Garry Marshall Reveals PRETTY WOMAN Musical Eyeing 2017 Broadway Opening

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, director Garry Marshall reveals details on the highly anticipated stage musical based on the 1990's romantic comedy PRETTY WOMAN.

Explains Marshall, "J.F. Lawton, who wrote the original screenplay, and I have been doing the libretto. We have a wonderful producer in Paula Wagner, who's a Broadway producer, and a great director in Jerry Mitchell, who did Kinky Boots and Hairspray. My composers are Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. It's been very exciting for me at this moment."

He shares that the musical is going to be a "quite peppy version" of the story. He explains, "it's always nice to do something again because you saw what you missed the first time. I must confess that the original Pretty Woman was terrific and a hit, but I always felt that creatively I didn't do justice to Richard Gere's character." He continues, "We're still in the creative process, but I think there's a couple of different things that I can do to help make the Broadway musical even better and certainly more positive."

Speaking on the main character Edward, Marshall says, "We wanted to get into more of his background. We left it at the business side of it [in the film], and now we're making that a little clearer and what his relationship with his father was like. You can do a lot of things in song. And as much as he changed her life, she changed his life. That wasn't totally clear in the picture. So we make that much clearer. When you do a musical, the other characters have to come out and have numbers-so Kit, and Hector's character have numbers, too."

Asked when he expects the show to open on the Great White Way, Marshall reveals, "Well, I will probably be in the home for old directors when they do. [Laughs] I'll be very honest with you, though-2017. We hope it is opens in the fall or spring of 2017."

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The 1990 romantic comedy was directed by Marshall and starred Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and featured Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy and Jason Alexander in supporting roles.The cast recently reunited on TODAY to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary.

The story centers on the down-on-her-luck Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward (Roberts) who is hired by a wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis (Gere), to be his escort for several business and social functions, and their developing relationship over the course of Vivian's week-long stay with him.

PRETTY WOMAN was widely successful at the box office, and became one of the highest money-makers of 1990, raking in $500 million. It received critical praise, particularly for the performance of Roberts, who received a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, screenwriter J. F. Lawton was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a BAFTA Award.