"What's your dream?
Everyone who comes to Hollywood's got a dream
Tell me what's your dream
I know you got one
It's like a map to your life
You'll be lost until you caught one"
This musical has it all. Terrific sets. Costumes as pretty as Vivian would want them to be. An ensemble that breathes life into the modern retelling of Cinde-freakin’-rella made famous by Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.
When I think about where I was yesterday
It's so amazing, I can't believe
That a billionaire would care about a girl like me
I've got money to spend, I've got champagne on ice
There's a smile on my face, I'm getting treated real nice
I'm starting to feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
Somebody pinch me, this can't be true
If I deserve this, tell me, what did I do?
Director Amy Marie McCleary even found two actors to recreate live the opera scene that nearly made Vivian pee her pants!
Every memorable line of dialogue from the movie is repeated onstage by Max Lynch and Robert Tait as Vivian and Edward.
You can't charge me for directions.
I can do anything I want to, baby. I ain't lost.
You're late.
You're stunning.
You're forgiven.
So, what happened after he climbed up the tower and rescued her?
Vivian: She rescues him right back.
As a bonus, Errol Service Jr. and Nate Walsh deliver stand-out performances as the dancing manager and bellman of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
If you don’t see this one …
Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now.
Pretty Woman runs through Nov. 15.
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When it comes to cult classics, “Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “Carrie the Musical” share rarified air. “Pretty Woman the Musical” isn’t at that level, but it might be one day.
Fans of the movie will thoroughly enjoy watching their favorite lines from the movie come to life. No, the audience does not join in a’ la “Rocky Horror,” although mouthing the words seems totally acceptable. But anticipating the dialogue keeps the audience invested from beginning to end.
However, the stage play stands on its own merits. People who’ve never seen the movie will nevertheless enjoy the storyline, characters and sets.
Robert Tait plays Edward Lewis. He doesn’t have that sharp, useless look or the conceit of a ruthless billionaire, but to his credit, he convincingly plays a man who is mesmerized by a woman he finds refreshingly authentic and genuinely unimpressed by power and wealth.
There's somethin' about her
I can't put my finger on it
There's somethin' about her
I don't know what it is, but I think I want it
A casual distraction
She's got me quite amused
Now I don't know what's happenin'
I'm feeling so confused
While the story doesn’t exist without Edward, “Pretty Woman,” of course, is primarily about Vivian Ward. Both the movie and the musical have been criticized as shallow recreations of “Pygmalion,” “My Fair Lady” and “Cinderella.” The plot is rife with examples of sexism and classicism.
But over the course of the musical, a story of female empowerment unfolds. As evidence, witness how the musical handles the scene in which Philip Stuckey attempts to sexually assault Vivian after Edward scuttles the acquisition of Morse Industries.
Max Lynch is no Julia Roberts wannabe. She’s simultaneously vulnerable, charming and brash in the role of Vivian Ward. While the songs in “Pretty Woman” are not especially memorable, Lynch is captivating in numbers like “I Could Get Used to This,” “Anywhere But Here” and “I Can’t Go Back.”
I have regrets
But I can't change the past
I want the real thing
Is that too much to ask
For the first time in my life
It gets to be my choice
I feel I've found myself yeah
Now I've found my voice
I can't go back
I've seen a different world
I can't go back
I'm a different girl
I can't go back
To who I was before
I can't go back
I always wanted more
Abigail Gordiany in the role of Kit De Luca provides powerful vocals in “Rodeo Drive,” but the surprises in this show are the performances of Errol Service, Jr. and Nate Walsh.
Service is the opposite of Hector Elizondo’s portrayal of the manager of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Both played the role with heart, but the musical’s Barney Thompson is a former ballroom dancer who sets the stage afire in “A Night Like Tonight” with the assist of his unlikely dance partner, Giulio the Day Bellhop, and then again in the guise of The Happy Man in “Don’t Forget to Dance” and “Never Give Up on a Dream.” Their dancing progresses from inspired to acrobatic and they enjoy some of the evening’s most memorable scenes.
Productions directed and choreographed by Director Amy Marie McCleary are distinguished by strong, synchronous ensembles that support the lead characters while advancing the story to its penultimate conclusion. That’s true in “Pretty Woman the Musical” as well. Caleb Aguilar, Nayda Marie Baez, Emma Constantini, Bobby Guenther, Michael Harper, Vienna Holmes, Alex Landry, Sophia Masterson, Jared Mazeika, Michael Metcalf, Elizabeth Mercier and Nate Walsh help make this show an unqualified success.
Costumes and scene changes also play significant roles in making this musical as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears. Lynch has the figure of a runway model. She even makes Vivian’s hooker outfit look strangely stylish. She’s absolutely sensational in that little black cocktail dress at the Voltaire, the polka dot number at the polo match, the white high society outfit she sports at the end of her Rodeo Drive shopping spree and, of course, the red evening gown she wears to “La Traviata” at the San Francisco Opera.
On the subject of the opera, Sophia Masterson and Caleb Aguilar astounded the audience on opening night in their portrayals of Violetta and Alfredo in “La Traviata.” Move over Opera Naples and Gulfshore Opera. These two are legitimate talents.
J.F. Lawton wrote the screenplay and Garry Marshall directed the 1990 movie. Lawton’s working draft was actually titled “3,000,” the price Edward agrees to pay Vivian to be his escort for the week.
Fortunately, better heads prevailed.
Lawton rewrote the book and Marshall added music by Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance for the musical. While Roy Orbison’s song is missing from the play, the cast doesn’t let the audience leave before reprising the title song following their bows … inviting the audience to join in.
“Pretty Woman” trivia
In the “Getting Ready for the Opera” scene, Director Garry Marshall instructed actor Richard Gere to snap the case on the ruby necklace shut without letting Julia Roberts know he was going to do that. Her reaction, including full laugh, are genuine and repeated by Max Lynch in the musical.
“La Traviata” was chosen for the opera that Edward and Vivian attend because it is also about a businessman named Alfredo and a courtesan named Violetta.
Although “Pretty Woman” is not a movie musical, its soundtrack is a collection of pop and rock hits featuring artists such as Orbison (with the title track), David Bowie, Peter Cetera, Natalie Cole and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Roxette's power ballad, "It Must Have Been Love," topped the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1990, just a few months after the movie came out. So, turning the story into a musical seemed to Lawton and Marshall like a logical next step.
The musical had its world premiere in Chicago in March 2018. It transferred to Broadway that August, where it ran for one year with Samantha Barks as Vivian and Andy Karl as Edward.
Garry Marshall had died two years prior to the Broadway opening, but members of his family together with Julia Roberts attended a dedicated performance in his honor on August 2, 2018.
“Pretty Woman: The Musical” has had several productions in the U.K. and Europe, with U.S. and U.K./Ireland tours as well.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
