"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was the first musical put on in 1990 by the new Gargaro Productions (now Pittsburgh Musical Theatre). It did it again in 2000, and counting a 1980s Playhouse production, the PMT revival opening today will be the fourth time Ken Gargaro has directed it.

You might think it reappears so often because it always sells tickets, and you'd be partly right, as also with PMT's two subsequent shows, "Fiddler on the Roof" and "West Side Story." As Gargaro says, it's important that PMT has been in the black every quarter for the past four years, after recovering from dire financial straits.

But Gargaro is more educator than an artist or administrator, as is clear in his four reasons for repeating "Joseph."

First, he prefers doing shows with "great stories," noting that, " 'Joseph' sort of channels the great Greek dramas of myth and religion, with their music and choruses. And its story is found in the Bible, Torah and Koran."

Second, he says he made a personal commitment after 9/11 to learn more about "those three great religions and their commonality -- and for the first time, all three are represented in the cast." That creates a teaching opportunity, to counteract the fears he thinks have increased since 9/11.

Third, "Joseph" allows him to use "the incredible amount of pre-teen talent" just now in PMT's Rauh Conservatory. "It's the first time I've used a children's choir."

And fourth, he remembers he's doing it "for the kids, in both the cast and the audience."

Providing accessibility to families, including a $10 ticket for students anywhere in the theater, is one of PMT's core missions. Another is to provide a professional ladder, combining established pros with students ready to ascend.

In this, PMT recreates the school Gargaro ran at the Playhouse in the '80s and the musicals he produced there, through which Point Park students such as Linda Gabler and Tom Rocco got professional experience.

Now, PMT and its conservatory claim such current Broadway performers as Paul McGill, Sarrah Strimmel, Kirsten Bracken, Lori Eve Marinacci, Tim Federle, Peter Smith, Leigh Ann Larkin and Christian Delcroix, along with such other pros as Leo Ash Evens, Audra Blaser and Malina Kanakaredes. (Of course, some can legitimately be claimed also by various Pittsburgh schools and other training programs.) Other PMT alums have headed for non-theatrical professions -- Gargaro is proud of them, too.

Four years ago, Gargaro, who has a Ph.D. from Pitt, went back into full-time college teaching at Robert Morris University. Serving as coordinator of theater and assistant professor of communications, he is reviving the program, which had been closed for 12 years. Now just a concentration in the communications department, it is growing toward a B.A. and then an M.F.A.

As a sign of that progress, five RMU students are cast in "Joseph," with one, senior David Toole, playing the title role. "I swear he's good enough to tour," Gargaro says. "So I'm taking a risk and giving him his professional debut."

PMT has an annual budget of about $1.3 million, some 20 percent for the conservatory and 80 percent for the three professional and four student productions. The conservatory draws some 250 students per term, with 24 earning high school credit for advanced training.

As to the professional shows, Gargaro says, "If we do 60 percent at the box office, we break even -- but if you factor in a share of the PMT administration, no show makes money."

PMT brings variety and lots of local performers to the Cultural District. Although it has to compete with the big boys of the Broadway Series and CLO, Gargaro says, "I like it when they're selling out, because it drives business to me, and my tickets look cheap in contrast."