Touring 'Pretty Woman: The Musical' Disappoints

Despite a talented cast, "Pretty Woman: The Musical" is another example of a popular film that shouldn't have been made into a musical.
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The well-known story of the hooker with a heart of gold that is "rescued" by her prince in a white limo has been a cable and rooftop cinema staple for decades, making it something of a classic. (And for me, being of a certain age, the fact that it's a classic now, stings.)
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There are a few problems when it comes to adapting a popular film into the Broadway musical format, and "Pretty Woman" is affected by both.
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The first is adapting a film to the stage without changing a thing. Recently, Broadway in Hollywood was host to the touring company of another film-to-stage adaptation with "Tootsie." What worked in that musical was that major story points were changed, making the story seem fresh while remaining familiar. It took a few classic lines and kept them, but the show was transformed into its own thing rather than a collection of famous scenes trotted out for an audience who only wants the familiar.�
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With "Pretty Woman," you basically have several original songs sandwiched between the movie script played almost word for word. The only things altered are the dining room scene ("slippery little suckers") which is now a dance sequence, and instead of Edward rescuing Vivian from the clutches of his smarmy lawyer, she takes it upon herself to punch the crap out of him. Otherwise, the audience (who will mostly all be very familiar with the movie) will be able to lip-sync the dialogue as it plays. (And judging by the women of a certain age around me, they were.)
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The other issue is that the success of the film "Pretty Woman" was partly due to the chemistry and skills of its cast. The classic lines and scenes are so well known that you can't help but hear Julia Roberts or Richard Gere in your head while these actors try to bring the same magic to them. They never do. They can't. It's an impossible task. And that's not even their fault.
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Add to that an inexplicable song list by '80s icon Bryan Adams (and James Vallance) who, aside from being popular when that film was released, has nothing to do with the movie in any way. His songs are fine, but ultimately forgettable and, quite honestly, they add nothing to the emotion of the story, nor do they move the plot along. In fact, they sort of just stop the show in its tracks.
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Every lead actor in the show is a remarkable singer and can clearly set fire to the stage when they want to. The problem is that this touring company is terribly miscast. Adam Pascal ("Rent") has the rocker voice of Bryan Adams, but for some reason his character has no stage presence or chemistry with Olivia Valli, who plays Vivian. There were times where Pascal was among the members of the male chorus and I couldn't spot him in the crowd.
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Similarly, Valli (yes, it's Frankie Valli's granddaughter) has an amazing voice and can certainly act, but she is so miscast that it's continually distracting. Playing the character as extra-tough and a ball-breaker, she seems like she could eat Pascal's Edward for lunch. It's as if she stepped out of the cast of "Jersey Shore" and onto the "Pretty Woman" stage. At times, her Vivian reminded me of a young Bette Midler, and I couldn't help but think she would be really great in the upcoming production of "Beaches: The Musical." But as for the vulnerability that Roberts projected in the film, there is none, which makes her arc not work and her chemistry with Pascal null.
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The musical is so telegraphed to be a crowd-pleaser that there are actual pauses in the action for audience applause and laughter. The problem is, it never comes. When Vivian steps out in the now-famous red dress for a night out at the opera, it's done in a way that expects the audience to erupt in applause. That doesn't happen. Oddly, the off-white skirt suit and hat that Roberts wore in the famous "big mistake!" moment on Rodeo Drive was botched with a weirdly small, black hat that not only didn't go with the suit itself but stood out so badly it felt like a mistake. Where was the big hat that is so integral to that iconic costume? It was a strange choice among many.
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The best thing about the show is a character simply called "Happy Man," played by Kyle Taylor Parker. This role encompasses the homeless man ("what's YOUR dream?"), as well as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel manager (made famous by Hector Elizondo in the film), among others. He is utilized so well and brings such fresh life to the show, you see glimpses of what could have been done to make "Pretty Woman" original and not just a rehash of the film. Additionally, Trent Soyster as bellhop Guilio is given a ton of fun stuff to do, and his chemistry with Parker is adorable.
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It's hard to reconstruct the magic of something that worked so beautifully when it was first gifted to the world. Roberts and Gere created undeniable chemistry and charm, which is half of what made the film work in the first place. Remove them, and you have a pale imitation that truly just makes you long to go back and watch the movie.
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This "Pretty Woman" needed a transformation, but instead it got its make-over from the bargain bin at the local drug store.
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"Pretty Woman: The Musical" runs�through July 17th�at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts 60 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. For more information and tickets, visit�www.SCFTA.org.