Frederic H. Gwynne '51 and Nicholas Benton '51, veterans of two Hasty Pudding shows, will take lead roles again in the 103rd annual production, "Buddha Knows best," executive director Charles H. Blake announced yesterday.

The musical opens in Cambridge on Friday, December 8 and will run at the Hasty Pudding clubhouse until December 20, After playing at the Rhode Island School of Design Theatre in Providence on December 21, the show will move to uptown New York for a run at the Kaufmann Theatre. The run will last from December 26 to January 1, with time out on December 29 for a Pudding "Specialty Show" at the Stork Club.

"Buddha Knows Best" is an epic of political intrigue in the jungles of Lower Cambodia. Gwynne will play a bone hunting explorer, with Benton cast opposite in the feminine lead as a Cambodian Dragon Lady, the "Princess Ting-li."

Charles Byron '52 provides the international angle with a characterization of Chow Chee, a cannibalistic Communist. Kerry Lyne '52 plays a rambunctious Milwaukee debutante in pursuit of Gwynne.

Richard T. Button '52 plays Nubi, a native maidservant, and Larry A. Hansen '51, David T. Owsley '51, and James P. Wood '51 complete the cast.