Theater review: A peppy ‘Pretty Woman: The Musical’ relies on the ghost of Julia to get the job done

February 13, 2024

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Perhaps it was the close proximity to Valentine’s Day, or maybe just a huge number of gal-pal groups in need of a sparkly night out, but “Pretty Woman: The Musical” was absolutely packed Monday night at the Saroyan Theatre. I didn’t see an empty seat in the house. The same goes, I’m told, for tonight’s second and final performance.

Here’s an overnight review:

Pictured above: Chase Wolfe and Ellie Baker in ‘Pretty Woman.’ Photo: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

The show: “Pretty Woman” fits into the “Five Year Rule” quite nicely in terms of Fresno seeing new musicals; the show closed on Broadway in 2019. This non-Equity national tour is nicely staged and costumed, with particular attention paid to the outfits worn by Julia Roberts in the 1990 film. Red opera dress: check.

Speaking of Julia: She (or her ghost) should get billing, or at least a share of the royalties, for the way she hovers over the proceedings. Ellie Baker, who plays the leading role of Vivian in the national tour, channels Roberts’ movie performance right down to her little tics (opening the diamond bracelet on opera night and offering an impression of the snort laugh heard ‘round the world, for example). The musical’s book (by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton) picks up a lot of the movie’s original dialogue and iconic scenes, creating a theatrical experience sure to be enjoyed most fully by diehard cinematic fans of the original.

The storyline: Unless you were living under a 1990 Honda Accord and missed the movie, the plot pretty much remains intact: A sweet-and-sassy, small-town girl prostitute working the streets of Hollywood gets picked up by an arrogant, detached, handsome investment banker. Will her occupation (and lack of a retirement plan) doom her love connection with America’s most eligible bachelor?

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The high points: Baker offers a buoyant, fully fledged performance despite the paint-by-Julia-numbers constraints of the role. Connor Kabat, as a perky bellhop, is a comic favorite. Adam Du Plessis, playing the benevolent hotel manager (and also several other roles, including that of a Skid Row-esque life coach), gets some good laughs.

The not-so-high points, Part 1: The music and lyrics (by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance) is heavy on the reflective ballads and often come backed by an imposing backstage chorus. In a musical, a song can be a way to scoop down to the depth of a person’s soul; in this case, we burrow down so deeply into Edward’s interior life that it feels like a colonoscopy.

The not-so-high points, Part 2: After long and serious reflection (well, at least two minutes), I came to a moment of truth about “Pretty Woman”: I could care less about the Edward character, both when he was played by Richard Gere and now when he’s portrayed in this national tour by Chase Wolfe. In the musical, Edward sings early and often in his twangy tenor about how he’s feeling: about Vivian; about loneliness; about his inability to forge meaningful relationships; about the ignominy of ‘90s dress shirts with white collars and cuffs. (Oh, sorry. That last one was me belting out a number.) I just wanted him to shut up, look handsome and remain happily one-dimensional.

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The challenge: How do you adapt a decades-old movie with a problematic storyline about a sex worker into something that doesn’t make your audience – especially women – wince? I’m convinced that the main reason “Pretty Woman” is so benevolently remembered – revered, even – is for the way Roberts managed to play a prostitute while making us forget that fact that, um, she was a prostitute. Without that 10,000-watt smile, the fairy-tale feel of the plot is harder to pull off.

The takeaway: For many fans, it’s the shorthand that counts. Julia Roberts 2.0 might not be the real thing, but it’s close enough. And even though you have to wait until the very end of the show for “the” song, the audience gets to make a dance party out of it. Roy Orbison would be proud.