LOS ANGELES -- Anna Deavere Smith's new play House Arrest has been dropped from this season's schedule at the Mark Taper Forum, announced artistic director Gordon Davidson.

"The size and scope of this play are so vast and complex that all of us feel it is better served by taking more time to work on it," Davidson said.

The Clinton presidency and its treatment by the media are major subjects of House Arrest , which was scheduled to begin previews April 5 for a six-week run.

Reacting to what she called "the Greek drama which is being played out in Washington right now," Smith agreed with Davidson that the play should be postponed.

"I need to observe and understand this complicated new chapter in our history and see how it will inform my work," she said. A first version of House Arrest was performed in fall 1997 at Washington DC's Arena Stage, where it was panned by the Washington Post but received mixed but encouraging reviews from other critics.

Davidson stated that no decision has been made yet on a replacement show for House Arrest , which is expected to play sometime in the 1998-99 season.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent