BRUNSWICK — Maine State Music Theatre will open its 54th season with the Broadway hit “A Chorus Line,” winner of nine Tony Awards.

This will be followed by the modern hit “Legally Blonde” and then Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard.” The summer will close with the nostalgic tap-dancing extravaganza “42nd Street.”

“A Chorus Line,” based on the lives of actors and dancers during the audition process, opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in New York City in 1975. The buzz about this musical was so great that the run sold out before it opened. The show moved to The Shubert Theatre on Broadway, where it played until 1990. It was revived on Broadway in 2006, starring Tony Yazbeck and Jessica Lee Goldyn — whom MSMT audiences may remember from 2009 when they starred together in “Crazy for You.”

In that original cast in 1975 was a young Donna Drake, who played Trisha. She has been directing musicals in Brunswick for the past six seasons and is slated to direct “A Chorus Line,” slated to open on June 6.

“Legally Blonde” is based on a novel by Amanda Brown and the 2001 feature film of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards in 2007. The story follows sorority girl Elle Woods who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend. She ends up on the defense team for an exercise guru and fellow sorority sister accused of murder and in the process learns a lot more about herself. The show will open on June 27.

“Sunset Boulevard” was a vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s since the 1970s, but he didn’t see it through until 1992. He, like so many others, was fascinated by the 1950 film noir of the same name starring Gloria Swanson as washed-up silent film star Norma Desmond. The play won seven Tony Awards. Actress Glenn Close portrayed Desmond in the original Broadway production, a role that won her one of those Tony Awards. The show will open on July 18.

A nostalgic musical with big tap numbers, “42nd Street” opened on Broadway in 1980. The story takes place in the 1930s and tells the story of Broadway director Julian Marsh who puts everything on the line for his latest musical. When the leading actress falls and injures her leg, he has to rely on a fresh-off-the-bus chorus girl named Peggy to take over the role. The original Broadway run of “42nd Street” was nominated for eight Tony Awards and won two of them. The musical was also revived on Broadway in 2001 and was again nominated for eight Tonys and won two. The show will open Aug. 8.

MSMT performances are at Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus. For season tickets, call 725-8769; visit the box office at 22 Elm St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or download mail-order forms at www.msmt.org.