The 24-member cast, which includes an 11-person ensemble, is led by Alysha Umphress as the tart-tongued thesp Cee Cee and Mara Davi as the freedom-seeking rich kid Bertie. A 10-member orchestra delivers a rich and fulfilling sound. Schaeffer’s direction emphasizes flow and personality, while Dan Knechtges’ choreography inserts movement and dance at every opportunity. Eric Schaeffer and company.ĭerek McLane’s minimalist set is framed floor to ceiling by a packed collection of beach cottage furniture and knick knacks. But elements soon veer off track from there, despite a first rate presentation from Signature a.d.

She tapped young composer David Austin to write the music, personally penned the lyrics, and then turned to Signature, a seasoned incubator of modern musicals, to mount it. From the 1988 Touchstone Pictures film with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, the team incorporated one no-brainer element, the landmark Jeff Silbar/Larry Henley song, “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” Meeting them, though, could take more ingenuity.ĭart partnered with playwright Thom Thomas to create a script from her 1985 novel about the enduring but all too brief relationship between two women of opposite personalities and backgrounds. A lackluster score and uneven delivery are among its current shortcomings. Given the project’s significant pedigree, Dart and the rest of her creative team clearly have high expectations for a show perceived as a natural extension of the “Beaches” franchise. It was a best-selling novel and a profitable film, but Iris Rainer Dart’s tear-jerker, “ Beaches,” struggles to find a footing as a compelling musical in its premiere at Arlington, Va.’s Signature Theater.

Beaches II by Iris Rainer Dart