Majestic theatre, New York
A standout turn from Jessica Vosk, taking on the Bette Midler role, isn’t enough to turn a much-loved movie into a legitimate stage show
Garry Marshall’s 1988 film Beaches is no testament to subtlety. But in its gauzy, hustling way it is an effective tear-jerker, poignantly tracing decades of a friendship as it unwittingly approaches tragedy. Because Bette Midler is one of its stars, Beaches is also full of music, mostly old standards but a few more modern tunes, too, most notably the radio hit Wind Beneath My Wings, which was not original to the film but was made famous by Midler’s recording.
There is music baked into the story; there are two female lead roles; and there is a passionate fanbase that has, by now, perhaps aged into their theatergoing years. All of which would suggest that Beaches is the perfect candidate for a Broadway adaptation. Indeed, a musical was conceived in 2014, but the show stalled out of town and it would take another 12 years for a (heavily revamped) version to reach New York City. Despite all that time and effort, the show is, alas, still not ready for primetime.
The current version of Beaches (based more closely on Iris Rainer Dart’s novel than on the film) features a score by Mike Stoller, a 93-year-old music-industry veteran whose Broadway revue Smokey Joe’s Cafe was a massive hit 30 years ago. Stoller is no doubt a legend, but his creative faculties are not at their sharpest here. The original songs are samey and unmemorable, their jazzy retro melodies heavily weighed down by Dart’s hyper-literal, expositional lyrics. Tune after tune comes and goes (the program reminds me that they have names like Show the World Who You Are, Wish I Could Be Like You and The Brand New Me), none of them sticking.
