Review: Pretty Woman, UK Tour, at the Palace Theatre, Manchester

Welcome to Hollywood! This week, Manchester is taking us to Rodeo Drive and Beverley Hills, as the Palace Theatre (after Hamilton finished its LONG run), is hosting the UK Tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical. 

Based on the classic Garry Marshall film in 1989, the musical version had its Broadway premiere in 2018, starring Samantha Barks as Vivian, Andy Karl as Edward, and Karl's husband Orfeh playing Kit de Luca. It sadly did not have a long run. Then, in 2020, the production transferred to London's Savoy Theatre, faring better, having a two and a half year long run. That production starred Aimee Atkinson and Danny Mac (Sunset Boulevard) as its leads. 

Now, it is touring for the UK for the first time, starring Amber Davies (9 to 5), Oliver Saville (Falsettos), Ore Oduba (Curtains) and original SIX Queen Natalie Paris. 

It's 1989 Hollywood, and we meet sex worker Vivian, on the verge of her and her flatmate Kit being kicked out of their apartment. Then she gets an offer to spend a week with the rich Edward Lewis, staying in the famous Beverly Wilshire Hotel. What could happen?

If you're wanting the film come straight to life, then this is pretty much what you're going to get with Pretty Woman. 

Therefore, if you're a fan of the film, you're going to enjoy this. 

It's fun, its frivolous, there's sex on a piano... I have struggled to find my own words, but I think, what it boils down to is while you'll have a good night out, as a piece, I think there are some things that could be improved. The main one being the book - this is a curse of plonking in a sense on stage as it is. I think the writing could have been funnier and sharper. 9 to 5 is a good example of this going the right direction. The book for that show is so sharp and witty, that you not only laugh a minute, but you form an easier connection with the characters on stage too. And for an even closer comparison to Pretty Woman itself, My Fair Lady does this extremely well too - yes Higgins is a PIG but even so. 

I feel that Pretty Woman lacks this a little bit, and it means the actors have to work harder with what they had

The good news is that the Vivian I saw lead the company with grace, class, and got the audience on board with her; and as the book is on the weaker side, more pressure is on her shoulders. Covering Amber Davies this week is Paige Fenlon - who's not in the programme, boo! She was acting quite playful with the material and in her chemistry with Ben Darcy (covering Edward), which is what the part needed. And her big solos rightfully got a big cheer. 

Paris' Kit is a lot of fun, and Oduba exudes charm in his dual roles of Happy Man and Mr Thompson. But the one I have to give a special mention to Lila Falce-Bass as the opera singer in the 2nd act - beautiful, and her moments (rightly so) got as big of a cheer as Vivian's big numbers. 

Speaking of numbers, the songs were written by Bryan Adams - yes THAT Bryan Adams. However, a lot of them miss the mark for me too. In fact, the only song people leave the theatre humming is Oh Pretty Woman, the only song not written by Adams. And my opinion is that it is not just because that's the encore number, therefore the most recent...

Would I recommend this? That would depend whether or not how much you like the film

I will say I am glad I waited for the tour on this one rather than see it in the West End. Would I return? Probably not to be honest. I enjoy the film, but this is an example of the curse of putting exactly (or almost) what was on screen to the stage. 

You need something extra to both differentiate it, and to truly get invested. My Neighbour Totoro has the magic of the puppetry. 9 to 5, as said before, has a tighter script and songs you remember besides the title track from the film it is based on. Pretty Woman just fell at the final hurdle in getting that right.