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Broadway Musical Review—“Beaches” with Kelli Barrett and Jessica Vosk

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Friday, 15 May 2026 20:52; Written by Kevin Filipski

Beaches

Book by Iris Rainer Dart and Thom Thomas

Music by Mike Stoller, lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart

Directed by Lonny Price, co-directed by Matt Cowart

Opened April 22, 2026

Majestic Theater, 245 West 44th Street, NYC

beachesthemusical.com

Kelli Barrett in Beaches (photo: Marc J. Franklin)

Most people remember Beaches as the aggressively sentimental 1988 movie starring Bette Midler. But it was originally a novel by Iris Rainer Dart, who cowrote the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical version based on her book, not the film. Whether this was to avoid comparisons with the beloved screen tearjerker or not, the result is stilted and mawkish.

Beaches follows the lifelong friendship of extroverted Cee Cee Bloom and introverted Bertie White (Hillary in the movie) from the time they meet cute as kids on an Atlantic City beach until the moment Cee Cee drops her show-biz career to look after Bertie when she falls deathly ill. If the movie relied on Midler’s charisma and Barbara Hershey’s weepiness, the musical doesn’t do enough with its two stars. Jessica Vosk plays Cee Cee to the hilt, but she’s been directed to storm around like Midler, even though in interviews she has said she’s definitely not doing that.

Then there’s Kelli Barrett, one of our most winning and talented musical actresses, who plays Bertie. After making a superb Sherrie in the Off-Broadway musical Rock of Ages, Barrett was bypassed when the show first went to Broadway and then was made into a movie. Since then, she’s been in duds like Getting the Band Back Together and Doctor Zhivago. But Barrett is a trooper, and she makes Bertie a far more complete character than she deserves to be. The performers who play Cee Cee and Bertie as young girls (Samantha Schwartz and Zeya Grace) and teenagers (Bailey Ryon and Emma Ogea) are solid, and the number where all three pairs of friends are together onstage—“Show the World Who You Are”—is the most appealing in the entire show. Otherwise, the co-direction of Lonny Price and Matt Cowart is as uninspired as the lazily minimal sets by James Noone.

Beaches could have been a jukebox musical, since the movie was crammed with period-specific pop songs; instead, Dart has written lyrics for a bunch of unmemorable songs to which vet Mike Stoller has supplied routine melodies. The elephant in the theater is the soaring ballad “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which became a Midler concert staple after it went to number one on the charts in 1989. But it’s used here in the most middling (or Midlering) way: after Bertie’s offstage death (poor Barrett doesn’t even get a good dying scene!), it’s the obvious 11 o’clock number—but since it seems so obviously tacked on, it doesn’t have the emotional weight as it should.

Botching its biggest hit is an “oof” moment for a show with more than a few of them. On that score, Beaches ends up out of tune.

May '26 Digital Week I

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Friday, 08 May 2026 01:13; Written by Kevin Filipski

4K/UHD Release of the Week

“Wuthering Heights”

(Warner Bros)

In Emerald Fennell’s latest pseudo-provocation—following Promising Young Woman and Saltburn—Emily Bronte’s classic novel has been transformed into an often limp romance that drags along for more than two hours: if Margot Robbie (as Cathy) and Jacob Elordi (as Heathcliff) remain watchable, it’s due more to their movie-star magnetism than Fennell’s labored direction and soggy writing.

The kids playing the star-crossed couple as youths— Charlotte Mellington and Owen Cooper—are quite natural and might come across better in a less obvious context, but we’re stuck with Fennell’s muddy visuals, choppy editing, on-the-nose symbolism and a score that’s not so much played as smeared over every frame. The film does look eye-popping on UHD; extras include Fennell’s commentary and three brief featurettes (23 minutes total) that include interviews with Fennell, Robbie and Elordi.

In-Theater Reviews of the Week

The Last One for the Road

(Music Box)

Italian director-cowriter Francesco Sossai’s scrappy comic drama tells the endearing if not poignant story of two drifting, alcoholic con artists who go on what they swear is a final bender, bringing with them a wide-eyed architectural student. Sossai makes up for what he lacks in originality with shrewd observations and a real sense of camaraderie that’s not forced.

The acting trio of Filippo Scotti, Sergio Romano and Pierpaolo Capovilla is impeccable, the smaller parts are all well-taken, and Sossai shows a relaxed style that might bode well in the future.

Our Land

(Strand Releasing)

The 2009 murder of Indigenous protestor Javier Chocobar in Argentina and its complicated legal and moral aftermath is the center of this enraged documentary by Lucrecia Martel, who has been making provocative features for more than a quarter-century.

Martel follows the tense courtroom drama—which plays out nearly a decade after the killing—but more importantly gives voice to the heretofore unheard Chuschagasta community, up against wanton corporate racism and destruction, all set in gorgeous landscapes stunningly rendered by Martel’s camera.

Two Pianos

(Kino Lorber)

Iconoclastic French director Arnaud Desplechin—whose My Sex Life and A Christmas Tale are remarkably cutting portraits of messy relationships—returns with another skewered tale of screw-ups: classical pianist Mathias returns to his hometown Lyon from Japan, where he’d been teaching, to perform with his mentor, Elena. Butting heads with her during rehearsals, he finds himself drawn back into the life of his ex, Claude, whose husband has just died—Mathias befriends her young son, who looks strongly like him.

Desplechin revels in throwing these characters into highly emotional moments to navigate, and if he sometimes veers into melodramatic territory—Mathias feints when he first sees Claude upon his return—the observations are deeply felt, as are the performances by François Civil (Mathias), Charlotte Rampling (Elena) and Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Claude).

DVD Release of the Week

The Ties That Bind Us

(Distrib Films US)

In Carine Tardieu’s sensitive drama, the death of young mother Cécile in childbirth is the catalyst for several people—her shattered husband Alex, her confused young son David, their middle-aged (and childless) neighbor Sandra and young doctor Emillia—to deal with the tragedy in myriad ways, from disbelief and anger to healing and newfound love.

Although she skirts sentimentality throughout, Tardieu weaves very human responses into an emotionally stirring portrait of several different forms of parenting. The superlative cast includes Pio Marmaï (Alex), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (Sandra), César Botti (David) and Vimala Pons (Emillia).

CD Release of the Week

Hidden Legacies—Weinberg & Korngold

(Delos)

When Soviet composer Mieczysław Weinberg died in 1996, he was a relatively unknown composer; three decades later, his musical renaissance is in full swing, and this disc highlighting two of his significant works for cello and orchestra is an example.

The Cello Concerto is one of Weinberg’s most eloquent large-scale pieces, while the Fantasia is less weighty but still enchanting. Rounding out the disc is the one-movement Cello Concerto of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who was more famous for his film scores but also more than capable of this short but enticing orchestral work. Cello soloist Kristina Reiko Cooper, who plays exquisitely, is given solid backup by the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra under conductor Constantine Orbelian.

Orchestra of St. Luke’s Performs Mozart & Mendelssohn at Carnegie Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Thursday, 07 May 2026 13:30; Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo by Jennifer Taylor

At the wonderful Stern Auditorium, on the night of Thursday, April 30th, I had the privilege to attend a splendid concert—presented by Carnegie Hall—featuring the fine musicians of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, under the distinguished direction of Masaaki Suzuki.

The event started auspiciously with an admirable rendition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s popular Overture to his magnificent opera, Don Giovanni, from 1787. The renowned virtuoso, Midori, then entered the stage for a memorable performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s magisterial Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61, from 1806. The long, complex, initial, Allegro ma non troppo movement begins somewhat solemnly with an extended introduction that soon becomes more intense before the orchestra states the beautiful, chorale-like, primary theme—with the entry of the soloist, a greater sense of lyricism is afforded. Despite the gravity of much of the movement, the music here ultimately is broadly affirmative in character; after a challenging, suspenseful cadenza, it ends triumphantly.

The ensuing Larghetto has a somewhat stately quality but is song-like too, if much more reflective and inward on the whole, before a dramatic transition to the ebullient—indeed, celebratory—dance-like, Rondo finale. In the latter movement there are, too, more serious, contrasting passages as well as pastoral moments—after a dazzling cadenza, it concludes jubilantly. Enthusiastic applause elicited a welcome encore from Midori: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Largo from his Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the last work on the program: a superb account of Felix Mendelssohn’s extraordinary Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, the “Italian,” which was originally completed in 1833, but then was revised in 1834. Its fabulous, Allegro vivace, first movement is joyous and quintessentially Mendelssohnian, although more subdued interludes express deeper sentiments; a glorious fugal section is simply astonishing in effect—after a marvelous climax, it closes exultantly. The Andantecon moto that follows is march-like and noble in spirit, if relatively restrained—it finishes softly. The succeeding Con moto moderato projects a certain serenity, despite elements of tension, and ends gently. The Saltarello finale, marked Presto, is propulsive and dynamic, with quieter episodes, but becomes more passionate and concludes forcefully.

The artists deservedly received a standing ovation.

New York Philharmonic Explores "Earth Between Oceans" at Lincoln Center

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Wednesday, 06 May 2026 13:38; Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo by Brandon Patoc

At Lincoln Center’s wonderful David Geffen Hall, on the night of Saturday, May 2nd, I had the privilege to attend a superb concert presented by the New York Philharmonic, under the brilliant direction of Gustavo Dudamel.

The event started memorably with an exciting New York premiere performance of Ellen Reid’s remarkable Earth Between Oceans from 2025, which was co-commissioned by this ensemble along with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and featured the marvelous New York Philharmonic Chorus led by Malcolm J. Merriweather. (She has composed another excellent work, Body Cosmic, which was recently played at Carnegie Hall by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.) About the composition, she told the San Francisco Classical Voice:

I wanted a sense of otherworldliness, adding vocals with no text, just oohs and aahs and muttering. The voices blended with the strings and woodwinds that created a haze around the piece that only the human voice can do. We're trained as listeners to hear the voice in ways like no other.

In her program note for the piece, she wrote:

In this work, I took joy in exploring rhythm as a primary compositional element. In Earth, the meter accelerates through the movement, erupting in a guttural peak when the voices from the choir unite for the first time. In Air, a lack of consistent pulse creates a sense of endless space. In Fire, polyrhythms morph, cycle, and grow, and in Water, the rhythm ebbs and flows like the currents of the ocean. Another seismic component to this piece is the large, wordless choir, conceived instrumentally and adding a dynamic timbre to the ensemble.

Earth Between Oceans celebrates the power of nature in conversation with the threats our environment faces. As a metaphor for the concurrent crises affecting our Earth, I captured field recordings while collecting plastic trash at beaches in Los Angeles (Venice, Santa Monica) and New York City (Rockaway Beach, Coney Island). These field recordings are woven throughout the work as connective tissue, a reminder that we live on a planet whose equilibrium is being challenged.

Finally, Earth Between Oceans is dedicated to Gustavo Dudamel, a bridge builder who forges meaningful connections across communities of people from different backgrounds, cultures, ages, classes, and abilities. His fierce positivity and tremendous talents inspire us to think bigger and do better. Therefore, despite the growing political, environmental, and social challenges we face, I felt deeply committed to ending the work with a sense of optimism — even if it feels out of reach.

Reid was present to receive the audience‘s acclaim.

Even more impressive was the second half of the evening, beginning with a sterling realization of Franz Schubert’s seldom heard, extraordinary Song of the Spirits over the Waters, D. 714, from 1821—this also included the Philharmonic Chorus—which is set to a text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This was followed by an exquisite account of Richard Wagner’s glorious Forest Murmurs—from his magnificent 1857 opera, Siegfried—arranged by Hermann Zumpe.

The concert concluded awesomely with a ravishing version of Igor Stravinsky’s stupendous, 1919 Suite from his score for his great ballet, The Firebird. The initial movement—The Firebird and Its Dance and Variation of the Firebird—opens ominously with music that recalls that of Béla Bartók and that turns uncanny and then skittish. The ensuing movement, The Princesses’ Round Dance, is bewitching and emotionally expressive in a way that betrays the composer’s much vaunted formalism, while the next, Infernal Dance of King Kashchei, is portentous, suspenseful, propulsive and turbulent. The succeeding, haunting Lullaby is uncommonly beautiful, and the unforgettable Finale slowly builds in intensity until it attains a stunning apotheosis.

The artists were deservedly, enthusiastically applauded.

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