Beaches Sets Early Closing on Broadway

The new Broadway musical Beaches will end its run at the Majestic Theatre on Sunday, May 24, after a preview period with soft ticket sales and largely negative reviews (except from ours, which was glowing).

The musical was originally scheduled to close on September 6, before embarking on a national tour. Previews began March 27, and the show opened on April 22. It will have played 28 previews and 38 regular performance; a national tour is still planned for 2027.

Based on the bestseller by Iris Rainer Dart that became a film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, Beaches follows the vivacious Cee Cee and elegant Bertie, who meet as children and become fast friends. The musical, developed in collaboration with David Austin, features a book by Dart and Thom Thomas, music by Mike Stoller, and lyrics by Dart.

the company is led by Jessica Vosk and Kelli Barrett, who starred in the musical’s pre-Broadway run at Theatre Calgary, alongside Brett Thiessen, Ben Jacoby, Samantha Schwartz, Zeya Grace, Sarah Bockel, Harper Burns, Eric Coles, Taylor Sage Evans, Mia Gerachis, Joelle Gully, Stephanie Martignetti, Emma Ogea, Olive Ross-Kline, Bailey Ryon, Paul Adam Schaefer, Lael Van Keuren, and Zurin Villanueva.

Co-directed by Lonny Price and Matt Cowart, the production has choreography by Jennifer Rias, with orchestrations by Tony Award winner Charlie Rosen. The production also features scenic design by James Noone, costume design by Tracy Christensen, lighting design by Ken Billington, sound design by Kai Harada, projection design by David Bengali, and wig, hair & make-up design by J. Jared Janas. Joseph Thalken serves as music supervisor and Paul Staroba serves as music director.

Going against the critical grain, our reviewer called Beaches “an irresistible Broadway tearjerker.”