The Margulies shake-up

Doings at the Geffen Playhouse...

Out goes one play by Donald Margulies: the world premiere of "The Elephant in the Room" to be replaced by "Shipwrecked An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself)." Apparently you can do this when you're an established playwright in possession of a commission with a given theater company. I give you Center Theatre Group, which has subbed the David Mamet musical "A Waitress in Yellowstone" a couple of times, but will slip in a couple of Mamet one-acts where "Waitress" was supposed to go.

Back to Margulies, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Dinner with Friends," "Sight Unseen," "Collected Stories" and "Brooklyn Boy." Daniel Sullivan, who has directed many of the playwrights' premiers both in New York and at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, was not available to tackle "Elephant" until next season. So the Geffen will hold onto it, and produce "Shipwrecked" instead. I suspect this is a cost saving maneuver as well as a creative necessity.

Shipwrecked," which is apparently something of a tour de force by actor Gregory Itzin, played Costa Mesa's South Coast Repertory last Fall. It will now transfer, with Itzin and director Bart DeLorenzo (who helmed the mess that was "The Joan Rivers Theatre Project"). I didn't see it, figuring that Margulies -- with two plays on the horizon for the 07-08 season _ was getting positively ubiquitous. (Plus I hated his last play, "Brooklyn Boy.").

The Geffen and SCR seem to have Margulies in common as both venues routinely stage the man's work. Fair enough.

"Shipwrecked!" opens June 25 and runs through Aug. 3. Visit GeffenPlayhouse.com or call (310) 208-5454 for tickets.