This summer’s crowning glory just might be Summer Stock Austin’s production of “Footloose,” playing now through Aug. 10 in the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center – unless, that is, their production of “Chicago” that opens later this week proves to be the cherry on top.

SSA’s “Footloose” has everything there is to love about musical theater: big, boisterous dance numbers, catchy, unavoidably familiar music, and enough dramatic pathos to tug at the heartstrings.

Adults could learn a lot by paying attention to children’s stories. They tend to teach valuable lessons about sharing and caring and treating people well – which it seems like a lot of us forget by the time we go off to college.

“Stone Soup,” the Theater For All production of Summer Stock Austin’s season, playing through Aug. 9 at the Long Center’s Rollins Studio Theatre, is a classic folk tale turned into a charming piece of musical theater.

For 10 years, Austin’s pool of talented musical theater performers has grown steadily, fed by the rigorous training of Summer Stock Austin’s extraordinary repertory program.

Brainchild of Ginger Morris and Michael McKelvey, Summer Stock Austin pairs promising high school and college performers with seasoned theater professionals. In a tiered mentorship system, students work on three shows simultaneously, receiving training in all aspects of theatrical production: from voice to choreography, costumes to marketing. When they aren’t performing, the students run lights, help with wardrobe, and support their company from behind the scenes. This season features “Footloose,” “Chicago,” and the world premiere of a Biscuit Brother’s “Stone Soup.”

Perhaps because it’s a journey most of us can relate to, theater loves to tell the story of an individual’s search for happiness and fulfillment. And with a bit of music, dancing, and pizzazz, that story stays fresh even decades after it first hit stages.

As part of its three-show repertoire this season, Summer Stock Austin brings us “Pippin,” playing at the Rollins Studio Theater at the Long Center now through Aug 10.