LOS ANGELES -- The Fog of War, the new play by Sheldon Penner which opened Oct. 23 at Theatre/Theater, has had to shut down its run because one of its lead actors got 9 weeks work on a film in Luxembourg.

Under the Equity waiver contract with small theatres in Los Angeles, union actors agree to work for as little as 7 dollars a performance but in turn are free to leave the show if they land lucrative work in TV or films.

The news, said director Jeff Murray, was "great for him, disastrous for the production. After reviewing our options, producer Nicolette Chaffey and I have decided to postpone the whole run until Jan. 8, 1999.

Murray characterized Penner's work, which deals with racial and political issues in 21st-century America, as "a unique little play. It's social science fiction...that attempts to pull together some of our society's more divisive issues and come up with, if not answers, at least perspectives that reflect our greater more honorable American truths."

The production would have marked the 300th major show since the inception of Theatre/Theater back in May, 1982, and the first in the company's B space at its new home base in Hollywood. "We were initially quite unsure about this piece, however our previews and the three performances we did have have left us much more secure about how a racially mixed L.A. audience might receive this production and about our desire to give the play the premiere we feel it deserves," said Murray.

Theatre/Theater is located at 6425 Hollywood Blvd. Call (323) 871-0210.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent