“Beaches” review: You'll laugh and, yes, you'll cry on Broadway

Sarah HearonThu, April 23, 2026 at 3:00 AM UTC

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Kelli Barrett and Jessica Vosk in 'Beaches'Credit: Courtesy

“Spoiler alert: she dies,” someone said as the audience took their seats before a preview performance of Beaches on Broadway, which opened tonight at the Majestic Theatre.

While blunt, the theater-goer is not wrong. Famously sad and based on the 1988 movie starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey and the 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart, both of the same name, Beaches tells the story of best friends Cee Cee Bloom and Bertie White. (Bertie’s name was changed to Hillary for the film.)

On stage, Jessica Vosk takes on the role of Cee Cee (made famous by Midler) and Kelli Barrett plays Bertie (Hershey in the film… as Hillary). While Vosk is known for starring as Elphaba in Wicked for several years, Barrett previously played the character’s younger sister, Nessarose. She also portrayed Liza Minnelli in the TV show Fosse/Verdon.

Little Bertie and Little Cee Cee and played by Zeya Grace and Samantha SchwartzCredit: Courtesy

The BFFs — one a scrappy, inspiring performer and the other from a wealthy, proper family — meet on the boardwalk in Atlantic City and quickly bond despite their differences. The witty dialogue known from the movie is there from the jump, with young versions of Cee Cee and Bertie (played by Samantha Schwartz and Zeya Grace, respectively), delivering not-so-age appropriate lines and standing up to their mothers with a mix of sass and spunk. “Little Cee” and “Little Bertie,” who make appearances throughout the show, ultimately become a highlight of the production.

Teen versions of Bertie (Emma Ogea) and Cee Cee (Bailey Ryon) are also introduced as the pair stay in touch via letters over the years before Bertie eventually comes to live with Cee Cee. Whenever directors Lonny Price and Matt Cowart have all six women were on stage at the same time, it is hard not to smile and think: This is girlhood.

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Cee Cee and Bertie through the yearsCredit: Courtesy

That sentiment, however, fades a bit as the show changes the plot of the movie, seemingly in an attempt to stay true to the book. While all three versions of Cee Cee and Bertie’s story include a fight over theater director John Perry (he sleeps with Bertie first before eventually marrying Cee Cee), the film introduces tension between the women not solely based on a man. A plot device of a second “love triangle” conflict — Bertie’s husband Michael randomly making a pass at Cee Cee — was disappointing and provided a lack of growth of Bertie’s character, who becomes a confident lawyer in the movie, but not on stage.

There’s also a musical number from John (Brent Thiessen) and Michael (Ben Jacoby) called “God Bless Girlfriends” that felt unnecessary — we didn’t come here to hear two men explain (or complain?) about female friendship. On a more positive note with the songs (music by Mike Stoller, lyrics by Dart), you just know Vosk will have a proper rendition of “The Wind Beneath My Wings” on lock when you hear her sing “A Real Woman” in the first act.

The four-year falling out over the Michael incident leads to a second act that doesn’t quite capture the fun, light-hearted spirit from act one, but does naturally prepare the crowd for the ending — WARNING: We’re circling back to that aforementioned spoiler — when Bertie, now a single mom, is terminally ill.

Jessica VoskCredit: Courtesy

Cee Cee drops everything to take care of Bertie as the women are reunited at the beach before she takes her last breath. Singing the signature song from the movie, Vosk is joined by Teen Cee Cee and Little Cee Cee for “The Wind Beneath My Wings,” which will have you reaching for your best friend and making her promise not to die. Okay, maybe that was just me, but either way, you’ll be grabbing your tissues and be reminded that Vosk truly is a powerhouse. Grade B–

on Entertainment Weekly

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”