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

POP/ROCK

Jackson’s Oxford Address: Singer Michael Jackson was expected to call for a renewal of the parent-child bond Tuesday night during a speech at Oxford University’s venerable debating chamber. Jackson, who founded a charity called Heal the Kids last year with “Kosher Sex” author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, was expected to propose that a “children’s universal bill of rights” be installed in every home, university officials said. An advance copy of the lecture indicated that Jackson--a father of two--would appeal for parents to read children bedtime stories and to always protect and adore their children. He was also to lament the violence that is invading American schools, saying children should have the right to an education without having to dodge bullets. Though he has been greeted on his British trip by crowds of screaming fans, some observers have ridiculed Jackson’s continued focus on children, citing his settling out of court with a 12-year-old boy who accused Jackson in 1993 of sexual molestation. Jackson’s prepared speech, however, was to refer to controversial guests who have graced the Oxford stage before him, including Malcolm X.

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Lennon’s Piano for Sale: The ebony Steinway piano John Lennon bought for his New York apartment the year before his death in 1980 is going on sale March 27 in an auction at London’s Hard Rock Cafe. The piano--which Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, gave away as part of an album promotion in 1984--is expected to fetch between $1.35 million and $1.65 million. Singer George Michael paid $2.1 million for another Lennon piano last year, and has said he plans to give it to Liverpool’s Beatles museum.

TELEVISION

Lengthy Cable Term: Cable’s Bravo network will begin showing episodes of NBC’s Emmy-winning drama “The West Wing” in late 2003. The deal will cover installments produced through 2009, which would be the show’s 10th season. The series, starring Martin Sheen, will become part of “The Art of Television,” a planned Bravo showcase for “groundbreaking, critically acclaimed series that challenge the medium and appeal to an upscale, influential audience.” “The Art of Television” will begin in late 2002 with the basic-cable premiere of HBO’s former Garry Shandling series “The Larry Sanders Show.”

MOVIES

Russell Crowe Returns: Oscar nominee Russell Crowe will appear at a second “Gladiator” screening Friday at AMC Century 14 in Century City. Tickets for the 8 p.m. screening go on sale this morning at 9 a.m. at the theater box office, by phone at (310) 289-4262, and at https://www.movietickets.com. Seats for the original 7:30 p.m. screening sold out within minutes last week. Crowe will do an audience Q&A; following each screening.

THEATER

Broadway Notes: Producer Jon Wilner is postponing his Broadway revival of “Mack and Mabel,” to be based on the Reprise! production seen at UCLA last fall, because no theater is available, he said. He had previously set an April 23 opening date. The production is slated to feature Douglas Sills and Jane Krakowski, and Wilner is now aiming for a fall opening. . . . Hershey Felder’s solo “George Gershwin Alone,” which played the Tiffany Theater last year, will open its Broadway run April 30, playing through July 22.

ART

Smithsonian Prize: The Smithsonian American Art Museum is establishing a new $25,000 annual prize for contemporary American artists. The Lucelia Artist Award, whose first recipient will be announced in May, will go to an artist under age 50 “who has produced a significant body of artwork that demonstrates exceptional creativity.” The prize, intended to “encourage the artist’s future development and experimentation,” is funded by the New York City-based Lucelia Foundation.

QUICK TAKES

Comic George Carlin will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Comedy Awards on April 22. The awards can be seen on cable’s Comedy Central three nights later. . . . CBS News anchor Dan Rather will receive the Los Angeles Press Club’s highest honor, the Joseph M. Quinn Award for Journalistic Excellence and Distinction, on June 9. . . . “Temptation Island” alum Kaya Wittenburg, 28, has signed a modeling contract with the New York-based Q Model Management. . . . HBO Home Video will release “Sex and the City: The Complete Second Season” in stores May 22. The four-tape VHS sets and three-disc DVD packages will both retail for a suggested $50. . . . Cable’s A&E; has renewed its Sidney Lumet legal drama, “100 Centre Street,” for an 18-episode second season and has also made a development deal with Lumet for a second drama, “May It Please the Court,” based on actual U.S. Supreme Court hearings. . . . Barbara Walters will interview actors John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Ben Stiller and singer Faith Hill in her annual Oscar-night special, airing on ABC immediately following the March 25 awards. . . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is sending out 14,000 prints to theaters nationwide this week of a one-minute Oscar trailer featuring clips of all the best picture, best actor and best actress nominees. . . . “The Oblongs,” a new animated comedy featuring the voices of Will Ferrell and Jean Smart, will premiere on the WB network on April 1, with the same episode airing three times that night: at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30. A second episode will kick off the series’ run in its regular time slot (Sundays at 8:30 p.m.) the following week.