ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

STAGE

‘Hughie’ Replaces ‘Tiger’: When Al Pacino takes the stage of the Mark Taper Forum in Eugene O’Neill’s 1941 play “Hughie” (June 27 to July 25), he’ll be reprising a role that he played first at the Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut and then on Broadway in 1996. This high-profile replacement fills a hole left when South African playwright-actor-director Athol Fugard decided that he will no longer act, prompting the cancellation of his play “The Captain’s Tiger.” The 66-year-old Fugard, saying he wants to focus on writing, just finished a run of “The Captain’s Tiger” at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club; his last L.A. appearance was in the Taper’s “Valley Song,” in 1997. Meanwhile, tickets for “Hughie,” which Pacino also directs, don’t go on sale until May 23; however, Taper season subscriptions--which include “Hughie”--are still available.

POP/ROCK

Babs Should Ring in the Bucks: How many zeros are in the year 2000? If you’re Barbra Streisand, the answer looks like six. Sources say the singer is finally close to inking a deal to play Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on New Year’s Eve--an appearance that some observers say could earn her $20 million or more if Streisand agrees to perform for two nights. The ticket prices? Streisand commanded a top price of $1,000 for her New Year’s Eve show at the 13,000-capacity MGM Grand in 1993, so wouldn’t fans pay twice that for the year 2000 occasion? Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a concert industry trade magazine, says it’s natural to expect the amounts to rise this time around. “There are high rollers in Vegas who put $1,000 down on black at the roulette table, so it’s not hard to imagine them doing it for this,” he says. “New Year’s Eve this year is going to be a fat payday for a lot of artists who perform.” Streisand’s manager, Marty Erlichman, says the deal is close. “Right now, it looks good,” he said, declining to cite details. “I can’t tell you what the number is because no deal is signed.”

TV & MOVIES

Another ‘ER’ Departure: Julianna Margulies plans to leave NBC’s “ER” at the end of next season. During a visit to the syndicated “Howie Mandel Show” Wednesday, the actress, who won an Emmy for her role as nurse Carol Hathaway, said she wants to “go back home to New York. . . . I’m homesick. I want to get back on the stage and do some independent films.” Margulies, who said her contract will keep her with the show through May 2000, added that she cried after George Clooney, her love interest on the show, filmed his last scene as a regular last week. Clooney’s final episode airs Feb. 18.

Writers Lauded: Writers Guild of America nominees for best original screenplay of 1998 are Warren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser (“Bulworth”), Don Roos (“The Opposite of Sex”), Robert Rodat (“Saving Private Ryan”), Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”) and Andrew Niccol (“The Truman Show”). In the adapted screenplay category, the nominees are Steven Zaillian, for his adaptation of Jonathan Harr’s book “A Civil Action”; Bill Condon, for “Gods and Monsters,” based on Christopher Bram’s novel “Father of Frankenstein”; Scott Frank, for adapting the Elmore Leonard novel “Out of Sight”; Elaine May, for “Primary Colors,” based on the Joe “Anonymous” Klein novel of the same name; and Scott B. Smith, for the movie version of his own novel, “A Simple Plan.” Meanwhile, Frank Military, the writer of Showtime’s cable movie “Blind Faith,” will receive the Paul Selvin Award for the script that “best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties which are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.” The WGA presents its awards on Feb. 20, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Thumbs Up to Rest: Gene Siskel is taking a break from movie criticism to recuperate from brain surgery. In addition to the syndicated “Siskel & Ebert,” Siskel also will suspend his reviews for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago’s WBBM-TV, CBS’ “This Morning” and TV Guide. “I’m in a hurry to get well because I don’t want Roger to get more screen time than I,” Siskel said, referring to his TV partner, Roger Ebert, who will host the syndicated show solo. Siskel had emergency surgery May 11 to remove a growth in his brain. He resumed his full workload a few weeks later, but said he’s now taking his doctor’s advice to take some time off. He hopes to return to work next fall.

Editors’ Picks: The American Cinema Editors on Thursday nominated “The Horse Whisperer,” “Out of Sight,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Thin Red Line” as the best-edited feature film of 1998. Nominees for the best-edited TV drama are CBS’ “Chicago Hope,” ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and WB’s “Felicity.” Winners will be announced March 13.