THEATER PREVIEW:

If you visit the Huntington Beach Playhouse next year, chances are you’ll be familiar with the shows being presented. With one exception, they all fall into the category of golden oldies.

Only the August musical — “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” — may be unfamiliar to local audiences. The others all are quite recognizable since all have been transformed into popular movies.

Leading off the 2009 schedule is one of the most revered musicals of all time, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s swan song, “The Sound of Music.” This fact-based story of a would-be nun who becomes governess, and later stepmother, to a group of seven children in Austria just before World War II will be directed by Larry Watts and will run from Jan. 2 to 25.

One of the screen’s classic screwball comedies, which showcased Cary Grant at his funniest, originally was a stage play. Joseph Kesselring’s “Arsenic and Old Lace” focuses on the Grant character’s two lethal aunties and his murderous black-sheep brother. It will run from Feb. 27 to March 20 with a director yet to be assigned.

“My Three Angels” may not be familiar to movie fans, since it was released under the title “We’re No Angels,” but the title characters (convicts Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray) certainly were well known. It’ll play from May 1 to 24 with Gregory Cohen directing.

One of the stage’s most involving dramas came from a young girl’s writings as she and her family hid from the Nazis in an Amsterdam loft. “The Diary of Anne Frank” recreates this tension-laced period and will play locally from July 3 to 26 under the direction of Michael Serna.

The aforementioned “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is a musical by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts centering on a modern romantic relationship. Terri Miller Schmidt will stage the Huntington Beach version, on stage from Aug. 14 to Sept. 6.

Finally, the playhouse will revive one of the stage’s most popular comedies of all time, Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple.” This laugh-laden story of two mismatched divorced roommates will play from Oct. 7 to 25 and will be directed by Jim Rice.

The playhouse’s 2009 season has been trimmed from seven shows to six, while the run of each show will be expanded from three weekends to four. Subscription prices have been reduced for the new season, and the $5 Wednesday night student walk-up tickets have been expanded to include Thursday night.

The Huntington Beach Playhouse produces its shows in the Library Theater of the city’s Central Library, at 7111 Talbert Ave. For more information, call (714) 375-0696 or visit hbph.com.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.