Irish playwright Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets closes July 3, finishing off the Magic Theatre's 1998-99 season. The play began performances June 2 and opened June 8 at the theatre's San Francisco home.

Jones' Stones in His Pockets replaced the previously announced Quills. Quills, a black comedy about the writings of the Marquis de Sade, was postponed because of the filming commitments of playwright Doug Wright, according to a released statement. Magic hopes to reinstate the play at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season with Wright directing.

Stones tells of two down on their luck Irishmen (played by Kurt Reinhardt and Mark Phillips) working as extras on a Hollywood film being shot in the Irish countryside. When the men find themselves dissatisfied with the American look at their culture, they begin to construct the perfect Irish film. Belfast-born Jones is best known for her play, Women on the Verge of H.R.T..

Magic Theatre Literary Manager and Artistic Associate Kent Nicholson will direct Stones. Mark Philips (Magic's True West) and Kurt Reinhardt (Magic's Baltimore Waltz and Mozart's Journey to Prague) star as the Irish extras.

For tickets ($30-$18), call (415) 441-8822. The Magic Theatre is located in Building D at the Fort Mason Center. As for the Magic's 1999-00 season, the company has received a $100,000 grant from the National Theatre Artist Residency (via the Pew Charitable Trusts and TCG) to help complete and stage John O'Keefe's Bronte Cycle trilogy. A $16,500 NEA grant will also help O'Keefe and other writers in residency at the Magic.