Review: PRETTY WOMAN Makes Dreams Come True at Benedum Center

Nowadays, every long-established pop singer-songwriter wants to write a musical. Not only is it a fun project (I've written ten) and a stretch for creativity to keep from stagnating, but it's an extra revenue stream. Your Elton John or Sara Bareilles types will tell you it's not as easy as you'd think, that really delving into a character or writing for a specific atmosphere is harder than just writing a good single. But not every attempt hits quite that mark: on paper, Bryan Adams's songs for Pretty Woman decidedly pale in comparison to those for Billy Elliot or Waitress or Kinky Boots. But that's just on paper: on stage, this show KICKS ASS. The thing about a legendary director-choreographer like Jerry Mitchell is that he can make a show's style feel even more substantial than its substance.

In the event that you are unfamiliar with even the basic concept of the stock Cinderella/Pygmalion plot by now, the musical tells the story of almost-homeless streetwalker Julia Roberts, I mean Vivian (Olivia Valli), who helps uptight businessman Edward (Adam Pascal) out of a jam. Soon, she's contracted to spend a week with him both as an escort and undercover as his wealthy, elegant date to business functions. It's a Cinderella story but it's also Beauty and the Beast: he empowers her to stand up for herself, but she convinces him to loosen up and embrace life and love. They're nudged together along the way by Vivian's best friend, roommate and implied madam Kit (Jessica Crouch), and the Happy Man, the perpetually cheerful embodiment of the Hollywood sign. (The Happy Man is usually played by Kyle Taylor Parker, but at press night the role was played instead by Jonathan Ritter.)

Let's jump right ahead to the reason this tour is happening at all: Adam Pascal is fantastic as Edward (the Richard Gere role from the movie). Though the Broadway production was originated by Andy Karl, it got a shot in the arm when Pascal stepped into the role as a replacement. The famous voice is still there, just as you've heard it for nearly thirty years now; Pascal hasn't lost a note yet, like David Bowie with extra gravel. But what you might not expect is his gift for understated comedy. Unlike the somewhat grim, dour and intense roles of Roger and Radames, which made him a Broadway legend, Edward has a deeply buried playful side that gradually emerges from his shell. It's an unexpected delight to see Pascal play against type.

His counterpart, Olivia Valli, wisely goes in a somewhat different direction from Julia "America's Sweetheart" Roberts with her Vivian. This is less girl next door or even manic pixie dream girl, and more an endearingly crude, goofy mess of a character. If anything, Valli's Vivian recalls the unique mix of sexiness and sloppiness that characterizes the vastly underrated Ana Faris in everything she does. But no matter how loosey-goosey and almost slapstick she gets, her voice is clear as a bell (one look at her last name and you'll know where she inherited that high, tight belting from) and when she turns off the comedy and gets real, she is very effective. The two of them make a great pair: the silly girl who can get serious, and the serious guy who eventually learns to get silly.

Like any Jerry Mitchell show, this one is an ensemble-heavy piece with lots of choreographed sequences somewhere between scenework and musical numbers. Naturally, the supporting cast have a lot of weight to pull, and pull they do. Jessica Crouch, as Kit, has one of those "knock you out of your seat" voices, not to mention great chemistry with Valli. As far as the Happy Man, a "Cat in the Hat" style narrator-who-wears-many-hats, understudy Jonathan Ritter was obviously having a blast, and he brought a pleasant lightness and playful energy to the role, particularly as the slightly prissy hotel manager who turns out to be a ballroom dancer. Last but not least, CMU alum Matthew Stocke fills the role of Edward's amoral lawyer with aplomb, though he doesn't get to sing a note until curtain call (during which he swings a Terrible Towel to remind us that this is still home).

There has been much talk about whether a musical like this has become outdated with the advances in sexual mores over the thirty years since the original film. But honestly... has it? Vivian and Kit are struggling, and they're obviously not doing their dream jobs as working girls, but in the 1990s the notion of sex work was still a much seedier, more sordid topic. Today, the notion of high class escorts to the rich is much more normalized, and the notion of a self-employed, self-empowered sex worker resonates with the way OnlyFans boomed into the mainstream during the pandemic. Oddly enough, the only thing about the script that feels dated is a new element not present in the original film: the Happy Man mainly exists as a force of destiny to nudge the various characters towards living their best lives, particularly in his guise as a friendly homeless man who offers words of inspiration to passers-by. I remember thinking to myself, watching the very white Jonathan Ritter and his awesome early-90s mullet play the role, "I'm so glad they cast this part with a white dude. It would be edging into the dreaded Magic Negro trope of the black character who only exists to support white characters otherwise." Then, I discovered that the main actor contracted as the Happy Man is, indeed, black.

I greatly enjoyed the show, though I won't be running to purchase the cast recording. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts here: a slick, stylish, impeccably sung, danced and produced musical fairy tale. It's junk food- Dunkaroos even. It's 1990s romantic comedy. Hell, it's "The Best of Bryan Adams" on cassette. We all need a little nostalgic throwback now and then, don't we?

To post a comment, you must register and login.