Lifetime’s remake of the classic 1988 tearjerker Beaches aired Saturday night — with Broadway star Idina Menzel and Big Momma’s House Nia Long stepping into the iconic roles of entertainer C.C. Bloom and her aristocratic Bff Hillary Whitney — made famous on screen by Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.
The made-for-tv movie did an excellent job of capturing the ups and downs of a 30-year friendship, staying true to most of plot points in the Garry Marshall feature and Iris Rainer Dart’s original book. (Spoiler alert: that death is still there, and it’s just as devastating).
But there...
The made-for-tv movie did an excellent job of capturing the ups and downs of a 30-year friendship, staying true to most of plot points in the Garry Marshall feature and Iris Rainer Dart’s original book. (Spoiler alert: that death is still there, and it’s just as devastating).
But there...
- 1/22/2017
- by Dave Quinn
- PEOPLE.com
Remaking a beloved film isn’t always the easiest task, but what happens when the original wasn’t all that good to begin with?
The 1988 theatrical release of “Beaches” was a lachrymose lovefest that baffled the critics who found its schmaltz and manipulative melodrama far too heavy-handed for consumption. That didn’t keep filmgoers from buying tickets or wringing out their tear ducts for this earnest story of lifelong friends. No matter how hard-hearted you were, it was clear that the Garry Marshall-directed film had its charms, not the least of which was Mayim Bialik and Bette Midler as the older and younger versions of the brassy C.C. Bloom, and the latter’s ability to sell “Wind Beneath My Wings” to anyone with a Bff.
Read More: 11 Great Films About Female Friendship
Lifetime’s “Beaches” is fairly faithful to Marshall’s vision (even using one of the character...
The 1988 theatrical release of “Beaches” was a lachrymose lovefest that baffled the critics who found its schmaltz and manipulative melodrama far too heavy-handed for consumption. That didn’t keep filmgoers from buying tickets or wringing out their tear ducts for this earnest story of lifelong friends. No matter how hard-hearted you were, it was clear that the Garry Marshall-directed film had its charms, not the least of which was Mayim Bialik and Bette Midler as the older and younger versions of the brassy C.C. Bloom, and the latter’s ability to sell “Wind Beneath My Wings” to anyone with a Bff.
Read More: 11 Great Films About Female Friendship
Lifetime’s “Beaches” is fairly faithful to Marshall’s vision (even using one of the character...
- 1/21/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Thom Thomas, script writer for stage, TV and film, succumbed to acute leukemia in Los Angeles on December 2, 2015. Recently Thomas co-wrote with Iris Rainer Dart the book for Beaches, The Musical, adapted from Dart's popular novel. Beaches had a tryout in Chicago at the Drury Lane Theatre this past summer, and a Broadway transfer is pending availability of a theater. Currently Astrablu Media, Inc. holds the rights to Thomas's completed screenplay adaptation of the novel, Vanished, with production planned for spring of 2016.
- 12/4/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Drury Lane Productions and Jennifer Maloney-Prezioso Broadway's Spring Awakening, Rock of Ages present the pre-Broadway production of Beaches, A New Musical, based on the beloved novel by Iris Rainer Dart. The show began previews June 24 and runs through August 16, 2015. The original musical is written by Iris Rainer Dart and Thom Thomas, with music by David Austin and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart. The production is directed by Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the stars in action below...
- 7/8/2015
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
Drury Lane Productions and Jennifer Maloney-Prezioso Broadway's Spring Awakening, Rock of Ages present the pre-Broadway production of Beaches, A New Musical, based on the beloved novel by Iris Rainer Dart. The show began previews June 24 and opens tonight,July 2nd, running through August 16, 2015.The original musical is written by Iris Rainer Dart and Thom Thomas, with music by David Austin and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart. The production is directed by Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet.
- 7/2/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Beaches The Musical is ready to take the Drury Lane Theatrein Chicago by storm before it eyes a Broadway run. Performances at the Drury Lane Theatre will begin on June 24, 2015 and will run until August 16th. Beaches the Musicalis based on the novel with the same name by Iris Rainer Dart. The novel has been transformed already into a 1988 film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.
- 6/24/2015
- by Nora Dominick
- BroadwayWorld.com
Drury Lane Productions and Jennifer Maloney-Prezioso Broadway's Spring Awakening, Rock of Ages have announced the cast for the pre-Broadway production of Beaches, A New Musical, based on the beloved novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Previewing June 24, opening on July 2nd and running through August 16, 2015, the original musical is written by Iris Rainer Dart and Thom Thomas, with music by David Austin and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart. The production is directed by Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet.
- 5/11/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
“I have made a series of very bad decisions and I cannot make another one” was a line once spoken by Breaking Bad’s Walter White, but it couldn’t be less true of the actor who said it. The one and only Bryan Cranston — on an impeccable roll for the last few years — has just made his Broadway debut to ecstatic notices for his lived-in, charged Lyndon Baines Johnson in All the Way, and early pundits indicate he may be the man to beat at Tony time. (Though not so fast, he still has heavy-hitters like Denzel Washington, Michael C. Hall,...
- 3/8/2014
- by Jason Clark
- EW.com - PopWatch
Virginia's Signature Theatre presents the world premiere musical Beaches, opening tonight, March 4, 2014, and playing through March 30. Adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart, Beaches is directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. This heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women stars Mara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie and Alysha Umphress Broadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom.
- 3/4/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
BEACHESThis spring, Virginia's Signature Theatre presents the world premiere musical Beaches, adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, this heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women starsMara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie White and Alysha UmphressBroadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom. Click below to watch Alysha Umphress and Mara Davi sing 'What I Should Have Told Her' over footage from rehearsal...
- 2/28/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
This spring, Virginia's Signature Theatre presents the world premiere musical Beaches, adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, this heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women starsMara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie White and Alysha UmphressBroadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below...
- 2/27/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
This spring, Virginia's Signature Theatre will present the world premiere musical Beaches, adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, this heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women will starMara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie White and Alysha UmphressBroadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom. Click below for a first listen to the song 'The View From Up Here', featuring Umphress...
- 2/25/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Due to popular demand Virginia's Signature Theatre announces that the world premiere musical Beaches is now extended through March 30, 2014. Adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart, Beaches is directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. This heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women stars Mara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie and Alysha Umphress Broadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom.
- 2/17/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
This spring, Virginia's Signature Theatre will present the world premiere musical Beaches, adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, this heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women will starMara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie White and Alysha Umphress Broadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom. Click below for a first listen to the song 'A Bunch of Kids', featuring Davi...
- 2/11/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
This spring, Virginia's Signature Theatre will present the world premiere musical Beaches, adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, this heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women will star Mara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie White and Alysha Umphress Broadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom. Click below for a first listen to the song 'Extraordinary', featuring Umphress and Davi...
- 2/5/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Virginia's Signature Theatre just announced the full cast of this spring's world premiere musical Beaches, adapted from the beloved 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart. Directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, this heartfelt chronicle of a decades-long friendship between two unforgettable women will star Mara Davi Broadway's A Chorus Line and The Drowsy Chaperone as Bertie White and Alysha Umphress Broadway's American Idiot and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Cee Cee Bloom.
- 1/14/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Happy Birthday to Pandora Boxx, who turns 39, and David Beckham, who is 36.
The Ali Forney Center in NYC will be sponsoring a community forum on homeless Glbt youth tomorrow, May 3rd, at 7 Pm Est at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. After Rachel Griffiths joked at an Australian awards show that, "I'm soon to be unemployed," Brothers & Sisters fans immediately thought the writing was on the wall for the show. But ABC insists that no decision has been made yet, and it may come down to the wire, when the network finally announces the fall schedule on May 16th. Lady Gaga has revealed the track list and back cover art for Born This Way. I guess a song titled "Highway Unicorn" was sort of inevitable.
Iris Rainer Dart is preparing a stage musical of her classic weepie novel Beaches. But the novel differs from the Bette Midler movie version,...
The Ali Forney Center in NYC will be sponsoring a community forum on homeless Glbt youth tomorrow, May 3rd, at 7 Pm Est at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. After Rachel Griffiths joked at an Australian awards show that, "I'm soon to be unemployed," Brothers & Sisters fans immediately thought the writing was on the wall for the show. But ABC insists that no decision has been made yet, and it may come down to the wire, when the network finally announces the fall schedule on May 16th. Lady Gaga has revealed the track list and back cover art for Born This Way. I guess a song titled "Highway Unicorn" was sort of inevitable.
Iris Rainer Dart is preparing a stage musical of her classic weepie novel Beaches. But the novel differs from the Bette Midler movie version,...
- 5/2/2011
- by snicks
- The Backlot
The final week of Tony eligibility brought with it five major openings, four big-named Broadway debuts, and one major misfire. Our critics saw them all — read below for the highlights. (And don’t forget to return to PopWatch on Tuesday, May 3, following the Tony nominations, for our on-the-scene commentary and reactions.)
The Normal Heart: Larry Kramer’s 1985 drama about the early years of the AIDS crisis is emotional but imperfect, according to EW stage editor Thom Geier. He gives the revival a B+, and praises lead Joe Mantello and the strong supporting cast — including Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, and...
The Normal Heart: Larry Kramer’s 1985 drama about the early years of the AIDS crisis is emotional but imperfect, according to EW stage editor Thom Geier. He gives the revival a B+, and praises lead Joe Mantello and the strong supporting cast — including Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, and...
- 4/29/2011
- by Aubry D'Arminio
- EW.com - PopWatch
Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director, Ken Novice, Interim Managing Director, Tom Ware, Producing Director) announced today that Laughing Matters, a world premiere musical featuring a book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart (author of the international best-selling novel "Beaches"), music by Mike Stoller (Smokey Joe's Café) and Artie Butler (Feelin' Alright by Joe Cocker), and directed by Leonard Foglia (Broadway's Thurgood starring Laurence Fishburne), will be the final production of the 2009 Season entitled Women: The Heart and Soul of Theatre.
- 11/4/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director, Ken Novice, Interim Managing Director, Tom Ware, Producing Director) announced today that Laughing Matters, a world premiere musical featuring a book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart (author of the international best-selling novel "Beaches"), music by Mike Stoller (Smokey Joe's Café) and Artie Butler (Feelin' Alright by Joe Cocker), and directed by Leonard Foglia (Broadway's Thurgood starring Laurence Fishburne), will be the final production of the 2009 Season entitled Women: The Heart and Soul of Theatre.
- 4/16/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Pasadena Playhouse announced today that Laughing Matters, a world premiere musical featuring a book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart (author of the international best-selling novel "Beaches"), music by Mike Stoller (Smokey Joe's Café) and Artie Butler (Feelin' Alright by Joe Cocker), and directed by Leonard Foglia (Broadway's Thurgood starring Laurence Fishburne), will be the final production of the 2009 Season.
- 4/16/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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