<i> Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.</i>

STAGE

McNally Play Reinstated: The Manhattan Theatre Club said Thursday it will reinstate the production of Terrence McNally’s new play, “Corpus Christi,” as part of its upcoming season. The play, which reportedly features a young, gay Christ-like figure, had been canceled last week following protests from outraged religious groups and violent threats issued against the production. “We acted properly and quickly to protect everyone involved,” artistic director Lynne Meadow said at a press conference Thursday. The reversal came “subject to final confirmation from the police department of adequate security measures,” she said. The nonprofit theater had been heavily criticized for yielding to the threats--prominent playwright Athol Fugard withdrew permission to produce his new play as a protest, but has now reversed his decision, and many leading writers signed a petition urging the theater to reconsider. Gilbert Parker, McNally’s agent, confirmed that many nonprofit and commercial producers--including the Williamstown festival in Massachusetts--had already approached him with offers to mount the play. The 350,000-member Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which spearheaded the protests but disavowed any involvement with threats of violence, quickly gave notice that it will continue to attempt to derail the production through a letter-writing campaign and other strategies. “We will do whatever we can to challenge their presumption that they have a moral right to offend Catholics,” said a league spokesman, admitting that objections so far have been based solely on media reports of the play’s content and not on any first-hand knowledge of the drama.

TELEVISION & MOVIES

‘Emperor’ Retold: Twenty-five celebrities, including Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Robin Williams, Jason Alexander, Angela Lansbury and Harrison Ford, will take part in “The Emperor’s New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale,” a CD and book set due Oct. 22 from Harcourt Brace & Co. The project , featuring one-page chapters written and read by each celebrity, benefits Steven Spielberg’s children’s charity, the Starbright Foundation. Among the celebrity roles: John Lithgow plays the emperor, Jay Leno plays the moth/narrator, and designer Calvin Klein plays the emperor’s underwear. Renowned illustrators--including Berkeley Breathed, Maurice Sendak and Quentin Blake--are also featured in the book.

Sheen Facing Probation Violations: A Malibu judge ordered Charlie Sheen Thursday to undergo detoxification and reenter a residential drug treatment program after the actor voluntarily surrendered to authorities for violating his probation by engaging in drug activity. A hearing was set for July 1, and Sheen will be electronically monitored until that time. A District Attorney’s spokeswoman said the arrest warrant for Sheen was issued at the request of his father, actor Martin Sheen. Charlie Sheen, 32, was hospitalized last week for a drug overdose; since then, he had checked into rehab twice, but left the facility both times. The younger Sheen--described as looking thin and pale on Thursday--was placed on two years’ probation last June for attacking his then-girlfriend.

POP/ROCK

Not Under Her Spell: A Huntsville, Ala., church has forbidden a student rendition of the Fleetwood Mac song “Landslide” at a high school baccalaureate program because the minister believes that Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks is “a witch and a Satan worshiper.” Moments before the service was to begin this week at Southwood Presbyterian Church, Huntsville High School’s vocalist Emily McDowell was told she couldn’t sing the wistful song about growing older and changing; however, she was still scheduled to sing it at the school’s graduation ceremonies today. Nicks’ manager said Thursday that the singer, who has cultivated a gypsy-like persona through her song lyrics and clothing, is “tired” of questions about whether she is a witch, and thinks people should “just get a life.”

QUICK TAKES

Belissa Cohen, a freelance entertainment writer has sued rocker-actress Courtney Love for allegedly attacking her at a downtown L.A. fashion show last month after Cohen tried to snap Love’s photo during the public event. Love’s publicist said she was not aware of the incident or the lawsuit. . . . More than 15,000 Protestants and Catholics rocked together past dark Wednesday night at an Elton John concert in Belfast celebrating Northern Ireland’s peace agreement.