By Jennifer Brett

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

CNN’s Tony Harris is about to make his ballet debut.

We don’t think he’ll be doing many leaps or pirouettes, though. He’s among the local notables gracing the Georgia Ballet’s annual production of “The Nutcracker.” The company has a tradition of inviting area personages to perform walk-on roles during the party scene.

“I will be wearing a very elegant tuxedo,” he told Buzz. “No tutu. No frills. No fringe.”

The special performance will be 5:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at the Cobb Civic Center and benefits the ballet and the Center for Family Resources, which has been coordinating efforts to aid families affected by this fall’s flooding. Just after the flooding, the Civic Center served as a temporary Red Cross shelter, making the benefit performance all the more fitting.

“Anything I can do to help, I’m there,” said Harris, a good friend of board chairman Sam Hensley Jr., son of the ballet’s founder, the late Iris Hensley. "I'm looking forward to seeing it with my kids. We're going to make it a really nice night."

Other guest stars will be Lisa Rossbacher, president of Southern Polytechnic State University, Cobb County Commissioner Tim Lee, and chef-author-restaurateur Johnnie Gabriel. (She’s Paula Deen’s cousin. Cooking runs in the family.)

Tickets are $50 for general admission and $75 for the high-rent district, which gets you into the post-performance reception at the Mansour Center, where the Center for Family Resources' offices are housed. Event chairs are Robin Moore and Naomi Smith. For information, see www.georgiaballet.org or call 770-528-0881.

Say what?

"Hello, Ohio!"

- Bruce Springsteen's greeting to fans at his Friday night concert in Auburn Hills, Mich. Guitarist Steve Van Zandt set the Boss straight, and the crowd was quick to forgive.

My fellow Americans ...

Time for some important election news. The mayor's race? Pish! We're talking about the hunt for the best "Twilight" magazine covergal or guy. E! Online is polling the electorate to determine which of the stars of "New Moon," the latest in the vampire saga, best graces the front of the glossies. The front-runners, not surprisingly, were leads Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Together they were hauling in the coveted 50 percent plus one needed to avoid a runoff for their appearances on mags including Allure, Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar. Conyers native Dakota Fanning, smiling at you from the front of Teen Vogue, was reeling in around 5 percent of the vote when we checked over the weekend (full disclosure: We voted for her, of course).

Overscene

Ice Cube and Bow Wow were near the Georgia World Congress Center over the weekend, filming scenes from "Lottery Ticket."

Buzz in our ear

Fabster in Chief Elizabeth Schulte Roth, who was publisher of the now-shuttered Peach magazine and now runs SCAD's communications department, reports on what she calls the "Buckhead bread line" -- miles of young'uns in bows and smocked dresses lined up for their swine flu shots at Piedmont Hospital over the weekend. Now that's some real real housewife action right there. Hello, Bravo?

Celebrity birthdays

Actor Steve Railsback is 64. Actor David Leisure ("Empty Nest") is 59. Actress Marg Helgenberger ("CSI") is 51. Drummer Mani (Stone Roses) is 47. Country singer-guitarist Keith Burns of Trick Pony is 46. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 45. Guitarist Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver is 43. Actress Lisa Bonet is 42. Actress Tammy Lauren ("Wanda at Large," "Martial Law") is 41. Singer Bryan Abrams of Color Me Badd is 40. Actress Martha Plimpton is 39. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 32. Singer Trevor Penick (O-Town) is 30. Actor Noah Gray-Cabey ("Heroes," "My Wife and Kids") is 14.

Contributing: news services