Savannah Bananas announce original song from EGOT-winning Disney team

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Published Jul 15, 2026, 12:53 PM EDT

The Savannah Bananas are teaming up with an EGOT winning song-writing team

The Savannah Bananas strike a pose mid performance on a baseball field

If you don't know the Savannah Bananas by name, you might recognize their yellow uniforms and wacky antics from social media. The exhibition baseball team has rocketed to popularity in the past couple of years, becoming the Harlem Globetrotters of America's pastime while selling out venues like Yankee Stadium. While the star team of the Banana Ball Championship League constantly showcases players who do flips mid-game, bat on stilts, and perform live music, the team has yet to release an original song. That is about to change, and since The Bananas don't do anything with less than 100% effort, the team is enlisting EGOT winners to undertake the task.

Atlantic Records announced the Savannah Bananas are partnering with Ampersand, the production company of EGOT-winning songwriters Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, to produce the new single "Show Starts Now." Pasek and Paul are best known for their multi-award-winning work across theater (Dear Evan Hansen), television (Only Murders in the Building), and film (La La Land, The Greatest Showman). The team has also contributed songs to Disney's live-action adaptations of Aladdin and Snow White. The duo co-wrote the song alongside Cal Shapiro, Ashley Gorley, and Ben Johnson. In a press release, Pasek and Paul had this to say about the collaboration:

Getting to write Banana Ball's very first original anthem alongside a group of some of our favorite songwriters was a no-brainer. We could not be more impressed by what [commissioner Jesse Cole] has built over the last decade and getting to collaborate in this way was beyond thrilling.

Pasek and Paul won't be the only Broadway-caliber talent lending their abilities to the new song. Earlier this year, Tony-nominated actor Derek Klena joined the Bananas as a pitcher. In addition to pitching duties, Klena has become a star of the team thanks to his incredible performances of songs (including showtunes) mid-game. Pasek and Paul have previously worked with Klena, who starred in the original production of the team's 2012 musical Dogfight.

Klena, and the rest of the Savannah Bananas, will perform "Show Starts Now" as the opening act to the 2026 ESPY Awards today, July 15. The song can be pre-saved now on most music streaming services. Every Banana Ball Championship League game can be streamed on Disney Plus and the ESPN App. "Although the Bananas began playing Banana Ball full-time in 2023 (they were originally a summer collegiate-league team), 2026 marks the inaugural season of the Banana Ball Championship League. The season will end in October with the first-ever Banana Bowl.

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