Review: You'll Want to Meet This PRETTY WOMAN at Broadway Sacramento

Broadway Sacramento is winding down its 2022-2023 season, and it has saved a "big," "huge" treat for last! Pretty Woman: The Musical is concluding its North American tour right here in Sacramento, and you won't want to miss it before it's gone for good. Pretty Woman: The Musical is based on the blockbuster 1990 hit movie, Pretty Woman, and boasts a score by rock legend Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, along with a book by the original movie's iconic director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J.F. Lawton.

Pretty Woman: The Musical is an unlikely Cinderella story, a rags to riches without the wicked stepmother (or a pimp). What girl didn't want to be like Vivian Ward and meet a handsome, generous, very rich man who sweeps her off of her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Without the prostitution part, of course. For those who haven't seen the original movie, Vivian is a down-on-her-luck high school dropout from Georgia, who follows the latest cad in her string of broken relationships out to Hollywood. When that doesn't pan out, she's stuck with no money, no place to live, and no friends. That is until she meets Kit DeLuca, a bold and brash lady of the night who takes Vivian under her wing and teaches her the tricks of the trade. A chance encounter with the wealthy Edward Lewis catapults Vivian into a world of wealth that she could have never imagined.

Playing the role of Vivian is Jessie Davidson in her national tour debut. Davidson is sweet, naïve, and inherently smart, successfully foreshadowing her future in her poignant lament, "Anywhere but Here." Tony Award nominee Adam Pascal is a dapper Edward Lewis, confident in business yet curiously hesitant in his personal life. His voice complements Bryan Adams' musical style as he flawlessly reprises his role from Broadway. As Edward comes to realize that he can break away from the bonds of greed that hold him, he inspires us to embrace a better version of ourselves in his uplifting number, "Freedom." Vivian's trio of cheerleaders make up some of the best parts of the show. Laugh-out-loud funny one minute and sensitive ballroom dancers the next, audience-favorites bellhop Giulio (Trent Soyster) and concierge Mr. Thompson (Travis Ward-Osborne) give new meaning to the idea of full service with a smile. Her biggest supporter is, of course, her BFF Kit, who is brilliantly played by Sacramento native Jessica Crouch. Crouch ends her run in Pretty Woman: The Musical on the very same stage that she first graced at the age of 4 in Sacramento Ballet's The Nutcracker. Crouch's Kit is a powerhouse. From vocals to presence to personality, Kit is a character that we all root for and celebrate with. When she says, "Never Give Up on a Dream," we listen.

Combined with an electrifying ensemble and exhilarating choreography, Pretty Woman: The Musical is a recipe for spicy, dynamic success. Like its film predecessor, this musical is full of hope and magic. It's the perfect mesmerizing, enchanted, and fantastical fractured fairy tale for the modern audience.

Pretty Woman: The Musical plays at Broadway Sacramento in the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center through May 7. Tickets and more information may be found online at BroadwaySacramento.com, by phone at (916) 557-1999, or in person at the Box Office at 1419 H Street in Sacramento.

Photo credit: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade