LOS ANGELES -- Mark Taper Forum's 1997-98 season concludes with Dealer's Choice, a British import. It will open April 10 for a six-week run, replacing the previously announced House Arrest by Anna Deavere Smith.

Written by Patrick Marber, Dealer's Choice had its premiere at the Royal National Theatre in London where it won several best-play awards. Marber recently copped the Olivier Award for Best Play with his latest work Closer.

"Patrick Marber is one of the new, exciting crop of English writers making their mark on the contemporary London stage," said Gordon Davidson, the Center Theatre Group's artistic/producing director. "And with Dealer's Choice , Marber made an explosive theatrical debut. It's a work of wonderful humor, depth and intensity, written by a craftsman who, with insight beyond his years, has created delicious roles for six actors."

In Marber's drama, six men play poker into the wild, wee hours of the morning, pitting relationships against compulsions, in a charged atmosphere of emotion and wry, competitive humor, said a company spokesperson.

Taper producing director Robert Egan will direct. He recently directed two other British dramas for CTG, Skylight and Arcadia. Dealer's Choice has also been produced at the Manhattan Theatre Club, where it drew largely favorable reviews.

The Mark Taper Forum is located at 135 N. Grand Ave. Call (213) 628-2772.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent