The 34th annual Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre (MSMT) season is a contrast of three musicals:

"A Chorus Line," through June 29, Empie Theatre, Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, Allentown;

"Spamalot," July 9 - 27, Baker Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theater and Dance, Muhlenberg, and

"Gruff," June 18 - July 26, Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion.

"A Chorus Line," 1975 Tony Award recipient for best musical, book and score, 1976 Pulitzer Prize recipient for drama, and one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history, tells the stories of 17 dancers auditioning for eight spots in the chorus of a Broadway musical.

"Monty Python's Spamalot," a 2005 Tony Award recipient for best musical, is adapted from the 1975 movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." "Spamalot" parodies the legend of King Arthur and The Knights of the Roundtable.

"Gruff" has its world premiere at MSMT, which commissioned the musical from New York theater group Doppelskope. The puppet-filled show for children has words and music by Ora Fruchter and Toby Singer.

"In 1975, when it ['A Chorus Line'] first appeared, it was incredibly ground-breaking," says Charles Richter, an MSMT founder who's directing "A Chorus Line."

"It is this very unique idea of making a plot out of auditioning for a musical," Richter continues.

Is "A Chorus Line" the ultimate backstage musical?

"Yes, on some level, but it also takes you into the minds of the performers," says Richter. "It makes all kinds of radical assumptions about what music theater can do.

"In 1975, there were a few basic models of what a musical was," Richter explains. "There's the integrated musical in the tradition of Rodgers and Hammerstein, in which you tell the story out of the songs that arise organically from the action of a piece.

"Usually, there's some kind of romance at the core of a story. Starting with Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and 'Showboat,' going through to 'Oklahoma!,' the form developed in a straight-forward way.

"The creators of 'Chorus Line' had the idea that a musical could proceed in a very different way.

"It redefines what a musical theater performer has to be, which is a triple threat, which is to sing, dance and act. It was really one of the first musicals to make that demand. The principal dancers are also the principal actors and principal singers.

"A Chorus Line" is based on the lives of Broadway chorines.

"It was derived from the real experiences of Broadway dancers and their lives," says Richter. "It has a reality that other musicals don't have. It was in some ways the original documentary nonfiction musical."

"A Chorus Line" includes the numbers "What I Did for Love," "One," "I Can Do That," "At the Ballet," "The Music and the Mirror" and "I Hope I Get It."

"It helped that there was a gifted creative team, including one of the finest songwriters of the 20th century: Marvin Hamlisch. The show has a musical scope and demand that is extraordinary.

Hamlisch wrote the music. Edward Kleban wrote the lyrics. James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante wrote the book.

"He [Hamlisch] wasn't just a pop songsmith. The songs in the show deeply reveal character and are musically complex. It's a really high-quality piece of material," Richter says.

"A Chorus Line" was presented at MSMT in 1995 and 2003. For this season's "Chorus Line," the entire company is Muhlenberg students or graduates. Michael Schnack is music director. Muhlenberg dance program chair Karen Dearborn choreographs.

"It's a tribute to the theater program here. We are one of the most highly-regarded theater programs in the nation," Richter says. There are 250 students enrolled in the Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance Department program. "We put a very strong emphasis on the use of the body as an expressive instrument.

"In a way, we're collaborating with Philip Johnson [Baker Center architect]. We work in a magnificent theater, the Empie Theatre, designed by one of the greatest architects of the 20th century.

" It's a very expansive theater. It only seats 400. But it has a real sense of solid space. For students to fill that space takes a very major physical involvement. This is a show that really demands that.

"'Chorus Line' takes itself very seriously. It's a very moving tribute to the chorus gypsy. 'Spamalot' is the polar opposite," says Richter.

"'Spamalot' is an interesting mix of the Monty Python comic tradition and the legacy of the American music comedy. Eric Idle, who put the piece together, was smart enough to know that if the movie is parodistic of movies, then if they were going to do a stage show, it had to be parodistic of theater."

Idle wrote the book and lyrics and co-wrote the music with Neil Innes and John Du Prez.

Does "Spamalot" extend the MSMT tradition of staging Gilbert and Sullivan operettas?

"G&S was always making fun of the operetta form very sophisticated parodies of grand opera. The Python film is a sophisticated parody of films and this ['Spamalot'] is a parody of Broadway musicals.

"The original production [of 'Spamalot'] was directed by Mike Nichols. People forget that he was a very talented comedian. Nichols and [Elaine] May. There's a certain kind of wry American humor that informs the show."

"Spamalot" is directed by James Peck. Justin Brehm is music director. Sammy Reyes is choreographer.

Several former MSMT creative team members were up for Tony Awards this year.

Donald Holder, a 10-time Tony nominee who previously received two Tonys ("South Pacific" "The Lion King"), was nominated for a Tony for lighting design for "Bridges of Madison County." Linda Cho was a first-time Tony nominee for costume design for "A Gentleman's Guide To Love & Murder." Two-time Tony nominee Beowulf Boritt received a Tony for scenic design for "Act One."

Richter didn't get to see the Tony telecast. He hasn't for years.

"I haven't seen a Tony Awards show because we always have a dress rehearsal on the night of the show," says Richter.

Tickets:.muhlenberg.edu/SMT, 484-664-3333