Drop-Dead Backdrop : Celebration: The Performing Arts Center kicks off its 5th anniversary with ‘something a little different’--a fashion show full of sparkle and spice.

A display of fashion daring and erotic fantasy kept 3,000 guests glued to their seats Friday when the Orange County Performing Arts Center kicked off its 5th anniversary in Segerstrom Hall.

It isn’t easy to stun the Center crowd; we’re not talking a wet-behind-the-ears bunch here.

But “The Center of Fashion’s” revealing clothing and provocative pas de deux sent some eyebrows soaring when the curtain went up.

One of the first to create a sensation was model Jean Moriarty the statuesque blonde who is arts leader Henry Segerstrom’s niece. Down the glossy white ramp she swept, slithering in silver spangles. Then she turned around, and the crowd gasped as they beheld her derriere-baring Adrienne Vittadini gown.

“I warned my parents they would see a part of me they hadn’t seen since they powdered me as a baby,” Moriarty joked later. “Truth is, they pinned the back up . It was supposed to go even lower.”

Another stir was created when voluptuous Jolene Engel, wife of Center board member Richard Engel, sailed down the ramp in a bosom-baring lace bathing suit. Overheard: “If I wore that, it just wouldn’t be the same.”

Then there was the erotic dance featuring a man (in briefs) and a scantily clad woman undulating as they suggested, um, just about everything. All this while fashions from Barneys New York were being shown. The audience tittered with embarrassment.

“I thought I’d try something a little different this year,” said Carlton Burnett, the show’s producer/director. “Give it a little spice. I didn’t think the audience was going to laugh at it, though. That was sort of funny.”

It wasn’t all racy. The fashion extravaganza organized by the Guilds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center began traditionally enough with a sparkling sartorial salute to “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”

But not before a show-damper. “Due to an early morning robbery,” announced emcee Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger), “Stracci will present only three items.” During the wee hours, the exclusive Newport Beach boutique had been stripped of its fall collection worth $100,000.

Before the three-hour production was over, the crowd had seen everything from billowing bridal gowns (one, a satin number splashed with colorful beads, has been ordered by actor Jack Nicholson’s soon-to-be daughter-in-law) from The Bride to clingy lingerie from Fogal-Merletto.

Not to mention the rainbow of glitzed gowns presented by the show’s featured designer, Stephen Yearick. “The master of the beaded gown,” announced Guilds’ chairwoman Fiona Petersen as the couturier came on stage. “Mr. Yearick has flown in samples from all around the country for this show” ($750,000 worth).

The matinee and evening performances that raised $175,000 for the Center had other surprises. Among them were honorary chairwoman Kathryn Thompson strutting on the ramp in a fedora and pin-stripe suit from David Rickey and Company, Harry Esayian (husband of show chairwoman Shari Esayian) looking drop-dead chic in a brocade tux by Yearick, and a Nefertiti-looking model lowered--oh, so slowly--from the ceiling in a white spangled silhouette-hugger, also by Yearick.

Center President Thomas Kendrick got a lion’s share of the day’s applause when he told the happy crowd: “The Guilds is one of the finest volunteer groups in the country.”

The production was underwritten with donations from Newport Center Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza.

Other stores represented in the show were A’Marees, Armoire, Bruestle Collection, Emporio Armani, Giorgio Beverly Hills, I. Magnin, Joan Vass, La Galleria, Liz Claiborne, Mi Place, Modasport, Mondi, Polo Ralph Lauren and Saks Fifth Avenue.

More “Celebrate! The Center at 5”: The Center’s 5th anniversary celebration continues Wednesday with “Starlight Expressions,” a gala featuring entertainers Ann Jillian and Ben Vereen, with tables on stage in Segerstrom Hall selling from $5,000 to $25,000.

Proceeds from the event are expected to finance most of the anniversary activities. Rick Muth and Kathryn Thompson are co-chairmen of the soiree that will go down in local history as The Gala of the Decade. (Psssst: Gov. Pete Wilson plans to attend.)

Festivities continue Thursday with “Boots & Black Tie,” a Western romp in Segerstrom Hall that will feature entertainment by Tony Award-winning Roger Miller and singer/songwriter Hal Ketchum. (The good news: There are still tickets available for this $200-per-person gala. Call (714) 556-2121.) Richard Engel, Marcy Mulville and Ed Halvajian are chairing the event. Word’s out that not all women will be wearing Western. A dressy little black dress (say, with a sheriff’s badge for a brooch, or a gun holster for a belt? ) will do just fine.

On Saturday, the Center will present the regional arts organizations in a “Gala Concert” at Segerstrom Hall. Featured will be flutist James Galway and international opera stars Pablo Elvira and Diana Soviero. Carl St. Clair will conduct. The concert signifies the first time that the five organizations that make Segerstrom Hall their home--the Orange County Philharmonic Society, Opera Pacific, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Chorale and Master Chorale of Orange County--have contributed artistically to a single evening’s program.

Tickets for the concert and pre-show champagne reception in the Center lobby are $16 to $55. Special tickets that also include a post-concert supper are $250 each. Randi Larsen, Betsy Boulton and Anne Nutt are in charge.

On Sunday, Center supporters will gather for a free birthday bash, complete with cake and the trimmings. Carol Wilken is chairwoman.

Janice Johnson and Les McCraw are chairmen of the Center’s 5th anniversary celebration. Henry and Renee Segerstrom and William and Willa Dean Lyon are honorary chairmen.