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

POP/ROCK

Acoustic Christmas Presents: While the notion of Courtney Love performing with the Rockettes is intriguing, KROQ-FM (106.7) will forgo the opportunity by moving its ninth annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concerts from the Universal Amphitheatre--booked this season for shows by the famed high-kicking troupe--to the comparably sized Shrine Auditorium. Love, whose band Hole is in the lineup for the first of two nights, will officially announce concert details on the station at 8 a.m. today. Joining Hole in the Dec. 11 show are Barenaked Ladies, Blink 182, the Cardigans, Korn, the Offspring, Reel Big Fish and Sugar Ray. A Dec. 12 show is highlighted by a solo appearance by Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan and longtime KROQ favorite Depeche Mode, plus the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Cake, Everlast, Garbage, Goo Goo Dolls, Semisonic and Soul Coughing. Ticket information is expected to be announced next week. Proceeds benefit local charities for children and the homeless.

*

Paying the Consequences: Shock rocker Marilyn Manson has offered to pay for damage his band caused at a hotel after a weekend concert in upstate New York. The Poughkeepsie Sheraton’s general manager said that Manson’s group destroyed four hotel rooms Saturday night, burning carpets and staining sinks with hair dye. However, she said that Manson immediately took responsibility for the damage. According to a New York Post report, the band also set a fire in the group’s dressing room Saturday before a concert at the Poughkeepsie Civic Center. The fire was reportedly doused before firefighters arrived.

TV & RADIO

Superbowl Lineup: The National Football League has selected Cher to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXIII, airing on Fox Jan. 31 from Pro Player Stadium in Miami. Meanwhile, Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder will star in the half-time show. This year’s big game is expected to reach viewers in 180 countries.

*

Friday Night Nips and Tucks: NBC will premiere “Providence,” a new midseason series created by John Masius (“Touched by an Angel,” “St. Elsewhere”), on Jan. 8 in the Friday slot of 8-9 p.m., pushing back “Dateline NBC” by an hour. “Trinity,” the low-rated new Friday night drama from “ER” producer John Wells that already had been taken off the schedule for the November ratings sweeps, will remain off the air, although an NBC spokesman said the series is still not officially canceled. “Providence” stars Melina Kanakaredes as a plastic surgeon who abandons her career specialty to return to her family (including her father, played by “MASH’s” Mike Farrell) in Providence, R.I.

*

KRTH Gets a Hugg: Dick “Huggy Boy” Hugg, an L.A. pop radio fixture since the mid-’50s, will be among those losing his job when KRLA-AM (1110) switches Monday from oldies pop to a talk format. But he won’t be off the area’s airwaves long. Hugg, 70, will move to oldies leader KRTH-FM (101.1) to hold down the 9 p.m.-midnight slot starting Dec. 3. To accommodate him, Jay Coffey’s evening show will move to 7-9 p.m., and Bill Stevens’ overnight shift will be midnight-5 a.m.

QUICK TAKES

Woody Harrelson, who played bartender Woody Boyd on “Cheers” for eight years, will reunite with former co-star Kelsey Grammer when he reprises the role on an upcoming episode of NBC’s “Frasier.” The episode, to be filmed next month, is scheduled to air sometime in February. . . . The Babe Bookmobile, a traveling storybook road show centered around filmdom’s most popular pig, will make its final stop today from noon to 5 p.m. at Universal CityWalk, in front of Universal Studios’ Globe Entrance. The stop marks the opening day of “Babe: Pig in the City.” . . . MSNBC has extended its contract with Charles Grodin through 2000. In addition to his weekend talk show, Grodin will host specials for the cable network.