Settlement Reached With Rudin Over Musical ‘Gold!’

Composer Stephen Sondheim and librettist John Weidman have reached a settlement with movie and stage producer Scott Rudin over rights to the musical “Gold!”

Rudin and several others invested in a 1999 workshop of Sondheim and Weidman’s musical, then called “Wise Guys.” After it was poorly received, plans for the show were dropped until Sondheim and Weidman decided to revive it for a production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago this fall.

Rudin, alone among the workshop investors, threatened legal action against the Goodman and director Hal Prince, contending that he had rights to the material.

Sondheim and Weidman then sued Rudin, who countersued after a New York court issued a temporary restraining order against him.

In the settlement, Rudin will receive $157,000 if the show receives a commercial production, said John Breglio, attorney for Sondheim and Weidman. The planned Chicago production is at the not-for-profit Goodman, so it would not entail a payment to Rudin.

Rudin told the New York Times that the settlement amount equaled “the entirety of my investment” in the workshop. He declined to comment when he was reached Saturday by the Los Angeles Times.

Breglio said the settlement amount was “a calculation based on what it’s worth for us to move on,” but added that Sondheim and Weidman “have no idea what Rudin spent” for the workshop.

Roche Schulfer, executive director of the Goodman, said the show, which had been shelved in the wake of Rudin’s legal threats, is now “on our radar screen for this season or next.” Discussions about the status of the production will resume today.