''The Baby Dance'' is a 1998

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film produced by

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

about

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

. It was written and directed by

Jane Anderson Jane Anderson (born 1954 in California) is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and director. She wrote and directed the feature film '' The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio'' (2005), and wrote the Nicolas Cage film '' It Could Happen t ...

, based on her play of the same name, with

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series ''The West Wing'' ( ...

and

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...

starring in the lead roles.

Plot

Wanda LeFauve is a poor mother of four with an unemployed husband living in a trailer outside

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Pregnant again, she finds a newspaper ad placed by a couple hoping to adopt a newborn. Summoning up her courage, Wanda makes the telephone call. The couple — Rachel and Richard Luckman — are wealthy, Jewish urbanites from Los Angeles. They skirt logistics, legal matters, fears and prejudices prior to the child's birth.

Cast

as Rachel Luckman *

as Wanda LeFauve *

Peter Riegert Peter Riegert (born April 11, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Donald "Boon" Schoenstein in ''Animal House'' (1978), oil company executive "Mac" MacIntyre in '' Local Hero'' (1983), pickle store owner Sam Posner in '' ...

as Richard Luckman *

Richard Lineback Richard D. Lineback (born February 4, 1952) is an American actor who appeared in the films ''Speed'', ''Twister'' and '' Varsity Blues''. He played Deputy Dodd in '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''. Lineback has appeared in many roles on the ...

as Al LeFauve *

Sandra Seacat Sandra Diane Seacat (born October 2, 1936) is an American actress, director and acting coach best known for her innovations in acting pedagogy—blending elements of Strasberg, and Jungian dream analysis

as Doreen

Awards

The film was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

s for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for both Dern and Channing. At the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s, the film was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for

and directing and

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

for

. The film received the prestigious

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. Channing was also nominated for the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female was an award presented annually by Film Independent. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an absolutely outstanding performance in a supporting role while working in an indepe ...

and the

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in Miniseries or Television Movie. Winners an ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baby Dance 1998 television films 1998 independent films 1998 films Films about adoption American television films Films set in Louisiana Films set in the 1990s Peabody Award-winning broadcasts 1990s English-language films