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Anna D. Shapiro, helmer of Rialto play "August: Osage County" and a mainstay at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, passed on an offer to be a.d. of American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., according to insiders.

The Shapiro nix has set back the Harvard U.-affiliated non-profit's search for a successor to former a.d. Robert Woodruff, who ankled in December 2006. Gideon Lester is currently acting artistic director.

Brian Kulick, a.d. of Off Broadway's Classic Stage Company and playwright Paula Vogel also were eyed for the A.R.T. position. Helmer James Lapine ("The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee") was sought to throw his hat in the ring but declined, according to the Boston Globe.

Woodruff was part of a trio of leaders -- including associate a.d. Lester and managing director Robert Orchard -- who succeeded founder Robert Brustein in 2002.