The Producers, Mel Brooks' romp about a failed Broadway producer, his nebbishy accountant and their scheme to bilk investors through a meant-to-fail musical called Springtime for Hitler, is expected to be so popular that it will be presented for three June weekends instead of the normal two.

The other big show, Chicago, a light hearted take on adultery, gangsters and murder, will be on the local stage in February.

This is the first year that both Chicago and The Producers have been available to community theaters. Randy Wilson, artistic director for The Theatre Company, said, "I have tried for 11 years to get Chicago. Every year I apply [for the rights], and this year it loomed on my PC. It is something everybody's wanted to do for a long time. ...

"We think we can do it differently than the movie or the current revival. I got to see it in its original version with Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon, and will take some of that for our production."

Wilson termed the upcoming season "varied," saying, "It offers something for everyone."

The new season was announced during a July 13 preview party at The Theatre Company's home in Bryan's Tejas Center.

The schedule for next season is:

• Cinderella, Sept. 19-21 and 25-28, underwritten by the Principal Financial Group and The Family Support Network, Eva Benavides and Matt Burhus.

• Jekyll & Hyde, Nov. 14-16 and 21-23, underwritten by Tom Light Chevrolet and The TECH Training Group, Larry and Kim Dooley.

• Chicago, Feb. 19-22 and Feb. 27-March 1, underwritten by Alan Bryant and Texas ENT & Allergy, Dr. Andrew and Jenni de Jong.

• Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, April 17-19 and 24-26, underwritten by Walker Chiropractic and Leonard and Linda Ponder.

• The Producers, June 5-7, 12-14 and 19-21, underwritten by A&M Alpaca Ranch, Anita and Mickey Gross, and Dr. James Kyle Vick.

• Damn Yankees, July 31, Aug. 1-2 and 6-9, underwritten by WhitEyes Enterprises, Freddie Seals, and Shirley Borden and Robert C. Borden.

Shows are staged at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Season tickets are $75 each for adults and $35 for children under 12. They soon will be available at www.theatrecompany.com and can be purchased at The Theatre Company box office one hour before show time for The Pajama Game, the final production of this year's season. Season brochures will be available at the box office before each show and at the Arts Council of Brazos Valley.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote Cinderella for CBS-TV in 1957. It was written specifically for Julie Andrews, who was starring in My Fair Lady on Broadway at the time. It proved so popular that Rodgers and Hammerstein reworked it for Broadway.

Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the theatrical Jekyll & Hyde features music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, who wrote lyrics for What Kind of Fool Am I?, The Candy Man, and the James Bond themes Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice.

Jekyll & Hyde originated at Houston's Alley Theatre and opened on Broadway in 1997. It vaulted Wildhorn's then-wife, Linda Eder, to musical theater stardom.

Like the novel on which it is based, Jekyll & Hyde focuses on the duality of human nature -- the good and evil -- through the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alternate personality, Edward Hyde.

Chicago has had many incarnations, first as a 1926 play by journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins, based on crimes she covered as a reporter. It was turned into a silent film by Cecil B. DeMille the next year and another film version starring Ginger Rogers in 1942.

In 1975, John Kander and Fred Ebb, the musical geniuses behind Cabaret and Kiss of the Spider Woman, turned the play Chicago into a Broadway musical with choreography by Bob Fosse. It had 936 performances.

The musical was revived in 1996 and continues to be a Broadway hit with close to 5,000 performances. It was a 2002 movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Queen Latifah.

Big River features music and lyrics by country singer Roger Miller, who had big hits with King of the Road and Dang Me. It opened on Broadway in 1985 and ran for 1,005 performances.

A revival in 2003 was remarkable in that half the actors were deaf or hearing-impaired. The dialogue and lyrics were both spoken and signed.

The Producers is a Broadway phenomenon, opening to acclaim in 2001 and running for 2,502 performances. A 2005 film starred original Broadway cast members Nathan Lane as failed Broadway producer Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as accountant Leo Bloom.

The farce revolves around attempts by the two to get rich by convincing little old ladies to invest in a musical based on Nazi Germany, Springtime for Hitler. They over-sell the show, expecting to close on opening night, as had Bialystock's previous shows. They raise $2 million, hire the worst director and cast, and prepare to abscond to Rio de Janeiro with the money.

But Springtime for Hitler is a huge hit, Max and Leo get sent to jail, and, once pardoned, do become successful Broadway producers,

Damn Yankees opened in 1955 and ran for 1,019 performances. It features music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The two collaborated on The Pajama Game, The Theatre Company's current season finale in August. Damn Yankees is by the legendary George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, based on Wallop's novel, The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant.

Broadway newcomer Gwen Verdon, who had a small role in Can-Can, took the lead in Damn Yankees as Lola. Ray Walston played the devilish Mr. Applegate. Fosse had his first Broadway hit with Damn Yankees' choreography.

The musical revolves around Joe Boyd, an aging fan of the Washington Senators baseball team, who sells his soul to the devil to become a player for his favorite team. Although successful with his team, Joe misses his wife and former life. Mr. Applegate -- the devil -- fears losing Joe's soul, so he sends Lola to tempt into keeping his part of the bargain.

Tickets remain for The Pajama Game, to be presented Aug. 1-3 and 8-10. Tickets are available online, at The Theatre Company box office before the show and at the Arts Council of Brazos Valley.

Tickets for evening performances are $12 and for matinees, $10. Children under 12 are admitted for $5.

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