Gregory Mosher, the artistic director who made Lincoln Center Theatre one of the most robust institutional theatres in New York before stepping down in 1991, has been chosen to succeed Theodore Mann as head of the troubled Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway.

Mann resigned Aug. 23, reportedly in a dispute with co-artistic director, Josephine Abady. Abady has been asked for her resignation by the theatre's board of directors, which declared the 45-year-old theatre company bankrupt during the last week in August.

A spokesperson for the production said Abady has not yet responded to the request.

The entire season announced by Abady is "on hold" according to the spokesman. The New York Times reported that the season has been scrapped: Brian Murray's revival of The Entertainer, David Warren's staging of George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance, Michael Breault's interpretation of Elmer Rice's Counsellor-at-Law, and Sidney Howard's The Late Christopher Bean.

The spokesman said Circle in the Square's current production, Al Pacino's Hughie, which has been extended to Oct. 9, may be extended further, all of which gives Mosher time to plan a new season. Mosher's season is expected to be announced in "the next couple of weeks."The New York Post reported that Mosher is considering a David Mamet play for the season.

The Times quoted Theodore R. Sayers, the theater's board chairman, as saying, "From here on in, Gregory is selecting the plays, the casts and directors."

Abady, former artistic director of the Cleveland Play House and the Berkshire Theater Festival, referred questions about the situation to her lawyer.

Quoting the theatre's filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the Times reported that the theater lost $241,000 in the year that ended Aug. 31, with debts of more than $1.5 million.

-- By Robert Viagas