On Theater:

Much like its closing production, the 2009-10 season for the Newport Theater Arts Center will be offering some oldies but goodies.

That final show, “Smokey Joe’s Café,” celebrates the music of the 1950s with nearly 40 songs from that bygone era, which ushered in rock ‘n’ roll. It’ll be presented in May and June under the direction of Larry Watts.

The Newport theater company also has selected some certified oldies to round out the new season, beginning with Andrew Bergman’s “Social Security,” a comedy that transcends the gender gap. Phyllis Gitlin will direct the show about an art dealer couple and the wife’s feisty mother, ticketed for Sept. 11 to Oct. 11.

A blind woman battles three murderous thugs in “Wait Until Dark,” the arts center’s entry in the Nov. 13 to Dec. 13 slot.

The stage version of the Audrey Hepburn suspense-filled movie will be directed by Terri Miller Schmidt.

Gigi Fusco Meese, who directed “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” a while back, takes on another military courtroom drama with “A Few Good Men,” scheduled to run from Jan. 22 to Feb. 21.

Aaron Sorkin’s story of a naval officer defending two Marines on murder charges will be remembered by cinephiles for the screen clash between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.

Reaching back more than a few years, the arts center will present “A Cup of Coffee” by one of Hollywood’s noted directors, Preston Sturges, March 26 through April 25.

The comedy that inspired the movie “Christmas in July” will be directed by Yvonne Robertson.

Finally, “Smokey Joe’s Café” arrives, celebrating the songs of Leiber and Stoller, which characterized the ’50s musical climate. The toes will be tapping from May 28 through June 27.

For the Newport Theater Arts Center, it’ll mark the completion of the playhouse’s third decade.

The center was born in 1980 in a former church building owned by the city of Newport Beach. The theater’s president, Rae Cohen, has been the guiding light of the organization from the beginning.

The theater is at 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach. Reservations and additional information may be garnered at (949) 631-0288.

Orange Coast College will conduct auditions for Anton Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters” at 6 p.m. Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 in the college’s Drama Lab. Scripts are available in the theater department’s upstairs office in the Drama Lab.

Theater department Chairman Alex Golson will direct the play set in the Russia in 1900, which runs from Oct. 15 to 26. Roles are available for seven women and eight men, ages 17 or older. For more information, call the department at (714) 432-5640, ext. 5.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.