Carmen Cusack, Nik Walker & John Behlmann to Lead BULL DURHAM, A NEW MUSICAL

Carmen Cusack and Nik Walker will star in the upcoming production of "Bull Durham, A New Musical" at Theatre Raleigh. The show will be staged at Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University from September 10-22, 2024.
 
"Bull Durham, A New Musical" is an adaptation of the beloved 1988 film about the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. This Theatre Raleigh production will bring the musical to Durham, N.C. for the first time. 
 
Carmen Cusack is a two-time Tony nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in "Bright Star" and "Flying Over Sunset." She will take on the role of Annie Savoy. Cusack's other major stage credits include playing Elphaba in "Wicked" in Chicago and on tour, Christine in "Phantom of the Opera" on tour, and Fantine in "Les Miserables" on tour and in the West End production. 
 
Tackling the role of Crash Davis will be Nik Walker, who is known for playing Aaron Burr in "Hamilton" on Broadway and on tour, including at the Durham Performing Arts Center. His other Broadway credits include "Ain’t Too Proud," the "Spamalot" revival and "Motown the Musical." 
 
Filling out the show's main characters will be John Behlmann as Ebby Calvin "Nuke" Laloosh, a role he performed when the 1988 film was first adapted into a musical in Atlanta in 2014. Behlmann's Broadway credits include "Shucked," "Tootsie," "Significant Other," and "Journey's End." 
 
And likely to the delight of North Carolina theater fans, Ira David Wood (iii), the founder and executive director of Raleigh's Theater in the Park, is joining the cast as Uncle Roy Tuck. 
 
"This remarkable creative team has stacked the cast with incredible Broadway pedigree. I’m so excited to relaunch this fresh and joyful musical into the world, starting in Durham where it all began!" said Lauren Kennedy Brady, executive director of Theatre Raleigh, which is known for bringing in Broadway talent for its productions. Since 2023, the theater has hosted such award-winning performers as Ariana DeBose, Julie Benko, Beth Leavel, Rachel Bay Jones, Norm Lewis and Norbert Leo Butz.
 
When Kennedy Brady was a Broadway performer, she met composer Susan Werner and the film's director and writer, Ron Shelton. She came on as an early investor on the musical, which made its world premiere in Atlanta in 2014. That production stalled and when the commercial rights to the musical became available a few years ago, Kennedy Brady acquired them with the intention of taking the reworked musical to Broadway. 
 
The Bull Durham story weaves together baseball and romance as veteran catcher Crash Davis is brought in to mentor rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" Laloosh, while Annie Savoy, the team's muse, must choose between the two men. Shelton, who wrote and directed the original film, adapted his screenplay for the musical while Werner composed the music and lyrics. The production's creative team includes director Broadway director Marc Bruni ("Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," "The Great Gatsby"), choreographer Joshua Bergasse ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the 2014 revival of "On the Town" on Broadway and NBC’s "Smash") and music supervisor Vadim Feichtner (Broadway’s "Falsettos" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee").