Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! is the first in the National Asian American Theatre Company's season-long "Culture of Kinship" series. The 1993 comedy opens Tuesday, July 22 at the Mint Theatre, 311 West 43rd Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, after four previews.

Stephen Stout directs an ensemble of 12.

NATCO, now in it's seventh season, according to artistic director Mia Katigbak, "presents Western classics without forced Asian culture associations. Our goal is to contemporize them with casting that reflects the changing face of America."

She said that by "presenting an entire season of American classics about American families with Asian American casts, we hope to affirm their relevance across time and culture."

This season the company will feature two other portraits of the American family: O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night in November and Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's comedy You Can't Take It With You in February, 1998. Ah, Wilderness!, running through Aug. 3, performs Tues.- Sun. At 7 PM and with matinees on Sat. And Sun. At 2 PM. For reservations and information, call (212) 505-3003.

-- By Ellis Nassour