Review: Pretty Woman: The Musical, Leeds Grand Theatre

“…the main cast and the ensemble delivered top shelf performances.”

Pretty Woman: The Musical, by Garry Marshall and JF Lawton, Leeds Grand Theatre

by Sean Sable

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.

Directed and choreographed by the Tony-Award-winning Jerry Mitchell, it is no surprise that the dance numbers are an absolute delight. As a woman of a ‘certain age’, I found the nods to Jane Fonda workout tapes and cringey school discos in ‘Welcome to Hollywood’ to be just the kinds of nostalgic Easter eggs I was looking for. Mitchell’s expertise really shone in the larger, more complex dance numbers and I particularly enjoyed allowing my eye to hop from dancer to dancer to watch the way each performer pursued their own objective whilst still maintaining cohesion as a group. The break-out dance performance of the night had to be the unexpected tango pairing during ‘On a Night Like Tonight’ which had the audience roaring with laughter.

Both the main cast and the ensemble delivered top shelf performances. As Vivien Ward, Amber Davies slips right into Julia Roberts’ stiletto boots as if they were safety-pinned to fit her. A relative newcomer, Ms. Davies commands the stage with both power and tenderness. The wry Kit De Luca is aptly played by Natalie Paris. Ms. Paris’ vocal talents are undeniable, and I was happy that her on-screen small part was expanded to ensure she got the stage time she deserved.  

As Happy Man, Mr. Thompson and about a half a dozen other fun cameos, Ore Oduba steals the show. Forget Viv & Edward’s love story, with each new on-stage iteration (from hotel manager to music conductor and everything in between), the audience fell deeper and deeper in love with Mr. Oduba.

Notably, Ben Darcey’s Philip Stucky was so smarmy that the audience’s boos at the curtain call were a testament to his commitment to the part. Additionally, Lila Falce-Bass and Josh Damer Jennings received enormous audience praise for their operatic efforts. However, it would be a crime if I didn’t mention Noah Harrison as Guilio, the bellhop, who channelled an inner Jim Carrey charm that left the audience in stitches.

Unfortunately, not all performances were equally strong.  I genuinely surprised myself when I found that Oliver Savile’s performance of Edward did not enamour me. There seemed to be little chemistry between Savile’s Edward and Davies’ Vivien and his odd mid-Atlantic accent created a kind of distracting pastiche that fell flat. I was pleased that he dialled in more subtlety and tenderness in the second half and his singing voice was, as ever, truly superior.

With original music by Bryan Adams and his long-time songwriting partner Jim Vallance, it is no wonder why the music in Pretty Woman hits the perfect 80s vibe. With reminiscences of a live New Kids on the Block Performance, ‘Never give Up on a Dream’ was easily my favourite song of the night. ‘I Can’t Go Back’, poignantly sung by Amber Davies, is a close second and I was surprised by how much I could be moved by a story I know by heart.

Bringing a new score to a well-loved property with an already iconic soundtrack is always a risk. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed many of the fresh offerings, a few of the songs (notably ‘There’s Something About Her‘) were a bit lacklustre. Judging by the murmurings of the audience as they exited the venue, a common sentiment was disappointment with the lack of familiar favourites such as Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’. I couldn’t help but wonder if not including at least a few fan-favourites might have been a misstep.

The staging and costumes are a fantastic blend of glitz and simplicity. I admit to being far too excited to see acid wash jeans and bum-bags make an appearance, and Vivien’s iconic red dress was everything I had been waiting for.

Kenneth Posner and Philip Rosenburg’s lighting design saturates the stage with the neon lights of Hollywood and makes great use of shadow and warm spots to keep the colour scheme from overwhelming the scenes. I particularly enjoyed their use of blue backlighting in the romantic piano scene. This was a fabulous nod to the steamy “blue light silhouette” trope made popular in 1980’s cinema.

Pretty Woman: The Musical is a fantastic night out and if fans of the film are prepared to leave soundtrack expectations at the door, they are certain to have a good time. Personally, I can easily see myself getting tickets a second time before the show stops touring, even if just to get a little more Ore Oduba magic in my life.

Pretty Woman: The Musical is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Tue 14–Sat 25 May 2024. Book tickets online at leedsheritagetheatres.com or call the Box Office on 0113 243 0808.

Sean Sable is a Yorkshire based freelance writer and editor specialising in Young Adult and Horror fiction, frequently at the same time. When she isn’t buried under a pile of books and manuscripts, she is looking for her keys and having extensive one-sided conversations, in Swedish, with her deaf cat. You can find her online at: www.seansable.co.uk