Theatre Raleigh’s “Bull Durham: A New Musical” offers viewers a chance to see a locally focused musical on the rise.
By Elizabeth Brignac. All photos by Jennifer Robertson Photography.
Lauren Kennedy Brady and Theatre Raleigh may catapult their new musical “Bull Durham” all the way to Broadway. I hope they do. From my ordinary-viewer’s perspective, it would be a huge hit. But whatever success the musical may find in its future, Triangle residents have the chance to enjoy this musical today in a way nobody else will ever have. We have a chance to see a rising production written, produced and performed by nationally acclaimed artists that incorporates a local viewpoint and demonstrates a local’s deep affection for its Durham setting. That specific combination will never happen quite this way again.
“Bull Durham” will be showing September 10-22 at Reynolds Industries Theater on Duke University’s campus. Produced by Theatre Raleigh, this is the first time the musical has ever been performed in North Carolina and the second run it has ever had at all (the first was in Atlanta). For those who have not seen the 1988 film on which it is based, “Bull Durham” follows the story of Nuke LaLoosh, a rookie pitcher with a “million-dollar arm and a five-cent brain” being trained in pitching by Crash Davis, a baseball veteran, and Annie Savoy, the team’s self-appointed muse. The story follows the characters’ changing relationships with the sport that brings them all together and the love triangle that develops between them.
Ron-Shelton, who wrote and directed the film version of “Bull Durham,” wrote the book for this musical and approached Lauren Kennedy Brady about producing it in Durham. Susan Werner, who wrote the music and lyrics, leans heavily into early rock, gospel, soul and Motown music, especially The Supremes, for the score. Many of the songs, like “I Believe,” take iconic moments from the film out for a creative spin. The dancing is complex and high-energy and involves a lot of baseball bats swinging around.
This production is partly an opportunity to workshop the new musical and see where it can go in its future, and that rising energy is part of the fun—but the show offers a loving celebration of Durham and the Triangle that feels very local. The Durham Bulls baseball caps the cast wears mean more when you own a cap just like that yourself. The Lucky Strike tower rising up in the set’s background means more when you’ve spent time under it enjoying concerts on the American Tobacco Campus. The set incorporates the iconic bull billboard with “Hit the bull; win a steak. Hit the grass; win a salad” that came to Durham with the movie set. For most of America, that sign is a minor-league-baseball movie detail. For locals, it’s such an indelible part of the Durham Bulls baseball experience that the sign followed the team to its new ballpark in 1995, though its current incarnation is slightly different from the original depicted in the musical. (Through a deal the American Tobacco Campus has made with Angus Barn, players really can win a steak if they hit the bull.) References clearly incorporated as a nod to locals pop up throughout the show.
The actors and creative team for this production come with bucketloads of credentials. I had seen Carmen Cusack, the actress who plays Annie, in two films I enjoyed: “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “American Fiction.” (Throughout the play, I felt her channeling my beloved Julia Sugarbaker to such an extent that I felt vindicated when I saw she also played the role of Julia in the theatrical premier of “Designing Women.”) Nik Walker, who plays Crash Davis, is a veteran Broadway actor who played Aaron Burr in “Hamilton” and Otis Williams in “Ain’t Too Proud.” Director Marc Bruni directed the acclaimed “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” on Broadway. This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the talent Theatre Raleigh has brought in for this production.
But the play celebrates local talent as well. In addition to Lauren Kennedy Brady’s work as producer, the play casts locally beloved actor Ira David Wood III, who played Scrooge for decades in Theatre In the Park’s Christmas Carol, as Uncle Roy, the sports reporter and father-figure of the show. Brian Ray Norris (best known for playing Broadway’s original Mr. Krabs in “SpongeBob Squarepants”) plays the Durham Bulls coach, Skip. Norris grew up in Garner and performed in his first theatrical productions at Garner High School. Numerous members of the ensemble are local professional actors. A large percentage of the creative team are veterans of many local productions. The production is very much a local-national talent hybrid.
A rising-energy show like this, set locally, with so much local emphasis and incorporating local as well as national talent makes this production of “Bull Durham” a special opportunity for Triangle theater-goers. And with a little luck, in a few years, we might be able to say we saw a nationally or internationally performed production in its earliest stages.
