From Oct. 21-Nov. 16, the famed Center will present the Goodman Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's new musical, Bounce, starring Richard Kind, Howard McGillin and Tony Award-winner Faith Prince. Based on the lives of brothers Addison and Wilson Mizner, the musical features direction by multi-Tony Award winner Harold Prince.

The Royal Shakespeare Company returns to the Kennedy Center Dec. 16 for a three-week engagement (through Jan. 5, 2004). The RSC will offer mountings of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and John Fletcher's The Tamer Tamed. The latter is a "sequel" to Shrew in which Petruchio is "tamed by his second wife." Both Taming and Tamer will be directed by Gregory Doran, and they will play in repertory with actors Jasper Britton and Alexandra Gilbreath.

The 2003-2004 season will also include Mel Brooks' Tony Award-winning-musical The Producers, which features award-winning direction and choreography by Susan Stroman. The Producers will play the Kennedy Center's Opera House June 22-Aug. 22, 2004.

Shear Madness — Paul Portner's mix of improv, zingers and audience participation — continues to play the Center's Theater Lab. The comedy, adapted by Bruce Jordan and Marilyn Abrams, has been a DC favorite for over 15 years.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2700 F. Street, NW in Washington, DC. Go to www.kennedy-center.org for more information. *

The new festival, Tennessee Williams Explored, will feature these Williams works: A Streetcar Named Desire (April 27-May 16, 2004), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (June 1-20, 2004), The Glass Menagerie (July 6-25, 2004), Five by Tenn (five one-acts, April 20-May 9), Letters from Tennessee: A Distant Country Called Youth (June 11-13) and the operatic reconception of Streetcar beginning May 15.