The Vivian Beaumont Theatre, the Broadway theatre that operates at New York's Lincoln Center, will close for most of 1996 for renovation. When the run of "Racing Demon" concludes Dec. 31, the theatre that has housed "Six Degrees of Separation," "Carousel," "The Sisters Rosensweig," "Arcadia" and "Anything Goes" will close for an estimated six to eight months so engineers can replace the 30-year-old heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. A new lighting and set grid will be installed over the stage, and the theatre will be made more accessible to wheelchairs.

The Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, the off-Broadway theatre in the Beaumont's basement, will remain in operation during the renovation upstairs. Jon Robin Baitz' "A Fair Country" is scheduled to open there Feb. 1.

Lincoln Center Theatre, the producing company that operate the Beaumont and Newhouse theatres, has leased Broadway's Plymouth Theatre for its next mainstage production, a revival of Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance" on March 28.