Bernadette Peters kicks off Cerritos Center 2008-09 season

Broadway star Bernadette Peters will launch the 2008-09 season at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 16 with a show of songs drawn from her long stage career.

The musicals offered during the season will include “Simply Ballroom,” starring Debbie Reynolds along with former “American Idol” contestants Kimberley Locke and Vonzell Solomon (Oct. 3-5); “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (Nov. 21-23); “Chicago” (Jan. 23-25); and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (April 24-26, 2009).

A swing series will feature the Artie Shaw Orchestra (Oct. 19), the Harry James Orchestra (Dec. 7) and the Glenn Miller Orchestra (April 5).

Among the dance offerings will be the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company (Sept. 19), Helios Dance Theater sharing a program with Backhausdance (Oct. 25), Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (Feb. 6) and the Luna Negra Dance Theater (April 4).

Teatro Lirico d’Europa will pair Mascagni’s opera “Cavalleria Rusticana” with Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” (Oct. 31, Nov. 1) and will also stage Verdi’s “Aida” (Feb. 13-14). On the lighter side, the New York Gilbert and Sullivan players will present “The Pirates of Penzance” (May 1-2).

Chamber music groups will include the Borromeo String Quartet (Sept. 27), La Catrina Quartet (Nov. 12), Quartetto Gelato (Jan. 21) and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (May 9, 2009).

The roster of recitalists features violinist Jennifer Koh (Feb. 28), violinist Cho-Liang Lin and pianist André Michel Schub (March 4), and pianist Christopher O’Riley (April 29, 2009).

Robert Kapilow will present three of his popular “What Makes It Great?” lecture-performance events, discussing Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 8 (Sept. 17), Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A (Feb. 25) and Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio (May 6, 2009).

Among special events, the Windbourne Symphony will play music of Led Zeppelin (Oct. 18); “Jungua: Descendants of the Dragon” will perform Dec. 26-31; and the L.A. Theatre Works company will present “War of the Worlds/The Lost World” on March 8.

chris.pasles@latimes.com