Pretty Woman: The Musical

The musical is based on the 1990 film Pretty Woman.[2] The film was produced on a budget of just $14 million,[3] earning over $463 million in global box office receipts.[4] Written by J. F. Lawton, and directed by Garry Marshall, the musical centers around Vivian Ward a free spirited Hollywood prostitute who lives with her sarcastic wisecracking Greek American best friend and roommate Kit De Luca. Kit taught Vivian the prostitute trade. Vivian is hired by Edward Lewis a handsome wealthy businessman to be his escort for several business and social functions. And their developing relationship over the course of her week-long stay with him.[5]

In March 2014, it was announced that a musical adaptation of the film was being developed for the stage, with original screenwriter Lawton and director Marshall attached to write the book.[6] The following year Marshall revealed that rights had been secured.[7] Although Marshall died in July 2016,[8] producer Paula Wagner said that work on the musical would continue. "I know he would have wanted us to continue on and therefore we will bring this story to Broadway."[9] On September 26, 2017, the musical was officially confirmed, and it was announced that the show would receive its world premiere at the Oriental Theatre, Chicago, before an expected Broadway transfer in fall 2018.[4]

In an interview, director Jerry Mitchell said that the score "will have the feel of late '80s-early '90s rock: That’s one of the great things about Bryan Adams—it's where he lives. So you’ve got the rock and roll stuff, the up-tempos."[10] "Oh, Pretty Woman" was originally excluded from the musical.[11] On June 19, 2019 Pretty Woman: The Musical included Roy Orbison's song "Oh, Pretty Woman" during the curtain call.[12]

Pretty Woman features an original score, with music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance,[36] sound design by John Shivers[37] and orchestrations by Will Van Dyke.[37] The musical uses a nine-member orchestra consisting of keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, violin, viola, and cello.[38] The Broadway cast recording for the musical was made available from Atlantic Records digitally on September 21, 2018. Physical CDs of the cast album went on sale October 26, 2018.[39]

Pretty Woman: The Musical was generally poorly received by critics, with the show's writing being a frequent focus of criticism. Critics found that the gender dynamics of the movie's plot had aged poorly and that the musical had failed to bring the story up to date for 2018.[43] In his review for The New York Times, Ben Brantley criticized the verbatim reuse of dialog from the movie, writing that the show's creators had "hewed suffocatingly close to the film’s story, gags and dialogue." Critics from The Guardian and Variety took issue with the show's glossiness and what they perceived as an attempt to make a "G-rated family show" from the source material.[43][44]

The score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance was generally described as "pleasant" but "bland".[45][46][43] Critics generally approved of the show's performers, particularly stars Andy Karl and Samantha Barks, but found they were unable to rise above the show's material. In a review for Vulture, Sara Holdren expressed sympathy for the show's performers, writing that they were "hooked up like defibrillators to a body that, no matter how much energy they pump into it, can’t be revived".[45]

• Internet Broadway Database
• Official website