FIRST OFF . . .

The Arts & Entertainment cable network is launching a series of four one-act plays by prize-winning playwrights to run under the umbrella title of “American Playwrights Theater: The One Acts.” The first will be Tennessee Williams’ “27 Wagons Full of Cotton,” starring Lesley Ann Warren, Ray Sharkey and Peter Boyle, set for airing this fall. The others will be Eugene O’Neill’s “The Robe,” Marsha Norman’s “Third and Oak: The Pool Hall” and Paul Zindel’s “Let Me Hear You Whisper.” Anthony Quinn will host the series.