Though a poster for a play called Amazons in August went up in NYC's Shubert Alley way back in summer 1998, plans for the new Ernest Thompson work never materialized and are officially off the table.

Kathleen Raitt told Playbill On-Line (March 7) that she and co-producer Bill Haber eventually dropped the project when they were unable to find appropriate star casting.

In July 1998, Raitt told PBOL, "We need two `names' for this project. Casting is essential, and we're working daily on it." A June 5, 1998 report by Variety that Sally Field was "being courted" for a starring role was apparently premature. "She was never on board," Raitt said. "She hadn't even seen the script when that story came out, so we really don't want to start saying who we're talking to until the decisions are made."

Eugene Lee (Show Boat, On The Waterfront) was to have done the set design.

Asked to elaborate on the plot of Amazons in August, Raitt said the comedy/drama concerns two women who meet in New York. "One is an actress of a certain age, another is from the Midwest, here for medical treatment. They meet and go through hilarious and difficult times. We call it `a comedy of survival.'" Playwright Thompson, who penned On Golden Pond, would have also directed Amazons. Producers Raitt and Haber are now developing other projects, including the musicals Storyville and Nothing in Common and the solo comedy, The Book Club.

- By David Lefkowitz