Pretty Woman the Musical – Nederlander Theatre, New York

Picture: Matthew Murphy

Pretty Woman the Musical continues at the Nederlander Theatre, New York.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Pretty Woman, the 1990 hit film, gets a sleek, shiny and all too conscientious, rather than inspired, transformation to a Broadway musical. Its story of the gorgeous and big-hearted Hollywood Boulevard prostitute who melts the heart of a shrewd and emotionally-guarded corporate raider, which had movie audiences swooning, becomes rather unconvincing – sometimes irritatingly so – when loaded down with the accoutrements of a big-time musical.

The score marks the first musical to be co-written by the celebrated Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams and his longtime collaborator Jim Vallance. Their songs hit all the expected marks. There’s the opening ‘Welcome to Hollywood’, which gives us a quick introduction to the characters and locale as well as telling us how important it is to follow your dreams: “The stars on the sidewalk will show you the way/Don’t give up until your dreams have found you.”

There’s the ballad that has the heroine Vivian yearning for a better life, ‘Anywhere but Here’. There’s the quizzical ‘Something About Her’, in which the hero Edward expresses some stirring of attraction, and the tango-flavoured ‘On a Night Like Tonight’, in which a friendly hotel staff teaches Vivian how to ballroom dance and otherwise behave in upscale surroundings. And so it goes to the final love song, ‘Together Forever’, with a ‘Welcome to Hollywood’ tag.

Played by a nine-piece conducted by music supervisor Will Van Dyke, it’s all rather proficient but rarely seems to illuminate or elevate the proceedings, and its series of ballads begin to sound like a collection of reprises.

As for the book, it seems mainly concerned with covering all of the story’s plot points. But perhaps, that’s to be expected. After all, the script was written by the late Garry Marshall, the director of the movie, and J.F. Lawton, who wrote the screenplay.

So, we have Vivian and Edward’s cute meeting on Hollywood Boulevard, when he gets lost on his way to his hotel because he can’t master driving the high-powered car he has borrowed from his lawyer. He luckily encounters Vivian, working the street, and of course, she knows just how to drive the thing. Once back at his hotel, Edward has the dubious inspiration of hiring Vivian for the week as his escort to the various social events he must attend in his scheme to acquire a failing shipbuilding company and then sell off its assets for big profit.

As the week goes on, Vivian’s charm and honesty work their magic on Edward’s nefarious scheming; he decides to help the shipbuilding company rebuild its business rather than tear it apart. This move by Edward enrages his lawyer, who takes out his anger on Vivian, reminding her she’s just a hooker. But things work out really grand, when Edward finally fulfills Vivian’s dream of being rescued from her dreadful life by a knight on a white horse.

Under director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s exceptionally fluid and exceptionally glossy staging, the proceedings give off an aura of glamour without ever being terribly alluring. His talented principals, Samantha Barks, the West End actress known for her highly praised turn as Eponine in the film of Les Misérables, and Andy Karl, one of Broadway’s top leading men and an Olivier Award winner for his London appearance in Groundhog Day, possess inherent charm. It’s nice to be in their presence.

There’s even more than a smattering of sexual chemistry between them as well, as they hunker down to the start of love making – once even on top of a grand piano – before the lights demurely fade. But as gifted as they are, they can’t quite overcome the busy and perfunctory nature of the storytelling, attempting to sell a fantasy as a straight-faced narrative.

Among others in the cast, there’s particularly notable work from Eric Anderson, who doubles in the roles of Happy Man, a ragged tour barker selling maps to the homes of movie stars, and Mr. Thompson, the haughty but benevolent manager of the posh hotel in which Edward and Vivian are ensconced.

As Happy Man, Anderson gets to act as a sort of Master of Ceremonies, leading the busy ensemble through the ‘Welcome to Hollywood’ opener and other production numbers, making the most of Mitchell’s somewhat generic choreography. As the hotel manager, he takes over the stage as a light-footed, old-time song and dance man, turning the aforementioned ‘On a Night Like Tonight’ into the show’s freshest number.

Also commendable is Orfeh (who is Karl’s wife in real life). She grabs attention with some big-voiced singing and brash comedy, portraying Vivian’s streetwalking mentor.

The show’s compulsion to wrap you in glamour is further fulfilled by costume designer Gregg Barnes. Once Vivian gets the use of Edward’s credit card and doffs her all-too-obvious hooker uniform, we see her covered in a series of smashing looking gowns, and Barks does justice to all of them, including the red opera knockout that won audience applause at the performance attended.

David Rockwell’s smartly skeletal set designs have more than enough touches of luxury, all of it brilliantly lit in eye-popping colour by Kenneth Posner and Philip S. Rosenberg.

Despite its shortcomings, Pretty Woman the Musical lives up to its title. It is pretty.

              Ron Cohen