Music Theatre of Wichita's "megamonster" show of the season a 1920s romp through the "fad" of college football is a completely reworked version of an old, old show.

Good News! twice filmed by MGM, was one of the most successful stage shows of the 1920s. Its jazzy score and wild dance sequences kept the show on Broadway for more than 550 performances in 1927 and '28. But the show had a fairly weak story line with a lot of ends that didn't tie up neatly and a wildly uneven collection of songs. A revival 20 years ago bombed; Wayne Bryan, producing director for Music Theatre of Wichita, was part of that cast.

In spite of that failure, the basic theme of the show, with its zany dances and over-the-top acting, appealed to Bryan and Mark Madama, who is directing the production for MTW, and last year the pair set out to rewrite Good News!.

"I was the structure guy, saying these are things that worked when we did it, but here's a whole lot of stuff that sure didn't and here's some things I always felt were
funny in the 1927 version," said Bryan.

Then Madama sat down at the computer and crafted the show, weaving in the best of the songs and making the show a true period piece to showcase how wild a time the 1920s were.

And just how wild a time was it? The economy was booming, women had just gotten the vote and were coming into their own, music had taken a wild turn from classical to jazz, and young people were literally partying in the streets and on campuses such as Tait College, where Good News! is set.

"The choreography is just insane," said Madama. "It's wonderful."

Madama and choreographer Linda Goodrich studied 1920s films to capture the feel of authentic dance styles and were surprised to find that contemporary break dancing has its roots in the 1920s Charleston and the Good News! signature piece, the "Varsity Drag".

And to watch a movie version of Good News! is to be astounded at the energy and the sheer wildness of the dancing. The world was just coming off the first World War, the economy was booming, and everyone was celebrating.

"We tried to write a Good News! that really embodies the '20s and also makes some fun of the fact that college football was a new thing that they thought was a craze that would die out," said Bryan.

The show stars Michael Gruber as football star Tom Marlowe, Kim Huber as love interest Connie Lane, Linda Michele as astronomy professor Charlotte Kenyon, Scott Schafer as third-string substitute Bobby Randall, Annie Morrison as his girlfriend Babe, Timothy Robu as the football coach and Steve Frazier as team trainer Pooch.

Craig Barna has rearranged the music for the show, moving the orchestrations back to the 1920s from an inappropriate Big Band sound.

To capture the craziness of the decade, Charles O'Connor has designed sets that use Cubist elements set askew. ''It's not like anything I've seen before," said Madama. The quality of the set design also serves to free the audience of some of its expectations. ''As an audience, you're allowed to let some of your rigidness go with that," said Madama.

And the newness of the production has allowed Music Theatre staff and cast alike to feel they have a stake in the creation of a new show. Actors and dancers have their ideas incorporated into the show; costume and set designers are creating an original vision.

''It's a lot of excitement that we're creating something that could have a new life, and the stakes are kind of high on it," said Bryan. "We know that we get to do something that has tapped us in a creative way that we've not ever ventured into before."

The show has been a challenge for Goodrich to choreograph because it is uncharted territory, but she said the dancers have all been very excited about being able to add their own movements and fillips to the show.