‘Beaches’ Musical Closes Early After Tony Shutout

The last day at this beach is May 24. Beaches: A New Musical — the Broadway adaptation of Iris Rainer Dart’s beloved 1985 novel and its iconic 1988 film — announced Tuesday that it will close this Sunday, ending its run at the Majestic Theatre more than three months before its scheduled September 6 closing date.

The show, starring Jessica Vosk as Cee Cee Bloom and Kelli Barrett as Bertie White, opened April 22 after previews began March 27. It will close having played just 28 previews and 38 regular performances. The combination of mixed-to-negative reviews, soft ticket sales, and a complete shutout from the Tony Award nominations proved too much to overcome.

During the week ending May 10, nearly half of all seats at the Majestic went unsold, with average ticket prices sitting at $72 — roughly 40 percent below the Broadway average. The most recent weekly gross came in at just $441,484, far below what it costs to run a musical of this scale.

A Rough Road From the Start

The production arrived on Broadway under unusual circumstances. The show’s original plan had been a pre-Broadway national tour, but when the Shubert Organization offered the Majestic during what has turned out to be one of the weakest seasons for new musicals in recent memory — only six new musicals opened this year, compared to 14 last season — producers seized the opportunity. The theory was that the thin competition would work in their favor and that a Broadway run would boost the touring production’s profile around the country.

It didn’t pan out that way. The show arrived with a modest cast of 12, a spare set, and a 24-week limited engagement plan. Critics weren’t kind. Writing in The New York Times, Laura Collins-Hughes called it “like a corner-cutting rush job,” describing the result as “a pervasive, underwhelming blandness in a condescending production.” Tony nominators apparently agreed — the show didn’t receive a single nomination, in any category.

Vosk, who earned personal praise even as the show itself was panned, addressed the snub openly in a TikTok video earlier this month.

“It’s the first time I’ve sat with the possibility of even being nominated for anything Tony-wise, and it was really exciting,” she said. “And while I wish I could also be up there with all those incredible ladies, it’s been incredible to watch them all season and even be a part of the conversation.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cRm4-l4V1IA%3Ffeature%3Doembed

In a statement announcing the closing, Vosk spoke to what the role has meant to her personally. “It has been my great joy to originate a role for the very first time on Broadway with Cee Cee Bloom, who I adore for her grit, her great humor and her huge heart,” she said. “To continue the legacy of a character first made famous by my idol Bette Midler is something I’m not sure I’ll ever fully process.”

The character of Cee Cee Bloom, of course, was immortalized by Midler in the 1988 film alongside Barbara Hershey — the movie that gave the world “Wind Beneath My Wings” and made generations of people sob into their popcorn. The stage musical has been in development for over a decade, with earlier productions at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in 2014, Drury Lane Theater in Illinois in 2015, and most recently at Theatre Calgary in 2024 — that Canadian production also starring Vosk and Barrett.

Where the Show Goes From Here

Producer Jennifer Maloney-Prezioso struck a defiant note in her statement. “Bringing a new musical to Broadway is always an enormous undertaking, and we are deeply proud of this company who created a production filled with heart, humanity, humor, and emotional truth,” she said. “Night after night, audiences have laughed, cried, called their friends on the way out of the theater, and connected deeply with this story of friendship and love. That impact is real, and it will stay with people long after the final curtain.”

The Broadway closing does not mean the end of the show. A national tour is set for 2027, though specific dates and cities haven’t been announced yet. That tour was always the endgame — Broadway, for all its prestige, was the gamble. Whether the show can find a more welcoming audience outside New York remains the open question.

For now, the Majestic goes dark on Sunday. Tickets for the final performances are still available for anyone who wants to say goodbye.