Reba McEntire [ tickets ], who has made her mark as a singer and an actress, will combine both skills for an upcoming tour of performance halls. Shows on "The Singer's Diary" tour will open with a play about McEntire's life -- starring McEntire -- and will close with a concert performance.

In an Associated Press report, Narvel Blackstock, Reba's husband and manager, described the show as ''taking the best elements of a theater performance and a Broadway play to tell her own musical story.''

Reba has spent much of the summer touring the fair circuit, and her itinerary still shows some upcoming fair dates. The fair performances will be traditional concerts and will not include the play.

McEntire will be very much in the spotlight as the year comes to a close. She's scheduled to star in a television Christmas movie titled ''Secret of Giving'' on CBS (which will be preceded by the release of an album of the same name) in November, and will be the subject of an A&E ''Biography'' during the same month.

The build-up ends with the release of McEntire's new studio album, So Good Together, on Nov. 23.