THEATER REVIEW:

Certain fictional references have found their way into a permanent place in the lexicon. If, for instance, a military officer is referred to as a “Captain Bligh,” the connection is instantaneous, even though seven decades have passed since Charles Laughton created this indelible character on the screen.

The same holds true for a “Captain Queeg” — a bullying martinet fixated on minutiae — with the genesis being only 20 years more current. Humphrey Bogart saw to that back in 1954 in a legendary screen performance.

Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Caine Mutiny” and its ensuing movie version rank among the upper echelon of military dramas. In the same year the movie came out, Wouk’s adaptation of the courtroom segment arrived on Broadway as “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.”

Seldom produced these days (one local production over the last 40-plus years), the play is undergoing a generally compelling revival at the Newport Theatre Arts Center, where director Gigi Fusco Meese has assembled a strong cast of varied abilities.

The play centers on the key question — was the Caine’s executive officer justified in taking the helm from Captain Queeg at the height of a Pacific typhoon? And why or why not? Wouk presents riveting arguments for both prosecution and defense.

Following Bogart in one of his signature performances is no easy task, but Newport’s Michael Turner makes the role of Queeg his own, descending from an apex of cool confidence into a maelstrom of fury and anxiety in the witness chair. Turner even manages to perspire visibly as his stewardship of the Caine comes in for increasing criticism under the defense counsel’s meticulous assault.

In the latter role, that of Marine lawyer Barney Greenwald, Geoffrey Varga brings an air of superior intelligence and legal strategy, though his delivery is not always on target. Varga compensates for his uneven performance in court with a stirring “toast” at the Caine crew’s victory party.

As Steve Maryk, the accused mutineer, Eldon Callaway delivers a strong, earnest portrayal, mindful of his character’s intellectual limitations and resolute in the defense of his actions. Paul Breazeale as junior officer Willie Keith, who sided with Maryk at sea, barks his lines with a drill sergeant’s cadence, limiting our assessment of his character.

The key role of Lt. Thomas Keefer, the novelist whose observations of the captain ignited Maryk’s course of action, is a tricky one, but Gary Spangler handles it smoothly, compensating in facial reaction for what is missing in dialogue. Tom Killam enacts the prosecuting attorney’s role with authority.

Trial witnesses in cameo scenes often give the show a jump start. Shane Cullum is particularly effective as the naive enlisted signalman inserted for some rare comic relief, while John Warner Roberts overplays his part as a ship-handling expert, booming out his responses as if issuing commands at sea.

Best of the corps of witnesses is Andrew Kelley as an egocentric psychiatrist. His acid-tipped answers most tellingly define the line between the citizen sailor and the regular Navy types. Rob Kerr also is quite strong as another medical expert.

Newport’s production of “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” is a faithful and often quite powerful rendering of a classic military drama which still registers with resounding effect a half century after its birth.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial”

WHERE: Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

WHEN: Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. until Feb. 24

COST: $15

CALL: (949) 631-0288

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Thursdays.