The Theatre Raleigh cofounder talks about getting the live production of the beloved film off the ground, in its home city.
by Addie Ladner | photography by Jennifer Robertson
Fans of the movie Bull Durham will love the musical adaptation of the 1980s baseball flick by Theatre Raleigh, which premiered this week in its birth city. Written by Ron Shelton, who also wrote the original film’s script, Bull Durham, A New Musical will blend the plot of the classic all-American rom-com with the energizing music and dance that comes with live theater. Theatre Raleigh executive director Lauren Kennedy has been championing the project for over a decade to bring it to the Triangle community — and, hopefully, the Broadway world. Learn about why people who loved the film will love this adaptation.
When was this movie turned into a musical?
The musical started development around 2010 as an adaptation by Ron Shelton, who wrote and directed the movie itself. He eventually got with Broadway producers Jack Viertel and Laura Stanczyk in New York City to create a musical version for Broadway. They did a great job of further developing it in Atlanta around 2014, which is when I got wind of it. I wanted to be involved since the story stems in this area. I invested some early funding to help cheer it on.
And then what happened?
It was getting ramped up and then COVID happened, in addition to one of the other investors passing away, and then it sort of had to take a back seat. Ron, the original writer on the film, and musical artist Susan Werner, who produced the songs and lyrics for it approached me in the spring of 2022 and we decided to relaunch it, but this time here in the Triangle.
The move is such a classic, especially around here. Do you feel pressure from that?
It’s so close to the movie. For anyone who knows and loves the film version of Bull Durham, it checks all the boxes, the famous lines and scenarios and of course the love triangle. I’m so confident in it. The structure is slightly different because it’s a musical and producing it now brings it into the current era. For example, my daughter is 20 and she’s never seen the movie. It’s an exciting source of material to introduce to a new generation of folks. If you come to see it because you loved the film, you will love it. If you haven’t seen the movie, you will love it.
How did you go about casting?
At Theatre Raleigh, we do this magical mix of local veterans and Broadway professionals. This one is no different but feels neat with the regional origins of it. We have some heavy hitters like Carmen Cusack, a two-time Tony nominee, and Ira David Wood III, who plays the announcer. Nik Walker, who played Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway, will be Crash Davis. It’s going to be an exciting mix of local and New York pros.
What was it like to get it launched in Durham?
It felt like a huge and special opportunity to bring the musical to this area before launching it to Broadway. The goal is not only to offer something awesome to the Durham and Raleigh community, but to show it to Broadway and potential investors with a musical theater vernacular and national tour lens. Part of what we thought was so special was to do it in Durham, in a smaller-sized theater, is to show people what it would look like on a Broadway stage. We have a great partnership with Duke Arts, which is sponsoring it and allowing us some incredible resources and space. The Durham Bulls themselves have been huge supporters and have helped capture the Bulls crowd to encourage baseball fans to come to see the show. It feels like a great group of powerful organizations.
This article was originally published on September 12, 2024 on waltermagazine.com
