Northern Arts Review - Pretty Woman
at the Leeds Grand
Pretty Woman the Musical - Northern Arts
Trading on nostalgia can be a tightrope act. If a production isn’t faithful enough to the source material, expect a lot of vocal protesting from diehard fans. Stay too faithful, and risk boring the audience with a poorly adapted script that makes little attempt to surprise and delight. The question is, is Garry Marshall & JF Lawton’s stage adaptation Pretty Woman: The Musical a big mistake or does it make the audience’s nostalgic dreams come true? In true Hollywood fashion: it is a hit – but with a few critical misses.
Pretty Woman: The Musical is based on the smash 80s film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Originally adapted for Broadway, it had a rough start in the West End with a production that opened in February 2020. Currently, the show is making a national tour scheduled to conclude in September 2024. The story follows Vivien Ward, an intelligent but wayward sex worker, and Edward Lewis, an austere business mogul, as their two worlds collide. When a chance encounter leads Edward to hire Vivien’s services for the night, Edward finds that he quickly gets more than he bargained for. Are their worlds simply incompatible, or will Vivien find her fairy tale ending after all?
Written by Garry Marshall (director of Pretty Woman) and JF Lawton (writer of Pretty Woman), the production is a mostly faithful adaptation of the original film with a few welcome changes that modernise some of the more problematic parts of the original script. There is a noticeable tonal shift in the script which helps bridge the gap between the big screen and the big stage. While the film heavily relies on romance with a few funny or silly moments, the stage production emphasises the comedic elements, which occasionally overshadow the romance. In fact, most newly added scenes are comedic, with a few even delving into slapstick territory. These light-hearted touches make the stage adaptation feel like a light and nimble romp, which moves with impeccable pacing.
To see my full review, please visit Northern Arts Review
See you in the shadows my loves,
Sean x
