"... a little background about the Mizners themselves. Addison Mizner (1872-1933) and Wilson Mizner (1876-1933) were brothers who, although they played only a minor role in the cultural history of this country, might well be seen (at least by John and me) to represent two divergent aspects of American energy: the builder and the squanderer, the visionary and the promoter, the conformist and the maverick, the idealistic planner and the restless cynic, the one who uses things and the one who uses them up..." Stephen Sondheim

In the mid 90's Stephen Sondheim and James Weidman were commissioned by the Kennedy Center to write Wise Guys; a musical about Addison and Wilson Mizner. Two brothers; Addison an architect, and Wilson a dope-addict, gambler and con artist. The brothers gained notoriety in the 1920's during the Florida land boom and bust. Wise Guys never made it to the Kennedy Center, and many thought the show would never see the light of day. Many years would pass, in 1999 it was announced that Wise Guys would open on Broadway. A theater was booked and scenery was built. Sondheim himself wrote an article for the NY Times heralding the arrival of Wise Guys (here). But a workshop production at The New York Workshop in Manhattan's East Village, starring Nathan Lane and Victor Garber, in October of that year proved to be unsatisfactory. Sondehim and Weidman were unhappy with the outcome and producers thought the show needed more work . Many thought Wise Guys was dead. Reasons given for the debacle were numerous, some said it was the fault of director Sam Mendes, who's vision of the show was at odds with both Sondheim and Weidman's.

Two years would pass, Sondheim and Wiedman would continue to work on the show and rename it Gold! Plans were made to put on a production of Gold! at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Hal Prince was on board to direct. But trouble erupted when Scott Rudin, a producer of the workshop, sent off cease and desist letters claming rights to the show. The production had to be canceled, and a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Sondheim. The filing asserted Rudin's letters destroyed the Goodman production. The suit asked for 5 million dollars in damages and to "terminate defendant Rudin's intentional, malicious and wrongful interference." On December 4, 2001, State Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman granted a request for a preliminary injunction in favor of Sondheim and Weidman and ordered Rudin to stop claiming rights to the show. On December 5, 2001, Rudin countersued. Soon after the parties reached a settlement.

On February 5, 2003 Gold was renamed once more to Bounce. Some fifty years after the idea behind Bounce began to germinate in Sondheim's mind, the project received a full production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in June, 2003 with Hal Prince directing. In october of 2003, after some reworking, Bounce enjoyed a month long run at The Kennedy Center.

1999 Wise Guys Workshop
Song list

Act One
Brotherly Love-Addison and Wilson
Wise Guys - Addison and Wilson
It's in Your Hands - Papa
My Two Brothers - Mama
Gold In Alaska- Wilson, Addison and Mamma
You and Me Together- Addison Wilson and Mamma
Gold/ You and Me Together- Addison and Wilson
The Game - Wilson
Brotherly Love-(Reprise)-Addison and Wilson
Next to You/My two Brothers (reprise) - Mamma, Addison and Wilson
On My Way/Souvenirs/ The Girl You Left Behind- Addison and Ensemble
Stay Right Where You Are - Wilson
That Was a Year-Addison, Wilson, Ensemble
Brotherly Love(reprise) - Addison and Wilson
A House for Mama- Addison
Isn't He Something? - Mamma
Wise Guys (reprise) - Addison and Wilson
Act Two
Artists and Deamers-Paris Singer
Matrons and Patrons(Where Have You Been All My Life)-Addison, Paris, Ensemble
Make it Through The Night-Addison
Wise Guys Reprise/Buliding Dreams-Adison, Wilson and Paris
Boca Raton-Wilson Addison, Paris, Ensemble
Bocs Raton Reprise-Wilson, Ensemble
Land of Oppurtunity-Wilson Ensemble
Coming Home-Wilson
Get out of My Life-Addison

Cast

Wilson Mizner - Victor Garber
Reporter - Christopher Fitzgerald
Addison Mizner - Nathan Lane
Papa - William Parry
Mama - Candy Buckley
A Prospector - Kevin Chamberlin
Poker Players - William Parry, Ray Wills, Kevin Chamberlin, Brooks Ashmanskas
Assayer - Clarke Thorell
Ticket Seller - Ray Wills
Business Man #1 - Michael Hall
Business Man #2 - Nancy Opel
Solicitor - Brooks Ashmanskas
Chinese Warlord - Kevin Chamberlin
Plantation Owner - William Parry
Doorman - Kevin Chamberlin
Mrs. Myra Yerkes - Jessica Molaskey
Paris Singer - Michael Hall
Stanley Ketchel- Ray Willis
Flatbush Phil- Clarke Thorell
Paul Armstrong- Brooks Ashmanskas
Stanley Ketchel- Ray Willis
Newsboy-Christoper Fitzgerald
Gladys-Jessica Boevers
Real Estate Agent- Kevin Chaberlin
Paris Singer-Michael Hall
Mrs. Eva Slotesbury-Nancy Opel
Mr. Sloatesbury-William Parry
Mrs. Lilly Cosden-Lauren Ward
Mr. Cosden-Ray Willis
Mrs.Trumbouer- Jessica Boevers
Mr.Trumboer-- Brooks Ashmanskas
Mrs.Wannamaker-Jessica Molasky
Mrs. Dupont-Candy Buckely
Souvenir sellers, Club Patrons and Millionaires,
Boca Raton Chior, Buyers, Sellers,
and other partcipants-
Brooks Ashmanskas, Jessica Boevers,
Kevin Chamberlin, Christopher Fitzgerald
Michael Hall, Jessica Molasky, Nancy Opel
William Parry,Clark Thorell, Lauren Ward and
Ray Willis

Workshop Poduction Information:

The Wise Guys workshop ran from October 29-November 20, 1999 at the New York Theatre Workshop, NYC. Produced by Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Dodger Theatricals and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Directed by Sam Mendes,Choreographed by Jonathan Butterell, Music Director: Ted Sperling, Scenery Designed by Mark Thompson, Costumes Designed by Santo Loquasto, Lighting Designed by Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Sound Designed by Jonathan Deans, Musical Supervisor: Paul Gemignani, and Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.

Bounce 2003

June 20, 2003-August 10 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre

First preview performacne song list

Overture
Act One
"Bounce"...................................................Wilson, Addison
"Opportunity"..........................Papa, Addison, Wilson, Mama
"Gold!".............Prospector, Wilson, Mama, Addison, Alaskans
"Gold!"..........................................................Poker Players
"What's Your Rush?"..................................................Nellie
"Next to You"...................................Addison, Wilson, Mama
Addison's Trip Around the World...............Addison, Salesman,
Guatemalans, Servants
"What's Your Rush?"................................Wilson, Mrs Yerkes
"Alaska".................................................Mrs Yerkes, Wilson
New York Sequence.........................Wilson, Nellie, Reporters,
Photographer, Ketchel,
Armstrong, Jockey, Gamblers,
Policeman, Wilson's Women
"The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me........Wilson, Nellie
"Isn't He Something?"................................................Mama
"Bounce"...............................................................Addison

Act Two
"The Game".......................Addison, Nellie, Wilson, Promoter
"Talent"...................................................................Hollis
"You".........................................Addison, Hollis, Aristocrats
"Addison's City".......................Hollis, Wilson, Addison, Nellie
"Boca Raton"................Boca Girl, Sportsmen, Fashion Models,
Yachtsmen, Caruso, Salvador Dali,
Wilson, Addison, Nellie, Hollis,
Prospector, Varmints, Bobby Jones,
Mae West, Princess Ghika, Chorus
Last Fight...................................................Addison, Wilson
"Bounce"....................................................Wilson, Addison

Goodman Theatre Cast
Richard Kind, Howard McGillin, Michele Pawk, Jane Powell, Herndon Lackey and Gavin Creel— Sean Blake, Marilyn Bogetich, Tom Daugherty, Jeff Dumas, Deanna Dunagan, Nicole Grothues, Rick Hilsabeck, Jeff Parker, Harriet Nzinga Plump, Jenny Powers, Craig Ramsey, Jacquelyn Ritz and Fred Zimmerman.

Bounce Preview Reactions:
Posted by Zach June 24, 2003

Good morning. I happily report that Bounce is an excellent show and the performances I've seen received a very promising audience reaction, indeed. The show itself is in very good shape, though in need of a serious trimming.

I am not certain what kind of spoilers you're seeking, but Act One is a fast-paced romp around the world and back, and one is barely given a chance to breathe as the characters bounce from place to place. Act Two slows down, but only a little, to allow for a little more in-depth character work. The show also features Sondheim's first same-sex relationship, if I'm remembering correctly. A minor quibble is that the authors have not allowed even a little sizzle to develop between Addison and Hollis, the way it does in the Wilson-Nellie Act One scenes.

In terms of performances, they are top-notch across the board. For me, the find of the night was Gavin Creel, who I'd not seen perform yet. Gavin is very handsome with a superior voice and excellent stage prescense.

I felt that this is one of Sondheim's best scores in years, one that should rival Merrily in terms of the sheer number of Sondheim standard it generates. Personally, I can identify no less than a half dozen top-shelf Sondheim numbers, among them:

"Talent." Vintage Sondheim lyrics set to a hauntingly beautiful melody. It's a young man's very personal confession and recollection of his relationship with his father and his desire to be an artist, and I would not be at all surprised if this one was more than a little autobiographical.

"What's Your Rush." A dark and sensual song of seduction which reminds one of "Sooner or Later" but isn't nearly that playful. This tune feels like slow-motion sex set to music.

"Isn't He Something." A sweet and lovely, regretful ode to a neglectful son, sung by a dying Mama. Unfortunately just slightly too high for Jane Powell's voice, though she might have been rehearsal-exhausted by this point.

"You." A soaring, passionate song of love and devotion, shared between Addison and Hollis. This one just might prove to be one of the evenings best songs, but unfortunately it is broken up with lots of stage business. "You should have a very long life in cabaret and in future Sondheim celebrations, as it really allows the singer(s) to soar vocally. The lyrics are straightforward and heartfelt, with not a trace of Sondheim irony.

"Alaska." One of those show-specific songs that might limit it's life outside the show, but "Alaska" is set to a most beautiful and wistful melody. Reminded me a bit of "Barcelona" in tone.

"Next to You." A very good natured, upbeat trio shared by Mama and the two brothers, who are playfully competing for her affection and approval. Very straightforward musical theatre comedy number, it reminded me slightly of Gypsy's "Together," though not nearly as bouncy, forgive the pun.

"The Game." This is the Act Two opener, and another memorable and quite beautiful melody. Technically a trio, the song is shared between Nellie, Wilson and Addison who are singing from three different locales. The lyrics are pure Sondheim, with the three completeing each others lines and rhymes at times.

"The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me." Yet another highly memorable melody, and yet more Sondheim lyric play, as he has Wilson and Nellie using the title in various different ways to advance and retreat from each other.

"Bounce." The title song is extremely catchy, upbeat and very memorable. It is given an angry reprise at the end of Act One, and is quoted here and there throughout the score. The girl sitting next to me last night thought they were headed for a Sweeney-type "Epiphany" in the reprise, as Addison sings it directly to the audience, and the number is very angry and accusatory in tone. It is startling enough to make one's neck-hair tingle, but does not approach "Epiphany" in music or in scope.

To suggest that all of the above are beyond excellent is not exaggeration. I believe I read here or somewhere else that Sondheim threw an enormous amount of material into the trunk during the long creation of the show, perhaps there was plenty of cream left over. Indeed, the evening's weakest number, "Last Fight" is really just musicalized dialog much in the manner of the Seurat/Dot break-up exchanges. This didn't even seem like a full-fledged song, rather a portion of a scene that was musicalized. The show also features a number of extended musical sequences, such as "Addison's Trip Around The World," "New York Sequence," and "Boca Raton" and all of these feature great interludes and snippits of things that aren't developed into full-fledged numbers on their own.

Overall, I found Bounce to be a breezy and fun book musical in the tradition of Gypsy. What it lacks in introspection and complexity it more than makes up for with great characters and very, very excellent music. It's a fun night, and it is difficult to imagine this one not enjoying an extended Broadway run, eventually.

Add'l Comments: The show is not nearly in shape just yet, but what few problems exist seem very easily corrected with the expected nips and minor reworkings. Viewing these very early previews, one can easily imagine what Bounce will eventually become. The show is very "Americana folksy" in tone, much in the tradition of Assassins, though it bears greatest resemblence to Gypsy in form and construction and offers more than it's share of Broadway-style belters. It is a good, old fashioned late-1950's Broadway musical romp, nothing more. The darker elements of the plot - which include a Sweeney Todd like pile of corpses, drug use, family strife and lots of sex - are breezed over in favor of the comedy. I found myself quite amazed over the sheer amount of new music presented, as well as how good most of the tunes are. To these ears, this is without a doubt Sondheim's most consistant score, and I shall be surprised if it does not end up being one of his very most popular with the general public, if not with Sondheim maniacs.

October 21, 2003-November 16 at The Kennedy Center

Songlist for the Kennedy Center Production

"Bounce"
"Opportunity"
"Gold"
"What's Your Rush?"
"The Game"
"Next To You"
"Addison's Trip"
"The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened"
"I Love This Town"
"Isn't He Something!"
"Bounce"

Act II:

"The Game"
"Talent"
"You"
"Addison's City"
"Get Rich Quick"
Last Fight
"Bounce"

posted on October 26, 2003

Attended Bounce in DC yesterday. Some thoughts...Meet Addison and Wilson Mizner.Brothers. Meet Wilson-a con artist and total screw up. Meet Addison- more grounded, a bit naive, and a bit of a screw up himself-who will become an architect. Meet two brothers who spend thier lives trying to get rich-quick. Meet two brothers who fail often but never give up. Bounce starts off with the deaths of Addison and Wilson Mizner, done in a quick comical way. Suddenly we are transported to the gates of heaven where Addison and Wilson are in the midst of an argument, gently they glide into a soft-shoe styled song called "Bounce." We go back in time from there. The first act is a tour 'd force covering their lives. Think A Funny Thing meets Merrily. Quickly paced and amusing- we are treated to a delightful new score by Sondheim.The first act laregly is what you'd call pre-modern Sondheim. Second it post. There's a song called The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened in the first that is a classic Sondheim ballad and a gorgeous song. We are treated to a book by John Weidman that is clever and tight. By the end of the first Act Addison and Wilson are estranged.

The second act continues on with their story. Through coincidence, twists of fate and a woman called Nellie, played extrodinarly well by Michelle Pawk, the brothers are reunited. Wilsons's idea to create a city called Boca Raton( Sondheim has written an incredible piece of music for the Boca Raton segment) is just the idea they need to get rich and Addison will design it.... I better stop at this point before I give too much away...

Kennedy Center Cast and Production Information:

Ensemble....Sean Blake
Ensemble...Marilynn Bogetich
Hollis Bessemer... Gavin Creel
Ensemble...Tom Daugherty
Ensemble... Jeff Dumas
Ensemble...Deanna Dunagen
Ensemble...Nicole Grothues
Ensemble...Rick Hilsabeck
Addison Mizner...Richard Kind
Pappa Mizner, Yukon Bartender, Hawaiian Businessman,
Hong Kong Businessman, Plantation Owner,
Cyus Bessemer, Minister, Paul Armstrong,
Land Boom Promoter, Edward Strotesbury.... Howard Lakey
Wilson Mizner...Howard McGillin
Ensemble...Jeff Parker
Nellie...Michelle Pawk
Ensemble...Harriet Nzinga Plumpp
Mama Mizner...Jane Powell
Ensemble...Jenny Powers
Ensemble... Craig Ramay
Enesemble...Jaquelyn Ritz
Ensemble...Fred Zimmerman

Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim, Book: John Wiedman, Director: Harold Prince. Choreographer: Michael Arnold, Orchestrations: Johnathan Tunick, Set Design: Eugene Lee Costume Design: Miguel Angel Huidor, Musical Director: David Caddick, Lighting Design: Howell Binkley, Sound Design: Duncan Robert Edwards, Hair and Wig Design: D. H. Lawence.Presented by The Kennedy Center and The Goodman Theatre with the generous support of Perry and Marty Granoff, the H&H foundation, and Hechts.

From the New York Daily News Novmember 3, 2003

Capital Ideal: Sondheim gets an added 'Bounce'

by Howard Kissel

WASHINGTON, D.C. - For the first time in ages, I left a new musical humming a tune.

Interestingly, decades ago I found myself humming a tune by the same composer whose lyrics went, "I read Spinoza every day - formidable!"

He is thought to be an enemy of hummability, which is not the case. But because his lyrics are never of the June-moon school, the tunes often seem difficult.

The composer, of course, is Stephen Sondheim, who elevates whatever he treats. In his new musical, "Bounce," with a tight, funny book by John Weidman, his subject is the Mizner brothers.

Wilson Mizner was a gambler, a con man and a successful Broadway playwright.

Addison Mizner was an architect whose outlandish imagination created Palm Beach.

"Bounce," which opened Thursday at the Kennedy Center for a limited run, is set in an exuberant era that began with the Yukon gold rush in the 1890s - in which the brothers began their careers - and ends in the Florida land boom of the Roaring Twenties.

In their reckless, brash way, the Mizners personified the gutsiness of the American spirit.

Sondheim captures their plucky quality in a score full of intelligence and tension.

Right from its lilting overture, it's clear that "Bounce" is an attempt at the kind of giddy entertainment the young Sondheim achieved in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

If the second act falters, it is because the financial boom ends. The jolly story must end darkly, and the creators treat the Mizners' downfall halfheartedly.

Nevertheless, the score is full of delights. The song I have been humming, "The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened," is remarkable for several reasons, one of which is its deceptive simplicity. Part of its charm is the way the lyrics undercut its romantic tone.

There is also a more complex love duet, "You."

"Bounce" has a splendid cast. Addison, who is played movingly by Richard Kind, is the better written of the brothers.

We never have as clear a sense of Wilson, though Howard McGillin's rich voice and elegant acting make him deeply appealing. (An attempt to capsulize his career, "I Love This Town," does not make sense unless you've read Alva Johnston's recently republished "The Legendary Mizners," which is worth doing anyway.)

Michele Pawk is tremendous as Wilson's longtime love. Jane Powell is rousing as the boys' tough mother, and Gavin Creel makes Addison's callow benefactor soulful.

"Bounce" has been directed by Hal Prince with canny theatricality. Eugene Lee's sets and Miguel Angel Huidor's costumes capture the period beautifully.

"Bounce," Sondheim's first musical since "Passion" won the Tony Award in 1994, is here until Nov. 16 while its commercial prospects for New York are being assessed.

On November 19, 2003 the following item appeared in The New York Times:

Berlind: Bounce Will Not Come to Broadway

Confirmed: No Bounce to Broadway This Season

November 19, 2003
By JESSE McKINLEY

The producers of "Bounce," Stephen Sondheim's first new musical in nine years, confirmed yesterday what many Sondheim fans had already suspected: the show, which received lukewarm reviews in two tryout runs, is not coming to Broadway anytime soon.

Roger Berlind, who along with Arielle Tepper holds the commercial rights to the production, said the decision had been driven by a lack of available Broadway theaters. "There's no place to go," he said in an interview. "I don't see how it could be done for the spring. You can't pry people out of their theaters."

But the show's Broadway possibilities were not helped by the reviews from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, where "Bounce" closed a four-week run on Sunday, or from the Goodman Theater in Chicago, where the show had a previous tryout. The critics were respectful at best and dismissive at worst.

The uncertainty surrounding the production is all the more striking considering the talent involved: the book is by John Weidman and the director is Harold Prince, who had directed some of Mr. Sondheim's most famous musicals, "Sweeney Todd" and "Company" among them. If "Bounce" does not ultimately reach Broadway, it would be the first original Sondheim production not to do so since "Assassins," which opened Off Broadway in 1990 and is to be revived on Broadway this spring. Mr. Sondheim's latest Broadway musical was "Passion," which opened in 1994.

Neither Mr. Prince nor Mr. Sondheim returned calls for comment. But reached at his home yesterday, Mr. Weidman said the show's creative team was still mulling other possibilities for "Bounce."

"I think the plan when we all split up on Sunday was that we would all reconvene in New York to try to come up with some inventive and creative way of setting up a next step," Mr. Weidman said.

Asked what that might mean - an Off Broadway production perhaps or a concert version - Mr. Weidman said: "We would like a New York audience to see this show. What that would mean, I honestly don't know yet."

The decision not to transfer the show to Broadway for the 2003-4 season is the latest setback for a musical that Mr. Sondheim has said he conceived in the early 1950's but did not begin to write until 1994.

"Bounce" is based on the lives of the Mizner Brothers, a pair of rakish entrepreneurs from the early 20th century. In an article in The New York Times in 1999, Mr. Sondheim wrote that the brothers represented "two divergent aspects of American energy: the builder and the squanderer, the visionary and the promoter, the conformist and the maverick, the idealistic planner and the restless cynic, the one who uses things and the one who uses them up."

The show, originally titled "Wise Guys," was given a workshop production Off Broadway in fall 1999, with Nathan Lane and Victor Garber in the lead roles and directed by Sam Mendes ("Gypsy"). Backed financially by the movie mogul Scott Rudin and two other major producers, the workshop was roundly considered a failure, and plans for a Broadway opening in 2000 were scrapped.

Mr. Mendes soon left the project, and Mr. Prince, who had not worked with Mr. Sondheim since "Merrily We Roll Along" in 1981, was brought on to try to fix the show. After a yearlong delay due to a legal squabble between Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Rudin over the show's rights, "Bounce," as the show was now called, had its debut in June at the Goodman.

National critics were not allowed to see the production, now starring Richard Kind and Howard McGillan as the Mizners, but the Chicago critics were not impressed. The show was "not edgy enough in its love/hate brotherly dynamics and exploration in American rapaciousness, and it's not funny enough to be a full-bodied musical comedy," a reviewer for The Chicago Tribune wrote. "It's eh."

Reviews in Washington followed suit, and by late last week several Broadway landlords were openly predicting that the show would not land in New York. Mr. Berlind confirmed that yesterday, though he did mention fall 2004 as a possibility.

"I think everybody wants to relax for a bit," Mr. Berlind said. "The show will not die. There's going to be many, many productions of this show. It's part of the canon."

Mr. Weidman said he was confident that the show was a good piece of work. He said that it might undergo some rewriting, but that no major structural or plot changes were planned.

"I think that Hal and Steve and I, even prior to opening in Washington, were pleased with it," he said. "I felt we had delivered the show that we had set out to deliver. Now we've sort of put our pencils down and said, `This is what it is."

On Janurary 17, 2006 the follwing article appeared in Playbill on Line

Sondheim and Weidman's Bounce to Get Reading at Public Theater Beginning
Jan. 30
By Robert Simonson

Bounce, the Stephen Sondheim musical that played Chicago and Washington, DC, in 2003, but failed to reach New York, will be given a week-long reading at The Public Theater beginning Jan. 30, a spokesperson for the company told Playbill.com.

The Public could not confirm the personnel involved, but sources close to the venture have Eric Schaeffer (Putting It Together) directing, and Richard Kind and Bernadette Peters in the cast. Kind was part of the 2003 company and was generally praised for his portrayal of Addison Mizner, one of the scheming, early 20th century Mizner brother. (He was nominated for a 2003 Joseph Jefferson Award.) Howard McGillin played the other sibling, Wilson, in the regional productions.

The reading is not open to the public.

On June 29, 2007 the follwing item appeared in Playbill on Line

Weidman Confirms Public Theater-Bound Bounce

By John Nathan
29 Jun 2007

Librettist John Weidman has confirmed that the musical Bounce, his long-gestating collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, will receive its New York premiere at the Public Theater in 2008.

The musical, which is inspired by American capitalists and con-artists, the Mizner brothers, was first seen at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in 2003 before traveling to Washington's Kennedy Center.

Weidman is currently in London, where he is working with lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. and composer David Shire on rehearsals for the world premiere of another musical, Take Flight, which opens at the Menier Chocolate Factory July 25.

Speaking to Playbill.com, Weidman said of Bounce, "Stephen and I have written it and re-written it, and I guess we feel that this last re-write is the one that gets closest to what our original intention was."

Following the Kennedy Center mounting, the intention was to bring Bounce to Broadway, but ultimately producer Roger Berlind decided against a New York transfer.

The Public's connection with Bounce began in February 2006 with a reading of the show featuring two-time Tony winner Bernadette Peters and Richard Kind, who was also part of the 2003 company.

"We feel like we've figured it out, so we'll do it one more time," said Weidman, who previously collaborated with Sondheim on Pacific Overtures and Assassins. "We're going to do it at the Public Theater in a little over a year from now."

On April 18, 2008 the following item appeared on Playbill on Line

Catered Affair's Doyle Will Direct Bounce for Fall Bow at the Public
By Adam Hetrick
18 Apr 2008

Tony Award-winning director John Doyle, currently represented on Broadway with the new musical A Catered Affair, will helm Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's latest musical, Bounce, in a full production at the Public Theater.

Doyle confirmed to Playbill.com columnist Harry Haun that he will direct the Sondheim-Weidman musical this fall at the Off-Broadway venue.

Speaking about the musical that concerns the ambitious Mizner brothers, Doyle said, "That will be happening in the fall and down at The Public, so I'm very excited about it. It's not a workshop. We're going to do the whole thing. We're doing it for real."

Doyle previously alluded to the project at the sold-out April 7 Ladies Who Sing Sondheim concert, which he also staged. The Public Theater has yet to announce the production as part of its season.

The Public's connection with Bounce dates back to 2006 when Eric Schaeffer helmed an industry reading featuring Richard Kind and Bernadette Peters. Bounce librettist Weidman – in a 2007 interview with Playbill.com – also mentioned that the musical would find a home at the Public during the 2008 season.

"Bounce"

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