Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Woody Harrelson will head up the cast of a new Sam Shepard play in a San Francisco production slated for the early fall 2000. The news was announced on the Feb. 16 "Larry King Live" program on CNN, where Nolte was a guest. Nolte, a 1999 Academy Award nominee for "Affliction," most recently appeared in the Shepard film, "Simpatico," based on his play. Penn, up for a 2000 Academy Award in Woody Allen's "Sweet And Lowdown," was also nominated for 1996's "Dead Man Walking." Harrelson starred in the Roundabout Theatre's 1999 revival of The Rainmaker, after appearing in such films as "Natural Born Killers," "Kingpin" and his Academy Award-nominated turn as Larry Flynt in "The People vs. Larry Flynt." All three actors appeared in Terrence Malick's Academy Award nominated film, The Thin Red Line.

Cheech Marin and James Gammon are also said to be set for the cast. Marin is best known for the 70's Cheech & Chong comedy team and comic film roles in "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Tin Cup" and "The Lion King." Gammon was Tony nominated for the Gary Sinise revival of Shepard's Buried Child, also performing in the playwright's Curse of the Starving Class and Simpatico Off-Broadway.

San Francisco sources point to the Cowell Theatre as a probable location for the September production.

-- By Christine Ehren