Show Boat, Guys and Dolls and My Fair Lady there.

As if that were not enough to keep him busy, Mann recently took on a third theatrical career -- composing. His Romeo & Juliet, a rock-scored adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy of star-crossed lovers divided by a family feud, made its world premiere at Minneapolis-St. Paul's Ordway Theatre in August 1999. A tour of the musical is planned for summer 2000 with Broadway to follow, but details are pending.

As for Oklahoma!, Raleigh native Luann Aronson plays Laurey. Her past roles have included Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, Maria in The Sound of Music and as a featured soloist in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Tickets are $55-$15. For reservations, call (919) 834-4000 or (919) 831-6950. North Carolina Theatre is on the web at http://www.nctheatre.com. -- By Christine Ehren