THEATER PREVIEW:NTAC shows colors

To celebrate its 29th year of activity, the Newport Theater Arts Center is taking on a patriotic tone. The newly announced lineup of plays for 2007-08 has been dubbed the Red, White and Blue Season.

This five-play schedule of shows with a distinctly American theme will get underway Sept. 14 with John Guare’s 1971 Critics Award winner, “The House of Blue Leaves.” The goofy inhabitants of this treatise on New York life include a middle-aged zookeeper who dreams of becoming a songwriter, his nutty wife, his mistress and his AWOL son.

Things come to a head when the pope visits the Big Apple and a dire plot is uncovered. Michael Ross is directing the dark comedy-farce, which will run through Oct. 14. Auditions are scheduled for Aug. 6 and 7 at the theater, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach, and all roles are open.

“Crossing Delancey,” Susan Sandler’s account of a young Jewish woman who works in a bookstore and dreams of romance with a “name” writer, occupies the second slot in the NTAC schedule.

The conflict in this romantic comedy arises when the girl’s grandmother arranges a match with a young pickle merchant. Terri Miller Schmidt will direct, and the show is ticketed from Nov. 15 through Dec. 16.

Next up will be the time-honored but seldom produced military drama “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.” This is Herman Wouk’s stage adaptation of the courtroom segment of his celebrated novel, “The Caine Mutiny,” in which a naval lieutenant goes on trial for relieving his psychopathic captain at sea.

Directed by Gigi Fusco Meese, “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” will be convened from Jan. 25 through Feb. 24.

A.R. Gurney’s “The Cocktail Hour” focuses on a young playwright who returns home to obtain permission to use his wealthy family as characters in his new play. This leads to a cocktail hour confrontation as family secrets bubble to the surface. David Colley is directing the comedy, which was a long-running success in New York. Performance dates are March 28 through April 27.

NTAC will revive one of Cole Porter’s biggest hits, “Anything Goes,” to wind up its 2007-08 season. Larry Watts is directing.

Familiar songs such as “Friendship,” “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “You’re the Top” dot this romantic musical comedy set aboard an ocean liner. Sailing dates are May 30 through June 29.

Preceding all this activity will be “Westward Whoa,” a family summer show planned from Aug. 3 through 12. More information on NTAC’s upcoming program may be obtained by calling the theater box office at (929) 631-0288.