This isn’t a sponsored post.
BrumHour saw this Pretty Woman The Musical at the invite of The Alexandra.
For Brum Radio’s Interval Theatre, Natalie Paris talked about bringing touring with Pretty Woman The Musical. Listen below:
By Eleanor Lawson twitter.com/Elle_Lawson
Review: Pretty Woman The Musical at The Alexandra
⭐⭐⭐⭐”A joy to watch Amber Davies”
Directed by Jerry Mitchell book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton, music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance
You’ve seen the film. You know the song. Now it’s time for the musical.
Many beloved films have had the musical treatment over the last few years. Mean Girls, Shrek, Back to The Future. Just in the last few weeks, there have been announcements that musical adaptations of The Devil Wears Prada and The Hunger Games will be coming to the West End.
Earlier this year, Pretty Woman The Musical finished its West End run, and is now embarking on a national tour – starting off in the greatest city in the UK, Birmingham (obviously). We all know how sex worker Vivian and billionaire Edward fall in love and irrevocably change each other’s lives, but now we get to see the story transformed into musical theatre.
Adaptations of well-known films always suffer extra scrutiny due to audiences bringing their intense feelings towards the film into the theatre, but when done right, adaptations can enchant audiences just as much as the original.
In particular, the weight of comparison falls on the shoulders of Amber Davies, who won Love Island in 2017 and has since starred in 9 to 5 The Musical, Bring it On, and Back to the Future. Reincarnating the iconic role of Vivian, played by Hollywood’s most enduring romantic heroine, Julia Roberts, must have been a daunting task for Davies, and yet she completely supersedes expectations. Davies’ Vivian is effortlessly endearing, charismatic, and kind, an effervescent force of energy and goodwill. She wraps you around her little finger with her first scene, demonstrating how her cool, composed facade as a sex worker masks an excitable, curious young woman who dreams of romance and excitement. It’s a joy to watch Davies on stage, and while she has a powerful voice, it’s her manifestation of Vivian’s zest for life and hidden insecurities that make her the star of the show.
Our romantic lead is Edward Lewis, played by Oliver Savile, who has simmering chemistry with Davies‘ Vivian right from the very start, which is essential to sell their rapid attraction and longing for each other. TV presenter and Strictly winner Ore Oduba is incredible in his roles as Happy Man – a stand-in for a narrator, essentially – and as hotel manager Mr Thompson – playing his roles with charm and debonair, while making full use of his Strictly training.
Natalie Paris, who originated the role of Jane Seymour in the smash-hit musical SIX, is a powerhouse as Vivian’s best friend, Kit, with vocals that brought the house down. And Noah Harrison is a comedy mastermind as Giulio, the hotel concierge who has a front-row seat to Vivian and Edward’s turbulent week together, and had the audiences in stitches with every move he made.
Set amid the bright lights and even brighter aspirations of Hollywood, at its heart, Pretty Woman The Musical is a story about two people whose love for one another makes them both better people, a theme that is ever enduring.
Pretty Woman The Musical is at The Alexandra until 28th October 2023. Discover what is coming up at The Alexandra here: atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-woman-the-musical/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham. Find out more about Pretty Woman The Musical’s UK tour here: https://prettywomanthemusical.com/
