(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse has announced the casting and the creative team for Bull Durham, the first production of their 2025-2026 season. The new musical begins performances Thursday, October 2 ahead of a Sunday, October 12 in a run that continues through Sunday, November 2, 2025.
Bull Durham brings the classic 1988 film to the stage. Veteran catcher “Crash” Davis is tasked with mentoring hotshot rookie pitcher “Nuke” LaLoosh, while baseball muse Annie must choose her seasonal protégé. Adapted by its original Academy Award-nominated screenwriter/director, Ron Shelton, with music and lyrics by Susan Werner, this pitch-perfect musical delivers a winning blend of comedy, drama, and romance as passion, ambition, and America’s favorite pastime collide.
Directed by Marc Bruni (The Great Gatsby) and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (Smash), Bull Durham will star two-time Tony Award nominee Carmen Cusack (Bright Star) as Annie Savoy, Nik Walker (Hamilton) as Crash Davis, Joel Ashur (Nollywood Dreams at Round House Theatre) as Larry, Ashlyn Maddox (Parade) as Millie, James Moye (Tootsie) as Skip, Andrew Poston (Almost Famous) as Jimmy, Will Savarese (Frozen National Tour) as Nuke LaLoosh, and Nick Wyman (Catch Me If You Can) as Uncle Roy.
Carmen Cusack and Nik Walker, photo by Curtis Brown
The ensemble features Mike Baerga, Ellie Barone, Tre’ Booker, Jacob Burns, Daniel DiPinto, Benny Elledge, Diana Huey, Ashton Lambert, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Jessi Little, Carson Hampton Palmer, Valentina Shelton, Jake Trammel, Dori Waymer, Matt Wiercinski, Casey Wortham, and Blake Zelesnikar.
The creative team includes Vadim Feichtner (music supervision); August Eriksmoen (orchestrations); Derek McLane (scenic design); Alejo Vietti (costume design); Cory Pattak (lighting design); Haley Parcher (sound design); Liz Printz (hair, wig, and makeup design); Eric Woodall, CSA (casting); and Rocío Mendez (fight and intimacy direction). Vocal arrangements are by Jason DeBord, Tim Weil, and Vadim Feichtner; dance arrangements are by Jason DeBord, Tim Weil, and Sam Davis. The production stage manager is Matthew Lacey.
Subscriptions for Paper Mill’s 2025-2026 season including Bull Durham are on sale now at www.PaperMill.org, by calling (973) 376-4343, or at the Millburn box office. The complete season lineup also includes Disney’s Frozen, Come From Away, 1776, and West Side Story. Tickets to individual shows will go on sale August 4.
ACCESSIBILITY
AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES are scheduled for Sunday, October 26 at 1:30pm and Saturday, November 1 at 1:30pm
OPEN-CAPTIONED & ASL-INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES are scheduled for Saturday, November 1 at 1:30pm and Sunday, November 2 at 7:00pm.
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Executive Director). A beloved New Jersey arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill creates and produces groundbreaking new musicals and reimagined classics. Several productions have gone on to Broadway and launched national tours, including The Great Gatsby, Disney’s Newsies, Bandstand, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Les Misérables (25th Anniversary production).
The theater is also the home to an award-winning center for musical theater education and artist training, with outreach programs that impact thousands of students each year. As one of the nation’s premier musical theaters, Paper Mill fosters a creative environment to advance the art form, educate students, develop future theater lovers, nurture inclusion, and provide access for all.
Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
