There are a couple of brand new theaters in the Salt Lake area, and some older theaters are changing directions — and venues. Meanwhile, several world- and regional-premiere stage shows are scheduled, along with the usual suspects.

A few well-known stars are also coming — Molly Ringwald in "Sweet Charity," Robby Benson in his own off-Broadway hit "Open Heart," and Tom Bosley and Michael Learned in a new touring production of "On Golden Pond."

That's the 2006-07 Utah theater season in a nutshell.

One new trend is apparently quirky, campy, tune-filled shows based on old movies. The Utah Shakespearean Festival has "Johnny Guitar: The Musical" in its fall lineup, and the College of Eastern Utah in Price has acquired the first Utah rights to "Poseidon Adventure: The Musical" (the production's official Web site carries the tag line "hell upside-down ... with music").

But maybe the trend isn't all that new. The SCERA Center in Orem is resurrecting a campy musical from 1966 — "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!" The show has songs by Charles Strouse, the same composer who created "Annie" (also based on a comic), "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Applause."

And less campy and reportedly more faithful to the original is a stage version of 1954's "White Christmas," making its Utah debut this season at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. The production has played to solid reviews the past two holiday seasons on the West Coast and in Boston.

The two new companies joining Utah's already crowded theater community are the Oquirrh Hills Performing Arts Alliance, setting up shop in the long-vacant and newly restored Historic Empress Theatre in Magna, and the Salt Lake Senior Theatre Company, allied with Salt Lake City's Academy of Performing Arts to produce plays and reader's-theater performances geared to — and starring — the 55 and older crowd.

At least two theaters are celebrating landmark anniversaries: It's the 20th season for StageRight TheaterCompany and the 10th year for Wasatch Theatre Company.

Related content Deseret Morning News 2006-07 theater season