Rock music, from a slicked-down '60s group to high-hair '80s metal bands, will help propel Baltimore's 2010-2011 theater season, along with crackling scores from decades-old Broadway shows. The common tune running through all of this is hopeful box-office appeal.

"The economy is requiring us to be smarter and more nimble," says Jeff T. Daniel, vice president and executive director of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the Hippodrome Theatre. "You can't take anything for granted anymore. No one knows how any show will do."

Choosing proven products can help ease some of the suspense, though, and if there's one sure bet in the world of touring productions today, the Hippodrome has it next season - "Jersey Boys."

Never mind that this buoyant 2005 bio-musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons played for weeks this season in Washington. "It's a phenomenally successful show," Daniel says. "And our subscribers have a desire to see this show at the Hippodrome in their seats."

Giving the public what it wants is the oldest lesson in show business, and it's one that makes even more sense in a lingering recession, when people are being extra cautious with their spending.

Next season's Broadway Across America lineup at the Hippodrome includes the surprise New York hit " Rock of Ages," a show built around the music of such bands as Styx and Twisted Sister. It moved from off- to on-Broadway last year and is still running strong there.

" 'Rock of Ages' is going to be a guilty pleasure," Daniel says.

The offbeat Blue Man Group, which has developed a global fan base for its techno- comedy, will be part of the season, along with such market-friendly products as the aerial extravaganza "Cirque Dreams Illumination" and "Shrek The Musical." Like this season, which has the well-traveled "Phantom of the Opera" heading into town next month, 2010-2011 will include a visit by the another big '80s musical, " Les Miserables."

"West Side Story" rounds out the Hippodrome lineup. This will be the national tour of the successful revival of the iconic 1957 musical, directed by its librettist, Arthur Laurents.

A 35-year-old musical figures in the 2010-2011 season at Center Stage - "The Wiz," where Oz and Motown get their groove on, will receive a new production. "I'm doing the original version, not the one after Hollywood got a hold of it," says company artistic director Irene Lewis.

Also on tap for Center Stage is the East Coast premiere of a new adaptation of David Guterson's popular book (later a movie), "Snow Falling on Cedars," a tale set on the West Coast in the 1950s that looks into crime and prejudice. "Crime and Punishment" will be another theme next season, via an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel by Curt Columbus and Marilyn Campbell.

Lewis will also offer a new staging of Harold Pinter's classic "The Homecoming," a potent multilayered examination of a family, sex and suppression. And the comical folks of Chicago's famed Second City will take up temporary residence in Charm City to gather material for a new, Baltimore-specific play for Center Stage.

One more production is to be determined. Among the pieces being considered for that sixth spot on the season are a solo work about Thurgood Marshall and a Kathleen Turner vehicle about the late journalist Molly Ivins.

Complementing the main productions will be the continuation of Center Stage's recently introduced cabaret series, expanding from four shows to five. "I will ask some artists from this season to come back," Lewis says, "but I'd also like to expand the variety."

Meanwhile, Everyman Theatre and Rep Stag are putting the finishing touches on their 2010-2011 offerings.

"We're still a couple of weeks away from announcing," says Everyman artistic director Vincent Lancisi. "But we're pretty excited about next season. I'm looking for what will be the best combination of plays to blow the roof off of this place for our 20th anniversary and the last in our current facility. We have the potential to add a sixth show; we normally do five. And there's the possibility of a festival within the season celebrating a playwright."

Details for the Rep Stage's 18th season aren't completely set, either, but Michael Stebbins, producing artistic director, has provided some intriguing hints: "A fantastic variety of plays, including an American comedy written in 1916 by one of the most celebrated and unsung playwrights of that time period; an intimate and electric play, written in the 1960s, which was considered a theatrical milestone - both for its dramatic technique and for its outspoken theme - by a playwright currently having a worldwide renaissance."

Stebbins is also looking at "a dark comedy about three teenagers who come together to disclose the truth about a scandal that has rocked ... their worlds" and "a recent off-Broadway hit by one of America's up-and-coming female playwrights."

When it comes to theater seasons, comparisons with other cities, especially a certain spot where Congress meets and bleats, are inevitable. Some seasons, Washington seems to have a distinct edge in the number of major theatrical attractions. Other times, as when the Hippodrome offered the popular musical "In the Heights" before it hit D.C., Baltimore is where it's happening.

For the companies looking to present the buzz-making shows, especially New York hits, competition can get tough, whether it's for the rights to stage a new play or for the option to import a production.

"Many people don't realize that there are 50 theaters in the region competing for plays," Lancisi says. "There are a couple of hot properties produced in the last year that we really want to get our hands on. Washington always gets preference over Baltimore. That's why we couldn't do ' Doubt' until three years after it premiered in New York. And 'Rabbit Hole' had to wait two years later than I wanted. It's an antiquated system. Rules say no other theater in a 50-mile radius can do a play the same year. My argument is that Washington and Baltimore are two very different cities."

The Hippodrome's Daniel shares that view, and he faces the same competitive issues. When the renovated theater opened five years ago, there was talk about how that would improve Baltimore's standing in the bidding war for smash tour shows.

"Without the Hippodrome, Baltimore would be a skipped stop," Daniel says. "But the business has changed across the country. It's not about a city choosing which shows, but shows choosing which cities. Most people don't know we have to market Baltimore to shows. It is cheaper in some other cities, where they give subsidies and hotel rooms to entice shows. There is a large financial risk associated with bringing legitimate Broadway shows to Baltimore. If you want them, you have to pay for them."

In the continual competition with D.C. and Philadelphia, flexible scheduling can also be a factor. Now that we're no longer in "the era of mega-shows, the heady days of Andrew Lloyd Webber," as Daniel puts it, theaters can't count on booking a blockbuster for a month or more.

"There are highly sought-after shows that can do well in one-week engagements," Daniel says. "They don't have a long load-in and load-out with 30 trucks. With one week, there's a higher chance of selling out the run and moving on. They would overlook Baltimore had we not allowed for one-week engagements."

There will be three such runs at the Hippodrome next season - "Rock of Ages," "Blue Man Group" and "Les Miserables."

At least all of the shows heading to that theater are coming willingly. At Center Stage, Lewis was in negotiations with an actress to anchor the one slot left on the season schedule when there was a little snag.

"She decided she didn't want to come to Baltimore," Lewis says. "She had a whole retinue with her, including a hairdresser, so it's just as well."

More information For information on the 2010-2011 season at the Hippodrome, call 800-343-3103 or go to broadwayacrossamerica.com. For more on Center Stage's season, call 410-332-0033 or go to centerstage.org.