‘Beaches’ Broadway Review: Soulless and Uninspired Musical Remake of Beloved Film Washes Ashore

By Frank Rizzo

Frank Rizzo

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Audiences going to the musical “Beaches” are likely to know what to expect: the story of a decades-long, female friendship with plenty of schmaltz, some sass, and a mega-hit song, “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

The musical, which began its development a dozen years ago — and most recently in a 2024 Calgary production, is based on the 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart which “inspired” the 1988 Touchstone Pictures film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, which had a screenplay by Dart and Mary Agnes Donoghue.

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