Theatre review: Pretty Woman the Musical serves up light, fun story ripped directly from 1990 movie
Strong performances and visual energy offset a show that lacks depth
Broadway Across Canada presents Pretty Woman at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre until April 2
IF YOU’RE LOOKING for a fun night out, Pretty Woman the Musical is an enjoyable option. This touring production of the Broadway show offers some strong performances, including those of lead Jessie Davidson and original Broadway Rent star Adam Pascal; high-energy production numbers; and pleasing visual designs. But don’t expect much originality, substance, or memorable songs, apart from Roy Orbison’s classic title track, which of course is included.
Based on the popular 1990 film, Pretty Woman tells the story of the romance that develops between Hollywood call girl Vivian Ward and reserved, wealthy businessman Edward Lewis, who hires Vivian to be his date for social and business functions for a week.
The film’s director, Garry Marshall, and writer, J.F. Lawton, teamed up to write the book for the musical, cutting and pasting scenes and dialogue from the film, with little fresh storytelling for the stage. Other Broadway musicals inspired by movies have gotten more inventive: for the stage version of her early 2000’s Mean Girls film, for instance, Tina Fey reworked dialogue and refreshed the story for the times and found interesting new opportunities to play with the story while maintaining the essence of the original material.
Bryan Adams (yes, the famous singer/songwriter) has teamed up with Jim Vallance to write the score. The majority of the songs are classic ’80s-rock styled, and this feels odd, considering the character of Edward is far from being a rocker. The only memorable melodies are “On a Night Like Tonight” and “Don’t Forget to Dance”, both of which are styled after golden-aged Hollywood movie musicals.
On the positive side, famed Broadway director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, known for such shows as Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots, and Hairspray, has dressed up Pretty Woman with fun, high-energy choreography and staging, along with his signature quirkiness. “Don’t Forget to Dance”, when Edward takes Vivian to a swanky dinner function, is an amusing, laugh-out-loud song-and-dance number, with Mitchell’s humorous style written all over it.
Mitchell has also appropriately infused iconic 1980s dance moves into many of the ensemble dance numbers. And there’s great inventiveness and lovely visuals in “You and I”, when Edward takes Vivian to the opera. Highlighted by the wonderful operatic singing of Jade Amber and Jonathan Young, it features the other artists performing elegant, sweeping choreography around the couple as they watch from their box, positioned centre stage.
Thanks to scenic designer David Rockwell, there are many other lovely visual moments throughout the show, including pastel-coloured locations at the Beverly Hills hotel that Vivan and Edward stay at and the palm-tree-lined shops of Rodeo Drive.
Costume designer Gregg Barnes has re-created Julia Roberts’s famous outfits from the film, as well as an offering of eye-pleasing costumes such as the attire worn by shoppers and store staff on Rodeo Drive and gorgeous, sparkling evening gowns that flow beautifully in the opera scene.
As Vivian, Davidson has a warm, engaging, and highly likable energy that drives the show, not to mention a luminous smile and lungs of steel. Two of her vocal highlights are “Anywhere but Here” and “I Can’t Go Back”, where she uses her vocal and storytelling talent to really make you root for her character. She also moves wonderfully, whether she’s casually grooving in a bathrobe in Edward’s penthouse suite, or swept up in partnering in “Don’t Forget to Dance”. Adam Pascal is appropriately reserved from the start as Edward and is an amiable counterpart to Davidson as his character warms. Pascal still has those magic vocal chords that can be heard on the Broadway recording of Rent, and when he belts out the reprise of “Freedom” in the second act, his passionate, powerful vocals create chills.
Doubling as the show’s narrator, Happy Man, and the hotel manager, Mr. Thompson, Travis Ward-Osborne is a dynamite triple threat. He switches from one character to the next with skillful characterization and strong vocal chops, and steals the show at times with his dancing, which includes a turning switch leap and arabesque promenade, the latter of which he does in partnership with fresh-faced, energetic Trent Soyster. Playing hotel bellboy Giulio, Soyster’s presence is another highlight of the show, bringing humour and liveliness to many scenes.
Jessica Crouch, who plays Vivian’s best pal, Kit, also has great energy and vocal talent, but has limited musical material to work with.
The strong performances of Davison, Pascal, and the supporting cast, along with the work of the visual team and director-choreographer Mitchell go a long way in masking the shortcomings of the book and score. If you’ve seen the film, you can guess how crowdpleasing the ending is. Pretty Woman the Musical is not deep, but it has charm. If you're looking for light entertainment, take it from Vivian, who describes herself in the show as being "a sure thing".
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