"Bull Durham" will debut "as a musical next September at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta before moving on to Broadway," according to Josh Leventhal of BASEBALL AMERICA. The musical "was announced Tuesday night at a Winter Meetings reception in Disney's Swan and Dolphin resort" hosted by Triple-A Int'l League Buffalo Bisons Owners Bob and Mindy Rich, "who are funding the project as part of their Rich Entertainment Group." "Bull Durham" film director Ron Shelton said that the play "will follow the same plot line of the movie," but with a "more in-depth look into some of the movie's secondary characters and a few new twists and turns toward the end." Leventhal reports veteran Broadway casting director Laura Stanczyk and producer Jack Viertel "are assisting in transforming the tale" from screen to stage. The project "has been in the works for three or four years," and the play will be directed by Kip Fagan (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 12/11). Shelton: "A number of Broadway producers called me over the years, saying, 'Are you interested?' and I said 'Yes, but not now.' I was always busy with this or that. But when Jack and Laura called, the timing was right" (MILB.com, 12/10).
