My Ramblings of Pretty Woman: The Musical

If you are a woman in her forties, like myself, you are no stranger to the movie Pretty Woman. But how does that translate to a musical production???? Read on for My Ramblings of Pretty Woman: The Musical to see.

Watching this as an adult, I find myself laughing at what I was watching as a kid and how much of it went over my head. I’m happy that my parents didn’t try to limit much of what we watched because we would have missed out on a lot of good stuff that I only had a limited understanding of.

I mean, although I understood what a prostitute was at the age of 11, it wasn’t like I was aspiring to be one just because Julia Roberts had an amazing love story in this movie.

But I digress.

But seriously, a musical??

The trend in musical theater, as of late, tends to be turning older (non-musical) movie classics into musicals. Chasing the success like that of adaptations such as Beetlejuice, Mrs. Doubtfire and Tootsie.

Spoiler** It looks like Back to the Future is coming and Karate Kid are in the works as well.

And it appears that they are making a killing using this model. Never discount the power of nostalgia.

Now, I am not sure every popular movie from the 80s and 90s needs a musical makeover but I guess you don’t know what will work until you try.

Now let’s chat specifically about Pretty Woman: The Musical.

Story

In case you are not a woman of a certain age and thus not already familiar with the story, I will break it down a bit.

Vivian is a prostitute working the Hollywood strip when she meets an uptight business shark (Edward). He hires her for the night because there is “Something About Her.” This one night affair turns into a 6-day engagement when she agrees to basically be the woman on his arm until a big deal he is working on closes.

During the course of the week, both Vivan and Edward go through a transformation having met eachother. They experience adversity as their characters grow and decide how they would like to shape their futures.

Set

There was nothing knocking me out about the set but it served its purpose. It changed enough to keep it from being boring; offering a few different settings.

Dancing

There wasn’t a ton of dancing but when they did, it just seemed weird. I’m not sure if it was meant to be corny due to the 90’s setting. But it was oddly basic and, to be honest, I just didn’t get it.

Music

The songs really fit the 1990 vibe. A little rock, a little power ballad. I did feel like a lot of the songs sounded the same which may be in part due to the few reprises in the show.

Performances

I really think this is where the show shined. The performers were fantastic musically!
The male lead role of Edward (Adam Pasqual), had the perfect rock voice for his songs. His voice was eerily familiar causing me to lean into my BFF at some point to say that he definitely played Roger in Rent. It was all I could hear when he sung. At which point she put me on notice that he was in fact the original Roger on stage and in the movie.

Olivia Valli as Vivian was a powerhouse. She was able to hit some beautiful notes, particularly in the song “This Is My Life”.

But the sleeper surprise performance was from Amma Osei and Christian Douglas when they performed a partial Opera number during the song “You and I”. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I got all the goosebumps when she killed it onstage. I wanted to jump up right then and there. This performance alone made the entire show worth every penny. It checked all the boxes.

I very much enjoyed the performances by Happy Man, Kit and Giulio as well. These three added a lightedhearted and fun aspect to what could otherwise be a stuffy show.

Honestly, there really wasn’t anyone I didn’t care for in terms or their singing or acting which rarely happens.

Movie to Musical…

The stage show really did a good job honoring the classic movie. The story was pretty much the same with a few surprises that kept it fresh enough. It also dug a little deeper into some of the characters stories.

Pretty Woman has several well known scenes and the musical did it’s part to keep them altgough I am not sure they always worked well.

The incorparated the scene when she tries to shop on rodeo drive in her street clothes and was snubbed by the clerks and then returns to let them know they made a “Big Mistake”. But something about it felt weird, like it was forced or maybe just wasn’t lived up to. Also, noone can laugh like Julia Roberts so trying to recreate the scene where he goes to give her a piece of jewelry and snaps the box closed, fell short.

The musical’s was lyrics were easy to understand and fit the story which was also easy to follow.

The show also has a positive tone as it drove home the message to reach for your dreams.

In Summary…

Ultimately, Pretty Woman: The Musical was a surprisingly cute show. We were certain that it was going to be corny and bad before we even walked through the doors. Having low expectations often times finds us delightfully surprised and entertained.

This musical will likely not be very memorable except that I already know the story from the movie. And I think that connection and nostalgia really helps to make the musical likeable at the end of the day.

I am no musical theater expert, just a gal who enjoys a good musical and likes to share it! Go out and see something and let me know what you think!

Looking for more of my ramblings? A few of my faves are Hadestown, Dear Evan Hanson and Jesus Christ Superstar.