![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Dart - who has written the lyrics and co-written the musical’s book with Thom Thomas - fashions with composer David Austin some frisky uptempo numbers, especially a witty send-up of disco, “(I’m) All I Need,” and a song for the show’s stars, “Normal People,” that recalls the merry backstage brio of movie musicals like “Singin’ in the Rain.”īut trying to navigate the story’s stormier pathways leads the writers up some muddier alleys, in particular, to a lifeless ballad for Mara Davi, playing Bertie White, doomed pal of Umphress’s singing sensation Cee Cee Bloom, that sends us blandly into intermission. It’s not the only pleasing musical interlude of this Signature Theatre world premiere, based on Iris Rainer Dart’s hearts-and-flowers novel, about lifelong bosom buddies who need, needle and nourish each other. Thank the gods, or at least the licensing people: in the new stage version of “ Beaches,” we get to hear “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” It arrives during Act 2 of this amiable throwback of a musical, and the actress who lands it, Alysha Umphress, presents it to us in a delicate caress, as if it were a family heirloom, to be shown to the assembled guests on special occasions. ![]()
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