‘Bull Durham’ hopes to hit a home run on Alliance stage

She’s stifling a laugh as she watches actor John Behlmann leap off a dusty green wooden riser in a high jump, fall into a split, then hop up and burst into a goofy “stirring the butter” dance move.

Near Werner, a pianist rips out the boogie-woogie melody of "She's Mine," one of 18 Werner-penned songs that will appear in "Bull Durham," the new musical based on the beloved 1988 romantic comedy that expertly layered baseball, sex and love starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.

The show officially launches the 2014/2015 season at the Alliance Theatre on Sept. 13. It's another world premiere for the establishment that in recent years has debuted a parade of high-profile musicals including "Bring It On: The Musical," "The Color Purple," Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" and, last season, a revamped version of Barry Manilow's "Harmony."

The goal for “Bull Durham” is to land on Broadway next year.

Susan V. Booth, artistic director at the Alliance, doesn’t need much convincing about its future.

“I’d take that bet,” she said.

But on this steamy August afternoon, in a rehearsal room in the bowels of the venue, the 28-member cast is repeating this lone musical sequence in preparation for the Atlanta debut (previews began Sept. 3).

Behlmann, his eyebrows perpetually arched in amusement, plays hotshot, loose-cannon pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (the Robbins role). He expertly needles – via song – the ruggedly stoic veteran catcher “Crash” Davis (played by Will Swenson in the role Costner inhabited) as the pair vie for the affection of Annie Savoy, the self-appointed high priestess of the minor league Durham Bulls. Every year, Annie turns one player from a has-been to a star by sharing her wisdom and knowledge – both fastball and bedroom.

Melissa Errico portrays the oft-quoted Annie, and her combination of sexy smirks and languid gait render her an intoxicating presence.

The pedigree of the cast is impressive. All three have played Broadway; Swenson was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in "Hair"; and Errico currently plays Catherine Christiansen in Steven Soderbergh's Cinemax series, "The Knick."

The presence of such high-caliber talent, coupled with book writer Ron Shelton (who penned the “Bull Durham” screenplay and directed the film, which was loosely based on his own minor league baseball experiences) and director Kip Fagan (off-Broadway’s “The Revisionist” with Jesse Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave), made Werner’s job much easier.

“These are real thoroughbreds,” Werner said in her makeshift Alliance office, an electric piano in one corner and a guitar on the floor next to a copy of “Look, I Made a Hat,” the encyclopedic Stephen Sondheim lyric book.

This is Werner’s first musical, and the acclaimed singer-songwriter approached the project with a bit of athleticism, as well as drawing from influences such as The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Susan Tedeschi and Delbert McClinton.

Bike rides to and from her office in Chicago in the early writing stages turned into frequent bike rides along the Atlanta Beltline since she arrived here in July – prime time for subconscious thoughts to roam.

In her office, she pulls up an iTunes list of more than 200 songs and pieces of songs she wrote for the production.

“It was important to me that the music be physical. It has to feel like people are moving because these are athletic people and even Annie, in her own way, is very comfortable with her body. Very,” Werner said with her throaty laugh, the glasses perched on her head shifting a bit. “If we do it right, you should be able to pick up a little whiff of sweat in the theater from everyone being active on stage. These are people who are good in bed, or learn how to be good in bed, and that’s a fun premise for a show, I think.”

Werner wrote most of the music on guitar for a reason.

“A guitar is a portable good time and the piano feels like it’s wearing a suit and giving correct answers. If you play the piano, you sip something elegant, and if you play the guitar, you drink a beer. And this show drinks a beer.”

Werner knows that some audience members may come to the musical with preconceived notions based on the movie. Some scenes are new to this theatrical production, she says, but the soul of the story remains.

“The trick with a story like this is to tell it in a way that makes it work for everyone, regardless of the amount of familiarity with the source material. Are they (the audience) going to say, it’s not the same thing? Are they gonna say, that’s close enough? Are they gonna say, it’s not the same thing, but that’s cool? I don’t know exactly how it’s going to go,” she said.

Co-producer and casting director Laura Stanczyk was instrumental in bringing “Bull Durham” to Atlanta. Having worked on the 2012 Atlanta premiere of “Ghost Brothers…” with Stephen King and John Mellencamp, Stanczyk invited Booth to see a workshop for “Bull Durham” in New York.

Booth was immediately captivated.

“What I witnessed in that workshop was a pure love of baseball made manifest in fully realized characters and some of the most athletic choreography I’d ever seen,” she said. “This wasn’t ‘baseball-lite’; this was a full on love affair with America’s pastime.”

Once Shelton decided to move forward with the theatrical production, Stanczyk contacted Werner, whom she recalled from hearing her 2004 album, “I Can’t Be New,” a collection written in songbook style to sound like Gershwin and Cole Porter.

Werner, a 20-year veteran of playing Eddie’s Attic in Decatur (she’ll return there Sept. 20 for a show and might include some “Bull Durham” outtakes in her set), had never considered writing a musical. But now, when asked how she feels about writing for a show instead of herself, she bursts into a laugh.

“It’s a relief!” she said, throwing her arms open. “Through the theater you get to be people you’re not going to get to be in your life. I’m never going to be a major league pitcher, but in the theater, you get to be that. And I can’t be amazing like Annie, but in theater you can be all of these things and there’s a real delight – and relief – in that. It’s almost like you’re seeing things through a prism instead of one little telescope.”

And, possibly, drinking a beer while doing so.