The troupe, under artistic director Walter Stearns, currently has a hit with Ragtime, which re-opens at the Apollo Theater in June after a sold-out spring run at Theatre Building Chicago, PMT's home.

The next season will be bookended by Yeston and librettist Arthur Kopit's Phantom, their popular take on "The Phantom of the Opera" (starting Sept. 14) and Yeston and Kopit's Nine, drawn from the film "8-1/2" (starting April 4, 2008). In between, expect Sheldon Harnick and Joe Raposo's A Wonderful Life, drawn from the film "It's a Wonderful Life."

The latter was a holiday hit for Porchlight in 2006. It begins Nov. 17. The regional hit by the lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof and the late "Sesame Street" composer has yet to play Broadway. Fans have hoped the show might get a world-premiere recording, but nothing has yet materialized.

Porchlight Music Theatre has earned a national reputation for presenting "grand stories in intimate settings, showcasing the brightest, up-and-coming talent and developing new music theatre work." The coming season will again play the three-venue complex called Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont.

For more information, call (773) 325-9884 or visit www.porchlighttheatre.com. *

Porchlight has staged 35 shows including four world premieres and seven Chicago premieres. An Equity theatre since 2004, the company has already received 13 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and five Jeff Awards. PMT has also received 31 Jeff Citation (non-Equity) nominations, 11 Jeff Citations and 20 After Dark Awards. Porchlight recently premiered The Teapot Scandals, its first work developed through Off the Porch, Porchlight's new works program.