Broadway-Bound BEACHES Musical Will Play London in 2019

According to Entertainment Tonight, the long-anticipated Broadway premiere of Beaches the Musical will have to wait until after a London run. Iris Rainer Dart, who wrote the novel on which the musical is based told ET: "We're just listening, refining, redoing and seeing which songs work and which ones don't."

The musical, which played both Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre (starring Shoshana Bean and Whitney Bashor) and Virginia's Signature Theatre (starring Alysha Umphress and Mara Davi), will open in the West End in 2019. Lonny Price is set to direct.

Beaches the Musical is 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.

Beaches the Musical follows two extraordinary friends through 30 years of camaraderie, laughter and sorrow. Vivacious, outlandish Cee Cee and beautiful, privileged Bertie meet as children and become fast friends. From pen-pals to roommates to romantic rivals, Cee Cee and Bertie's oil-and-water friendship perseveres through even the most tragic trials. With a touching vulnerability, Beaches exemplifies the triumph of the human spirit and the bonds of sisterhood.

The new musical features a book by Iris Rainer Dart and Thom Thomas, lyrics by Dart and music by David Austin.