Pretty Woman – The Musical at Keller Auditorium
Are you ready to fall in love all over again? After an incredible record-breaking run on Broadway, the Audience Choice Award Winner Pretty Woman, The Musical is going global! With productions in Germany and London, as well as a National Tour, this is your chance to experience this dazzlingly theatrical take on a love story for the ages. With music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and a book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton. Based on the 1990 film of the same name written by Lawton and directed by Marshall, centering around a free-spirited Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward, who is hired by Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman, to be his escort for several days in the city.
Big romance and big fun! – Broadway.com
“If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!” – BuzzFeed News
Now, 30 years later, Pretty Woman: The Musical still Dazzles! – Deadline
Pretty Woman: The musical is an almost a word-for-word, outfit-for-outfit retelling of the 1990 film Pretty Woman, written by J. F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall. Starring Olivia Valli as Vivian Ward, the free-spirited end-of-the-80s streetwalker with Cinderella dreams, and a prostitute one can never imagine turning a trick. She is hired by, the Mega-rich, but emotionally stunted, disaffected, and ruthless corporate raider with some big daddy issues, businessman Edward Lewis, played by Adam Pascal. Vivian is to be his escort for several business and social functions, and as their relationship develops over the course of her week-long stay with him, Vivian teaches to Edward to unleash his inner child and contribute to society instead of selling it for parts. Basically, turning his life upside down and reinventing herself in the process, all while fending off the unwanted advances of Edward’s creepy business partner Philip Stuckey. Eventually Vivian realizes she deserves so much better than these two and resolves to move on.
The show has been updated a little from the 90s movie, and while the musical’s setting remains in the 80s with the big-hair and the Brian Adams banging away, Vivian’s agency and control over her unsavory occupation with songs that message “this isn’t me” and “I can’t go back,” showing she doesn’t need anyone else to save her.
“Irresistible! A romantic fantasy. A contemporary fairy tale,” – The Hollywood Reporter
Starring Broadway superstar and Tony Award nominee Adam Pascal as Edward Lewis and rising star Olivia Valli as the charming and charismatic Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman springs to life with a powerhouse creative team led by two-time Tony Award winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell who produced Hairspray, Kinky Boots, and Legally Blonde. Brought to the stage by lead producer Paula Wagner, Pretty Woman features an original score by Grammy Award winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and a book by the movie’s legendary director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J. F. Lawton. Featured in the musical is Roy Orbison and Bill Dee’s international smash hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” which inspired one of the most beloved romantic comedy films of all time, Pretty Woman the film was an international smash hit when it was released in 1990. Now, 30 years later, Pretty Woman, The Musical is ready for you to experience this dazzling theatrical take on a love story for the ages.
Review of Pretty Woman: The Musical by David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter.
“End-of-the-’80s nostalgia rules at the Nederlander Theatre, where the cut-and-paste musical version of Garry Marshall’s 1990 romantic comedy, Pretty Woman, is re-creating the cultural-touchstone movie beat for beat, set to a score by Bryan Adams and songwriting partner Jim Vallance that could easily pass for vintage FM-radio pop-rock singles. Just as the film was a stellar vehicle for Julia Roberts, the musical showcases a radiant performance from Samantha Barks as the Hollywood Boulevard prostitute that becomes the “beck and call girl” of a corporate raider.”