The musical focuses on Anna, the owner of a dilapidated roller skating rink on the boardwalk of a decaying seaside resort, who has decided to sell it to developers.

Complicating her plans are her prodigal daughter Angel, who returns to town seeking to reconnect with the people and places she long ago left behind.

Through a series of flashbacks, revelations, and minimal forward-moving plot development, the two deal with their pasts in their attempt to reconcile and move on with their lives.

Despite the presence of box-office draws Liza Minnelli (as Angel) and Chita Rivera (as Anna), it could not overcome the mostly negative reviews.

[2] The musical had an engagement in the West End at the Cambridge Theatre, opening on February 17, 1988 through March 19, 1988, running for 38 performances.

On the day that notices were issued that the show was to close, the cast, orchestra and crew staged a sit-in at the Cambridge Theatre to protest that low audience numbers were due to the poor marketing and media engagement by the producers.

[6] This production was highly praised for the main performances by Caroline O’Connor and Gemma Sutton and for the inventive choreography (including tap dancing on roller skates) but changes to the script and score by the show's director and dramaturg were less popular (the opening number Coloured Lights was moved to the end of Act 1, leaving the show to start with dialogue.