LOS ANGELES -- Short plays by Arthur Miller and Jane Anderson top the bill of fare comprising Theatre 40's tenth annual one-act festival, opening Jan. 22, 1999 at the company's Beverly Hills home.

Produced by Stewart J. Zully, who originated Theatre 40's festival 10 years ago, the bill includes four plays, three of which are Los Angeles premieres.

Arthur Miller's play is Elegy for a Lady, which will be directed by April Webster. MIller described Elegy as "a play of shadows under the tree of death." It has not been seen in Los Angeles before.

Jane Anderson's play is Tough Choices for the New Century, a satirical look at a millennium-preparedness seminar. Rick Sparks directs.

A Bowl of Soup by Eric Lane will be given its West Coast premierre at the festival. It concerns a man's heartfelt attempt to comfort his grieving brother. Flora Plumb directs. The fourth play, a world premiere, is David Lindsay-Abair's How We Talk in South Boston, directed by Zully, who describes it as "'All in the Family' on cable gone completely amok in the next millennium."

Through Feb. 21, 1999 at 241 Moreno Drive. Call (323) 660- 8587.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent