One of the most beloved romantic movies of the 1990s, The Pretty Woman, was once again brought to life with its musical adaptation. The Musical features direction and choreography by the two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell; an original score by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance; and a book by the movie's legendary director, Garry Marshall, and screenwriter J.F. Lawton.
The musical adaptation centers around the plot of the original movie. It started when Vivian Ward, a free-spirited Hollywood prostitute, lived with her caustic wisecracking Greek American best friend and roommate, Kit De Luca. Eventually, Kit taught Vivian how to be a prostitute. And then, Edward Lewis, a gorgeous wealthy businessman, hires Vivian to be his escort for various business and social engagements, and their connection develops over the course of her week with him.
With the star-studded cast, Pretty Woman: The Musical's tickets were sold-out at the theaters in London. The cast in London Production included Aimie Atkinson (Six, In The Heights), who was given the starring role of Vivian Ward and was regarded as being magnificent and giving power and emotion. On the other hand, Danny Mac (White Christmas, Sunset Boulevard) played the role of the businessman Edward Lewis.
First off, my review was that the casting was odd; I didn't really feel that the choice for the two lead roles fit the characters well. Vivian is played by Aimie Atkinson, who is lovely but a little harder-faced than Julia Roberts and lacks the latter's all-eclipsing eloquence. Her connection with Danny Mac, who plays Edward, is weak and resembles a transactional connection between an emotionally aloof wealthy guy and a sex worker.
On the other hand, some of the humorous dance pieces stand out, particularly those that feature an underplayed subplot involving a dancing bellboy, Giulio, who is played admirably by Alex Charles, and Harms' dancing hotel manager, Mr. Thompson.
Overall, the musical adaptation is very much the story of beauty and the beast but retold without the animals, and instead of a castle, it was performed in a hotel. It is also an odd and cliché story in this day and age to have a story of a woman going from rags to riches and a man going from cold-hearted to understanding and empathetic of others.
It is also disappointing that the production sticks with retelling the story from the movie and reuses verbatim dialogues from the movie. Also, the plot's women's roles had aged poorly, and the musical had failed to bring the story current and relevant. For instance, the show portrays sex work, female agency, and womanhood in a weak and outdated manner.
That's all there is to it. Pretty Woman the Musical was a lot of fun for me. It's not perfect, but it's a big hit with the crowd.
