Country music star Larry Gatlin and Raleigh native Lauren Kennedy will star in N.C. Theatre's "Annie Get Your Gun," opening next month at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium. Gatlin will play Frank Butler, the love interest of Kennedy's Annie Oakley.

Gatlin first gained fame as a member of The Gatlin Brothers, and he later had a solo career. He and his brothers have their own theater in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Kennedy made her Broadway debut in "Sunset Boulevard" and later performed in "Les Miserables," "Side Show" and "Monty Python's Spamalot." She performed with N.C. Theatre in high school and has returned on occasion, including a 2005 turn as Belle in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."

This may be Kennedy's biggest role yet, in terms of songs and stage time, she said in a phone interview from New York. Even though she had seen Reba McEntire and Bernadette Peters in the role, she had forgotten how demanding it is.

"I had no idea what I was getting into," she said. "Those gals made it look so easy."

The show will run Feb. 23 to March 2. Tickets are $26 to $76 and are available through Ticketmaster at (919) 834-4000 or www.ticketmaster.com.