Theater Review: "Pretty Woman The Musical" Tour at Palace Theater

By Nancy Sasso Janis

The tour “Pretty Woman: The Musical” has arrived at Waterbury’s Palace Theater as the first presentation of the 2023-2024 Webster Bank Broadway Series. It continues through Oct. 12.
The musical is based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture that was written by J. F. Lawton and directed by the late Garry Marshall. The film “Pretty Woman” was the most successful of the 18 films that Marshall directed, and before he passed away in 2016, he knew that the creative team in place would make the musical version a “joyous reality.”

“Big New Musical. Big. Huge.”

As a fan of the film version, I went in hoping that one of Hollywood’s most beloved stories of all time would be faithfully brought to life in this musical version. The fact that the book for the musical was written by Marshall and Lawton, with music and lyrics by Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, certainly seemed to suggest that the love story would be not be reimagined too much.

The strength of the production team, plus the strong casting, made for a joyous performance, and I believe that most fans of the beloved film were not disappointed. A few elements had to be tweaked for the stage, but the story, set in Hollywood, once upon a time in the 1980s, is charmingly accurate.

The first act opens with “Welcome to Hollywood” and “Rodeo Drive” and the final “Together Forever” are production numbers that are “big….huge.” Expect to hear references to Skinny Marie, Edward’s secretary serving as a bridesmaid to a former girlfriend, the safety pinned black boots, a “standard H,” a beck and call girl, and Kit’s off-color pronunciation of “Cinderella.”

The grand piano that Edward plays has been moved to the penthouse, and the bathtub scene has been moved offstage, but the mean sales ladies in the first boutique that Vivian visits are here. The elegant dinner with David Morse (played by Kerry D’Jovanni) and his grandfather (who has been cut) has morphed into dancing at a fancy club in the hotel, but the trip to the opera in the fitted red gown and “broken” opera glasses unfolds in the box seats as the opera unfolds around it. Securing the black lace cocktail dress (“You’re stunning/You’re forgiven”) is accomplished via a telephone call rather than a visit to the department store where Bridget works.

Chase Wolf, who played Kako in “Xena: Warrior Musical” Off-Broadway, gives a great performance as Edward Lewis. The handsome actor navigates the arc of his character and sings his yearning musical numbers (“Freedom,” “Something About Her”) very well.

Ellie Baker plays the iconic role of the pretty woman Vivian Ward. Her powerful singing voice hits all of the right notes, as does her performance. Detroit native Rae Davenport, who most recently was seen as Aragon in “SIX'' for Norwegian Cruise Lines, sings wonderfully in the role of Vivian’s best friend Kit De Luca in her first national tour.

Joshua Kring is a delight in the dancing role of Giulio, the bellboy, in his national tour debut. Actor/composer Liam Searcy plays the role of lawyer Philip Stuckey. The members of the ensemble cover a large number of roles and do it well.

In a clever casting choice, several of the characters have been combined into one billed as “Happy Man,” in this production played by the talented Adam Du Plessis in his fourth US national tour. The actor welcomes the audience as “the godfather of Hollywood Boulevard” and asks “What’s Your Dream?” in the numbers that open both acts. He also gets to play one of my favorite supporting characters, hotel manager Bernard Thompson.

The orchestra is small but mighty. Music director Shane Ffrench conducts the five musicians and plays keyboard two.

All of the choreography was designed by Jerry Mitchell and the direction was recreated by DB Bonds. Tour scenic design by Christine Peters based on the original design by David Rockwell includes the back of a portion of the iconic Hollywood sign; the gritty boulevard is balanced by the penthouse suite. Lighting by Kenneth Posner and Philip S. Rosenberg is very effective, and the sound design by John Shivers worked well.

The iconic costumes designed by Gregg Barnes might be a bit updated, but not in a bad way. The dress and hat for the polo scene have been notably switched from brown to navy and white polka dots. The hair design by Josh Marquette helps Vivian transform into a classier version of herself.

In my book, it is true that if you love the movie, you’ll love the musical. “Pretty Woman” is presented with one 20-minute intermission. Tickets are still available for the remaining performances. 50% off Rush tickets available at the Box Office two hours before the show. https://bit.ly/3PfFk5J

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theater reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, and she posts well over 100 reviews each year. She became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle in 2016. Her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted in the Naugatuck Patch as well as the Patch sites closest to the venue. She is also a feature writer and theater reviewer for the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column IN THE WINGS and theater reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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