Pretty Woman - Piccadilly / Savoy / Tour

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I would love to see the Cher show go in

True but the whole thing was panned including sets, costumes, book and songs so that seeksna lot to sort out.

I doubt the entire Chicago production will go into the rubbish bin. The score and book weren't dreadful, they just needed to be better. So I think we will see revisions, not entire rewrites of the book and new songs to replace a handful of tunes that didn't hit the mark. 

Production-wise, a sh*t ton of money was spent and while the sets didn't wow, they also didn't look cheap so again, more of a revision than a rehaul. I would imagine the costumes will see the biggest change - the all-plain/drab nature of many of the pieces was a shocker. That will change.

I also think recasting the show will help. The Andrea in Chicago was talented but kind of wet with no chemistry between her and the other principles. I think a blend of American/English actors would work brilliantly for this piece....and I hope Hadyn Gwynn keeps her calendar clear just in case....

…Curve’s ‘Billy Elliot’?

Saw this on Friday as I got a great ticket on TT.

Much better than I expected, the leads are great.

Way too many ballad songs in the second half which made it feels like it was dragging.

Yesterday afternoon I saw Pretty Woman the musical in London for the first time. You would think that the standout roles would be the ones played by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the hit 1990 film. But, no. Both my mum and I agreed that the standout role was Happy Man/Mr Thompson and more played by Andy Barke.

Happy Man is a tour guide who introduces us to the glamour of Hollywood with the rich, greedy business people in their designer clothes (including the suave Edward Lewis, the role played by Richard Gere in the film). They look down on the street workers, including Vivian Ward (the role played by Julia Roberts in the film).

What follows is a typical rom-com plot that you can guess from the outset. The musical knows it’s never going to be anything other than lighthearted entertainment that you don’t have to think about, and the songs reflect that.

I previously mentioned Andy Barke was the standout with a phenomenal singing voice and excellent comic timing and mannerisms. He transitioned into all of his different characters (including the hotel manager) with ease.

From the moment 6 ft 2 Oliver Tompsett walked on, he cut a perfectly suave figure that made the ladies in the audience swoon. Oliver is a recent addition to the cast and you could tell he was having fun with the role. Singing comes easy to him but the dancing was not his forte. However, he and Aimie were laughing at his attempts and that just made their relationship even more endearing.

Aimie Atkinson draws you into Vivian’s hopes and dreams. She has an insane voice and, at times, you feel like you want a stopwatch to time just how long she’s holding those notes for.

We had understudy Hannah Ducharme as Vivian’s street worker friend Kit and she brought lots of growls and sass to her songs. Alex Charles was adorable as the hotel bell boy and had some great comedy moments with the hotel manager.

The show ends with a rousing rendition of the Roy Orbison song Pretty Woman, which the audience are encouraged to join in with. Like I said, this is a fun show and one to watch when you don’t really feel like thinking but just want a laugh and a good time.

I believe Wednesday is her scheduled day off, and Oliver Tompsett is scheduled off on Sundays. He seems to have been more reliable than his predecessor so far though. I agree that Aimie seems to have significant time off according to the West End covers Twitter account; I’m not sure if it was the same at the start of the run or in Six.

Apparently Oliver's pulled his back!

Saw the matinee, and despite three years passing, a whole new set of principals and a different theatre, my love for this romantic fluff remains strong lol.

Some spoilers follow. . .

I booked for Oliver Tompsett, who, in my experience, usually brings a harder edge to characters he takes over, like his sleazier Sky Masterson and/or Charlie Price, but despite his more rough appearance, I felt his internal life was appealingly even softer and more sensitive than slightly more stoic Danny Mac, and Tompsett really has such subtlety in his emotional singing range. He was immensely touching.

Ely Jay's Cover Vivian was the opposite: less sensitive than Aimee Atkinson, but to wonderful comic effect, channelling a Bill and Ted boyish immaturity in her exhilarating exuberance, like Mrs Maisel on an extended bender: nothing like Julia Roberts, but funnier for it, and coupled with Tompsett's sensitivity, they were a supremely winning couple.

Courtney Bowman's immense belt made for a fiery and funny Kit, and astonishingly, Andy Barke's strike-a-pose playfulness, as Happy Man/Mr Thompson, matched the sheer performative joy of Bob Harms, just with slightly more hair.

And if there was one performance I really wanted to see again, it was Alex Charles's light and joyful Giulio, and wonderfully, there he was, cheekily inspiring permasmiles in the audience every time he graced the stage.

The final act of the show is a wonder: I adore the way opera is mashed up with Bryan Adams's rock in "You and I" and how the supreme theme about how important, despite how difficult it is, to make a change in our lives, flows directly out of that moment in "I can't go back."

I mean, you know the show is a fantasy, cos how often does anybody really make a change, but by god did the heretofore endearingly childlike Ely Jay become a full grown woman with intention in that magnificent song, combining her zaniness and belt with the subtlety and sensitivity previously absent.

Such a fun show! It was great to sing the "Pretty Woman" theme one more time before this loveable fantasy vanishes at the end of this week. 4 stars of glorious silly romantic fun!

David rockwells sets are always terrible.

Good riddance to this show

Tour Cast......

They've ignored him in the video but is that Oliver Saville as Edward in the thumbnail? Assume he is in the cast too