If it ain't broke... Wayne Bryan doesn't say it that way, of course, but he believes that Music Theatre of Wichita's 1992 sold-out production of "Singin' in the Rain" got it right.

That's why, as MTW's producing director, he reunited three members of the original creative team and two of the principal performers for this summer's splashy season finale. "Singin' in the Rain," based on the MGM musical, opens Wednesday at Century II Concert Hall with performances continuing through Sunday.

Back in Wichita are Craig Barna, musical director, who was at the time MTW's resident music director; Linda Goodrich, co-choreographer; and Jamie Rocco, director and co-choreographer.

Broadway performer Michael Gruber returns as Don Lockwood, and Heidi Karol Johnson, who has appeared in several previous MTW productions, is reprising her role as Lina Lamont, the silent-film star whose raspy voice won't make the transfer to talkies.

Barna recalled that Wichita was where this incarnation of the show was born. It is a version that adapted earlier scripts and nearly brings the movie to life on the stage.

Barna, Goodrich and Rocco have gone on to be involved in other productions of the show. Barna and Gruber were also involved in a cast album.

The movie and the subsequent stage show draws primarily on songs written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown for the musicals of the '20s, '30s and '40s.

Returning for the show just seemed right, said Rocco, who has directed a number of productions in Wichita for MTW as well as for Cabaret Oldtown and Stage One.

"It seemed like we owed it to each other and to the theater," he said.

Moreover, Rocco said, 1992 was "a great experience and it led to so many fantastic things for all of us." Rocco, for instance, was director and choreographer for the premiere of a production in Japan.

Gruber, who has been in "Swing" on Broadway since December, admitted it was scary to come back to the part. He was 27 when he did it the first time; now he's turning 36. The last big dance show he did was six years ago in another production of "Singin' in the Rain."

Bryan interjected that the character Lockwood has to do things that were never designed to be a stage performer's duties. "Gene Kelly got to do all of his dances in little short takes, got to dub in the taps later, sing to a prerecorded track, so to do it all in one marathon performance start-to-finish is a real test of not only talent but endurance," he said.

Jim Raposa, who is making his MTW debut in the Cosmo Brown role (Donald O'Connor in the movie), remembers the film from his childhood.

When he saw the movie, he said, "That's what I want to do." At first, he wanted the Gene Kelly role, but the more times he saw the movie, the more he became intrigued with the Cosmo character. Today, he says, it's his dream part.

Gruber recalled that the 1992 show in Wichita was crucial to him. He was appearing in his second Broadway show, the long-running "Miss Saigon," and took a break to come to Wichita. At the time, he was considering leaving theater altogether, but the success of "Singin'" invigorated him.

"It allowed me to get my self-esteem back to a place where I could face going back to New York," he said. It was also the springboard for other work. He was in subsequent MTW shows and did more regional theater where he had principal roles, rather than being in ensembles on Broadway.

"It was a really important turning point when I look back," Gruber said last week.

July 22 was Gruber's last performance in "Swing," in New York. After Wichita, he is going to Philadelphia, where he will play Saul, the union organizer, in "Rags."

For performers and creators, Gruber said, MTW offers a balance that is lacking on Broadway, where there is intense pressure and politics.

"You come out here, there's communication, there's collaboration and you're free to kind of say, 'We know we'll get it and we'll entertain you.' It seems to be more like vaudeville or what entertaining used to be. "

"Singin' in the Rain" is set in 1927 when the Silent Era in motion pictures was shattered by the success of the first talking movie, "The Jazz Singer."

The story tells of silent-screen idol Lockwood, who accidentally meets Kathy Seldon following the premiere of his latest swashbuckler, "The Royal Rascal." Kathy is a struggling young actress who, with the advent of talkies, gets a hush-hush job dubbing the speaking voice of a squeaky-voiced, temperamental star, Lina Lamont. Eventually, the scheme is revealed and Kathy wins both stardom and Don.

Holly Bosil is making her MTW debut as Kathy, but she has played the role twice in productions in California. A tap dancer since she was 9, she has appeared in several productions of "42nd Street," including the European tour.

Local performers Charles Parker and Timothy W. Robu are also reprising their 1992 roles as R. F. Simpson and Roscoe Dexter, respectively.

Also appearing in the cast is Wichita Eagle columnist Bonnie Bing, who plays popular film columnist Dora Bailey.