Ron Shelton's Revision of Bull Durham: A New
Musical at Theatre Raleigh Hits a Home Run

Carmen Cusack (center) stars as Annie Savoy in Bull Durham: A New Musical (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

As one of the few pieces of popular media to be set in our little corner of the world, there was quite a buzz when it was announced that Theatre Raleigh would be putting on a musical adaptation of the beloved 1988 film, Bull Durham. Adapted for the stage and slightly revised by the movie's original screenwriter and director, Ron Shelton, with music and lyrics by singer-songwriter Susan Werner, the plot of Bull Durham: A New Musical is largely the same as the movie's.

When the curtain rises, "Crash" Davis, a veteran minor-league baseball player, is called down to Durham to mentor Ebby "Nuke" Laloosh, a player with "a million-dollar arm and a 5-cent head." The conflict concerns the two men's affections for Annie Savoy, the "high priestess of the church of baseball," who offers her expertise -- and bed -- to the season's most promising rookie player. Given the success of the movie, the musical adaptation had some big shoes to fill.

Theatre Raleigh's Sept. 10-22 presentation of Bull Durham: A New Musical stars (from left) Charles Holt as
Larry, Nik Walker as "Crash" Davis, and Brian Norris as Skip (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

The cast and production team pull this feat off with ease, however. The direction of Marc Bruni and the choreography of Joshua Bergasse allow the audience in Duke University's R.J. Reynolds Industries Theater to watch dance moves as snappy as the dialogue. Their efforts allowed for sequences such as cartwheels and push-up jumps in the opening number, synchronized bat twirling, and even a slow-motion fight sequence (shout out to fight and intimacy coordinator Heather J. Strickland).

The set was nothing to scoff at, either. The many settings are intricate and pleasing to the eye. Major elements include neon lights in a fully stocked bar, the drapes and mantle in Annie Savoy's lovely pink house, a bull sign in the Bulls Stadium that smokes and has glowing red eyes, and even a little RC bus that rolls across the stage to indicate that the players are traveling from city to city.

Theatre Raleigh's production of Bull Durham: A New Musical stars (from left) Ashlyn Maddox as Millie, John
Behlmann as "Nuke" LaLoosh, and Brian Norris as Skip (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

The world of the play is so pretty that the audience can't look away, even if they tried. Many regards to set designer Derek McClane and property designer Tim Domack for their efforts.

Clearly, the production is flashy, but the cast is even more impressive. Everyone from the principal cast to the ensemble has to hit their marks and hit the notes of everything from soft ballads to upbeat jazzy numbers, and they all do it so effortlessly. Take, for example, Nik Walker, who portrays "Crash" Davis. He offers a more charismatic portrayal of the character than what was given in the movie; weary of the sport that has offered him so little in return for his devotion, he is quick to call out the foolishness around him, but appears more amused by it than annoyed. Walker's vocals are nothing to scoff at either -- his numbers were incredible.

Bull Durham stars John Behlmann (left) and Nik Walker star as "Nuke" and "Crash" (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

Carmen Cusack is equally as impressive as Annie Savoy. She offers a vulnerability to Annie that is as palpable as it is contradictory. Annie is self-assured, even as confusion sets in; and she puts on a brave face, even as sadness takes over. In short, you feel for her. For example, in a particular scene where Nuke is sent away, Annie's words are congratulatory, but you see the strain in her smile and hear the reluctance in her delivery -- you know she'll miss the man terribly. This portrayal and Cusack's powerful vocals make her wonderful to watch.

John Behlmann gives a solid portrayal of Nuke Laloosh. Though his vocals were not as strong as his counterparts', he characterizes Nuke very well from the manner of speech down to the body language. Watching him, you feel as though he is genuinely a hotheaded kid.

Ron Shelton's Bull Durham: A New Musical, with music and lyrics by Susan Werner, stars (from left) Ira David Wood
III as Uncle Roy, Brian Norris as Skip, and Charles Holt as Larry (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

Rounding out the cast are Ashlyn Maddox as the slutty daddy's girl turned bride-to-be, Millie; Andrew Poston as the naive, yet devout groom-to-be Jimmy; Brian Ray Norris and Charles Holt as team managers Skip and Larry; and in the performance thgat I saw, Greg Laux as Uncle Roy. The role is normally portrayed by Ira David Wood III, but Laux stepped in following Wood's hospitalization. Nevertheless, Laux did very well and offered ample comic relief as the announcer for the Bulls.

The show is wonderful overall, but I must confess that it is sometimes hard to understand the lyrics as the actors sing. The tone of the music and the preceding dialogue are enough to infer what was happening in the musical numbers, but I would have liked to gather a little more information from the songs themselves. That said, although there were a few moments when they dropped the ball (and in some cases, the bats), on the whole, this was fun to watch and a lovely tribute to the Bull City.

Carmen Cusack (center) stars as Annie Savoy in Ron Shelton's Bull Durham: A New Musical (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

One more note before I conclude: I had the privilege of being seated next to composer Susan Werner and her manager, Jane Paul. I was told of how this show came to fruition 10 years ago, how it premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, how the music had been revised and polished before the show moved to Durham. In my opinion, the extra care put into making this show great paid off; and when Werner was asked about how she felt seeing the show go up again, she said, "It's so rewarding. It promises a good time and it delivers."

Ashlyn Maddox and Andrew Poston star as Millie and Jimmy in Bull Durham: A New Musical (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

Ron Shelton's BULL DURHAM: A NEW MUSICAL (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-22), based on his screenplay for the 1988 MGM film, plus music and lyrics by Susan Werner; directed by Marc Bruni and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse, with music supervision by Vadim Feichtner and music direction by Josh Kight; and starring Carmen Cusack as Annie Savoy, Nik Walker as "Crash" Davis, John Behlmann as Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, Ashlyn Maddox as Millie, Andrew Poston as Jimmy, Ira David Wood III as Uncle Roy, Charles Holt as Larry, and Brian Norris as Skip, with Ellie Barone, Tre' Booker, Andrew Goins, Melvin Grey Jr., Breia Joelle Kelley, Nicholas Kraft, Greg Laux, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Jessi Little, Valentina Shelton, Clifton Samuels, Matt Wiercinski, Casey Wortham, and Blake Zelesnikar, plus Swings Chloe Calhoun and Sterling Nelson Jones (Theatre Raleigh in the R.J. Reynolds Industries Theater on the second floor of the Bryan Center on Duke University's West Campus in Durham). FEATURETTES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE45WkrsZPc and https://www.facebook.com/TheatreRaleigh/videos/1954071231710611. PRESENTER: https://theatreraleigh.com/, https://www.facebook.com/TheatreRaleigh, https://www.instagram.com/theatre_raleigh/, https://twitter.com/theatreraleigh, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrPHqUNhtfRMWQ2Ej8Fxeg. 2024 MAIN-STAGE SEASON: https://theatreraleigh.com/2024-main-stage-season/. VENUE: https://arts.duke.edu/places/reynolds-industries-theater/. MAP/DIRECTIONS: https://www.google.com/maps/. BULL DURHAM (1988 film): https://www.criterion.com/films/29143-bull-durham, https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69864/bull-durham#overview, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094812/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Durham. RON SHELTON (Whittier, CA-born film director and screenwriter, nee Ronald Wayne Shelton): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2244620/ron-shelton/, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005421/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Shelton. SUSAN WERNER (Chicago-based singer-songwriter): https://susanwerner.com/, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000036367, https://www.discogs.com/artist/516311, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Werner. NOTE: This show is suitable for ages 13+. TICKETS: $50-$70 ($10 Duke students and 25 percent discount for Duke employees), plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. TICKET QUESTIONS: 919-684-4444 or tickets@duke.edu. OTHER QUESTIONS: 919-832-9997 or info@theatreraleigh.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Theatre Raleigh.

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