Amazon Prime 'A League of Their Own' series shines spotlight on women's baseball, Rockford

ROCKFORD — Rockford celebrated the new Amazon Prime Video series "A League of Their Own" Saturday at the Coronado Performing Arts Center.

The first of an eight-part series was shown to a packed theater while several cast members were on hand to cap off a two-day festival highlighting the Rockford Peaches, Rockford's famous All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team.

The series is based on the film of the same name that hit theaters on July 1, 1992, and starred Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, and Megan Cavanagh, who played Marla Hooch.

More: 'A League of Their Own' director Penny Marshall honored in Rockford

"A League of Their Own," the series, is co-created and executive produced by Abbi Jacobson of “Broad City” fame, who dives deeper into issues the movie only touched on.

“The film is iconic,” said Jacobson, who also stars in the series. “It’s people’s favorite movie for so many different reasons, and what we tried to do is keep that sense of joy and the spirit and energy that the movie had. The thing we are moving into is telling stories that the movie couldn’t get to in the two hours they had.”

Those issues include institutional racism and sexuality, along with stories about various women who played baseball in the 1940s but never made it to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

“These are the stories that were in the shadows,” Cavanagh said. “There were girls in the league who were closeted and had to live a certain way, because if they would have gotten caught, it would have been terrible. There were African-American girls who were phenomenal players who didn’t get into the league. It really takes it to a different place. I feel that the movie was a platform, and this is bringing it into the 21st century.”

Shot in Pittsburgh, the series will be released to the rest of the world on Aug. 12.

Jim Hagerty covers general news, schools, and courts. Contact him at jhagerty@rrstar.com and @jimhagerty.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 'A League of Their Own,' Rockford Peaches revisited in new TV series