Pretty Woman: The Musical is at the Royal & Derngate – all this week until Saturday 14th September

Most theatre goers will have seen the 1990 movie starring Hollywood heart throbs Richard Gere as Edward Lewis, a rich entrepreneur & Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward, a free spirited prostitute, who is hired to accompany him as an escort, to a few business and social functions for a week. The problems arise when Edward begins to fall in love with Vivian and they struggle to bridge the gap between their two very different worlds.

If you are planning to go and watch this musical version, try wiping the film from your expectations, as this is a musical for today, not the nineties film! The musical is recognisable with key scenes from the film, but it has been updated & relevant for the noughties. After all, it has clearly been based on the movie of the same name. The world has moved on over the last thirty years!

The title song by Roy Orbison is performed but not until near the end of the show. The second act even started with the song as a teaser, laying to rest any fears some may have had that the song would not be included! I have a soft spot for the title song too! I actually went to see the late great Roy Orbison in Coventry with my mother as a teenager and I remember him performing many of his classic songs that evening including Pretty Woman. As for the rest of the music, I was expecting to hear more of the songs from the film but apart from the title track, there were very few, which I thought was a good thing.

There was a lot more original music written by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance. The songs threaded the storyline together very nicely, intertwining romance, sadness, disappointment, regret and happiness beautifully. I enjoyed several of the well written & sometimes poignant songs, ‘Anywhere but here’, ‘Never give up on a dream’, ‘I can’t go back’ & ‘Rodeo Drive’.

Ore Oduba

Strictly Come Dancing 14th season winning star Ore Oduba was very amusing throughout playing a diverse range of comedic & vocal singing roles. Subtle references were also made to his appearances in the award winning dance programme and when he popped up from the orchestral pit frantically waving the conductors baton in the air, was unexpected and delighted the audience.

Vivian Ward (Amber Davies)

I found myself warming to Vivian Ward (Amber Davies – winner of Love Island 2017) as the show progressed and I began to believe in her as she moved from Rodeo Drive call – girl to capturing the heart of Edward Lewis ( Oliver Savile). His performance as a single minded business man, who later softened as he fell in love with Vivian and slowly began to recognise his own weaknesses was strong. By the time he sang his heart out with the song Freedom, evoking a sense of his frailty & regret, the audience had been won over. Kit de Luca (Natalie Paris) has a fantastic voice and she let it rip on a number of occasions including the superb Rodeo Drive, a rock number which had writer Bryan Adams fingerprints all over it.

Edward Lewis ( Oliver Savile) & Vivian Ward (Amber Davies)

The set changes were very swiftly transitioned. Action on stage moved without delay from hotel bedroom, business meeting, night club & dress store, sometimes without me even noticing! The story rolled along nicely; the two hour show passed very quickly as I was so closely following the story. I had a fantastic evening out at the theatre listening to some very well constructed songs, from rock ballads to opera, which was surprising! The musical was hugely entertaining with a large cast with a story as close to the original movie as any new stage production would want to be. I had read some negative reviews about the show, but how wrong they were.

Kit de Luca (Natalie Paris)

Pretty Woman – The Musical is an enjoyable feel-good show with some excellent performances from a talented cast. The theatre was full, which is always good to report, on the opening night and the whole theatre stood & gave the talented cast a deserved standing ovation at the finale. If you enjoyed the classic movie, you will enjoy the musical. Check it out while you can, you will not be disappointed.

Pretty Woman: The Musical is at the Royal & Derngate all this week from Monday 9th September – to Saturday 14th September.