A longing for the greasepaint? Not really. “It was a confluence of the right play at the right moment,” he said.  “American Fiesta” is by Steven Tomlinson, an economics professor at the University of Texas. Mr. Tomlinson has had notable success writing plays, in which he often takes some facet of economics and refracts it. Past plays of Mr. Tomlinson, who is also a lay preacher in Austin, have explored the dramatic and moral implications of money management, real estate, even the tech stock bubble. Really. And they’re often funny too.  His latest work, Mr. Tomlinson said in an interview, arose out of three disparate preoccupations: the negativity whipped up by the 2004 election; the anxiety he felt telling his parents, Church of Christ members in Oklahoma, that he and his male partner were getting married; and his obsession with buying Fiestaware china online. A monologue on the basic agreement of Americans on the big issues, “American Fiesta” won raves during its run in Austin.  Mr. Bradley sits on the boards of several different companies, and was in Texas last summer for a meeting. He went to see Mr. Tomlinson’s play on a recommendation. At the time Mr. Bradley was a few months into writing his new book, “The New American Story,” which deals with many of the same themes as “American Fiesta.”  “I was in the middle of doing this book, so I was thinking about this every day, and here it was in dramatic form,” Mr. Bradley said. “When I left, I thought, ‘You know, this is something that more people should see.’ So naturally my thought was: ‘Get it to New York.’ ” (He said the timing of the play’s New York opening, coming weeks after his book hit stores, was coincidental.)  Mr. Bradley called Emanuel Azenberg, the longtime Broadway producer and an old friend, who was also a partner in his short-lived producing career in the 1970s.  A few weeks later, Mr. Azenberg called Mr. Tomlinson and said he wanted to see the play. The problem was, “American Fiesta” had ended its run. So Mr. Tomlinson immediately decided to produce a one-week return engagement personally, for an audience, essentially, of one.  “Within 48 hours, wheels were spinning to make it all happen,” he said.  Mr. Azenberg came and enjoyed it; he, Mr. Bradley and a few other investors put up some money; and now Mr. Tomlinson is beginning his run at the Vineyard.  So Mr. Bradley is back in the theater game, though he played down his involvement. With “The Poison Tree,” he sat in darkened theaters through the summer, watching auditions and becoming engrossed in the other, finer points of producing.  This time, he said, “I’m just tagging along.”  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B7 of the New York edition with the headline: Bill Bradley, Ex-Senator, Returns To Producing. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Sure, win a Rhodes scholarship, become a United States senator and run for president. Congratulations. Now, want a real challenge? Try producing.