‘Beaches: The New Musical’ review: Jessica Vosk gives her all in disastrous Broadway adaptation

Be sure to read the fine print about Beaches: New Music, now on Broadway. This is not a remake of the popular film of 1988, where Barbara Hershey played the lawyer and the lawyer Hillary Whitney, and Bette Midler brought the singer CC Bloom to brilliant. A musical for the Broadway stage The beaches instead it’s based on the film’s inspiration: Iris Rainer Dart’s 1985 novel about the highs and lows of the friendship between outgoing actress Cee Cee Bloom and sheepish preppy Bertie White.

The author has a heavy hand in this adaptation phase, writing both the book – with the help of playwright Thom Thomas – and the lyrics, while Mike Stoller, who once wrote songs for Elvis, composed the music. This makes for a surprisingly truncated stage show for Garry Marshall’s tearjerker, as the plot is very different, especially for Bertie/Hillary. However, directors Lonny Price and Matt Cowart struggled to deliver The beaches that moviegoers liked to go to the stage in one way or another. And leading lady Jessica Vosk does her best to bring Midler-level moxie to every scene and song.

It’s just a shame that Dart’s book and characters are losing the wind beneath his wings and the anchor is sinking the entire product.

The beaches on Broadway locks many movie songs.

Only “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which won Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, made the stage music playlist. The beaches. In the film, Midler also performed rocking covers of “Under the Boardwalk,” “The Glory of Love,” and “Baby Mine.” None of these make the stage. And bad news for fans of Midler’s play “Otto Titsling,” the hilarious story of the uncredited inventor of the brassiere; and that daffy song doesn’t make it to broadway either. The worst news: This last omission clearly shows how Dart leaned away from the movie’s more fun and campy bits.

The beaches – in both versions – begins with an elderly Cee Cee (Vosk) rehearsing a song for a big game, when a mysterious phone call sends her running away. Then, the story goes back decades before, when Cee Cee is a fiery little girl (Samantha Schwartz) who befriends the shy, polite little Bertie (Zeya Grace) on the beach in New Jersey. The two become friends, supporting each other through their abusive mothers and frustrations between boys and then men. For their 20s, they lived together in a cramped but lovely apartment as Cee Cee tried to make it as an actress, and Bertie helped out at the theater – mostly to avoid her mother and Michael, the boring man she was expected to marry.

Both women are getting married soon. But when Cee Cee’s career takes off, Bertie (unlike his film partner, Hillary) fails to realize his dream of becoming a lawyer. However, he still has a daughter that he loves. A misunderstanding will keep the two friends apart for years, but they will eventually reconnect through Bertie’s pregnancy, and when she is seriously ill.

Despite all the ups and downs of their relationship, the songs Dart and Stoller write all sound one note sad. “You Believe in Me,” “I Wish I Could Be Like You,” and “My Best” all feel like these two are very different but love each other more than anyone else. Even “God Bless Girlfriends” — sung by their angry husbands — echoes this. And none of these numbers have the emotional wallop or visual language of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Instead, they all feel like an AI imitation of that great song.

The beaches on Broadway features confusing characters.

Brent Thiessen (left) and Ben Jacoby (right) as husbands John and Michael in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin

Seeing The beaches the movie made me curious about it The beaches of music, but The beaches music doesn’t make me want to know The beaches a book. The songs are frustratingly forgettable, but more than that, the story feels dated and thin.

In Mary Agnes Donoghue’s script for the film, Hillary’s aspirations as a lawyer made her equal to CC in aspirations. In Dart’s Broadway show, it is difficult to understand who Bertie is, as the author/playwright leaves holes in his story. Bertie has dreams of becoming a lawyer, but when they don’t go anywhere, it’s unclear what to do instead. Also confusing is, who is Aunt Neetie? Bertie’s daughter Nina repeatedly brings her up, qualifying her as her “real” aunt as a way of showing contempt for Cee Cee. And while the two “aunties” seem to be in contention to raise Nina after Bertie’s death, because Neetie isn’t on stage, she’s an inconsequential distraction. All we know is that Bertie says he doesn’t have a sister. So maybe Neetie is his sister-in-law? But after their separation, Michael has no relationship with his daughter Nina. So, what is the probability that Aunt Neetie is Michael’s sister? It’s a confusing plot hole that becomes more painful in the play’s final act.

Dart also mocks Bertie’s privilege in the song “Normal,” where Bertie teases Cee Cee that the brassy starlet will never have a “normal” life. But all its examples are about wealth, like having servants on hand. And these are all the things that rich Bertie has achieved since he was born. Her husband, Michael (Ben Jacoby), doesn’t reveal much about who he is, as he’s a sketchy figure in a suit jacket. In contrast, Cee Cee’s husband John (Brent Thiessen) donned an open denim shirt. They come off as the same person in different fonts.

Now, you might be wondering if that’s the intention to reinforce the undertones that were present in the movie. Queer audiences have long speculated whether or not these women were dating. However, “The Brand New Me” might make you think so, as Bertie sings about realizing he’s in love with a girl. But it is a misunderstanding; you mean brand new. Then, the women share a double wedding on stage, where they are both dressed as brides. Here, the six actors who play Bertie and Cee Cee as children, teenagers, and adults play together, while the bridegrooms are nothing but nonsense. (Like an unsatisfying beard?)

Jessica Vosk and The beaches The directors tried to bring camp and Midler to openness.

Jessica Vosk stars as Cee Cee Bloom in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin

This is a thankless show of actors. The songs are bad. And all the older actors, except for the leads Jessica Vosk and Kelli Barrett, were given the task of playing many small roles, including young Cee Cee (Bailey Ryon), young Bertie (Emma Ogea), Cee Cee’s mother (Sarah Bockel), and nuns, TV studio technicians, nurses, and people waiting for the flight. It can actually be confusing if you suddenly find the actor playing Cee Cee in a different actor’s scene, with no attempt to hide behind a suit jacket. But props to Zurin Villanueva, who is given small parts, and manages to shine and be funny in all of them. Here’s hoping he gets an important role for his charisma soon.

As for Barrett, he gives himself completely to Bertie’s pain and joy as Dart’s script turns his character on a pin-head, from angry to kind. It’s not his fault it doesn’t work. Unsatisfying words, made-up words that could have been ripped from Hallmark cards. Barrett is at his best in the dialogue scenes, where he can play off Vosk, whose enthusiasm lifts everyone around him.

Vosk gives him all the lowdowns. And while I don’t remember a single lyric from the new Broadway numbers, I do remember how my heart soared as he hit the high note with a wide smile. He is an amazing person who understands why the audience. She works hard to give us Midler-like oomph. And that’s echoed by her young co-star, Samantha Schwartz, who’s a dynamic pint-sized girl with charisma and chutzpah to spare.

Zeya Grace (left) and Samantha Schwartz (right) as Little Bertie and Little Cee Cee in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin

Vosk sinks his teeth into Cee Cee’s passion, jealousy and determination. Directors Price and Cowart support her by bringing in glimpses of Midler, such as a scene where the stage shows Cee Cee singing in the bathroom, as Midler used to do, or a double-braided red wig that recalls what Midler looked like inside. Hocus Pocus. Similarly, some clothes – including clothes for little girls – remember the film directly, happily playing on the nostalgia of the audience. In these choices you can sense an attempt to please the female audience connected to the tumultuous story of Hillary and CC and the queer audience who love Midler’s brassy bravura. But these flowers, although they look, they cannot fight The beaches from Dart’s writing ban.

In addition, the rest of the stage is a mess. Rather than being physical set pieces, it is a collection of columns attached to projectors that flag suggestions of a setting, such as street signs or illustrations, that do not evoke a mood or place effectively. In front of the stage is a sandy beach dune, with spiky leaves for the girls to play on. Then, in the last act, when they are on the beach, the background is painted. After so much speculation, at this last moment, when the beauty of the beach itself could help to focus the heavy emotions about to flow, they went with a backdrop that looked like a painting of a motel room.

However, not thinking more was a hindrance. The platform on the stage forms a second stage, which is used as a balcony for a beach house, a TV studio set, and a variety of other theater stages for Cee Cee to ride on. This was multi-purpose and smart. However, blocking often has actors sitting or lying down on the stage. In my orchestra seats, there were times when I couldn’t see who was singing without moving my head to catch up with the person in front of me. I’m short, admittedly. But during the break, I switched seats with my guest, and he, who is not short, still had problems, despite the fact that the person in front of us was not incredibly tall! Perhaps this is a show better suited to the cheap seats?

Overall, The beaches a big disappointment. Vosk gives it her all in raw humor, high notes, and a brave heroine. The supporting cast is asked to sing, dance, and act out a series of small parts and underwritten characters. The directors tried to combine elements from the movie with Midler’s wider influence to attract her fans and the film. But in the end, the show is doomed by Dart’s underwriting.

The beaches is now on Broadway, and will begin a national tour this fall.