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When you really love a film, it can be difficult to enjoy any other iterations - remakes, sequels and musical adaptations all fall into this category.
Pretty Woman was one of the few films we owned in my house growing up and I watched it countless times on VHS so it’s fair to say it’s a firm favourite of mine and, therefore, I wasn’t sure how the new musical version would stack up.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the show, despite a few tweaks here and there, stayed fairly true to the original 1990 blockbuster.
For those who aren’t familiar, Pretty Woman is your classic boy-meets-girl romance. But, in this case, the boy is a billionaire business tycoon and the girl is a sex worker walking the streets of LA.
It stars Amber Davies, the former Love Island winner turned musical theatre star, who steps into Julia Roberts’ infamous thigh-high boots as Vivan, a down-on-her-luck woman struggling to make ends meet.
Amber is a dead ringer for the Academy Award-winning actor in the looks department. She pulls off being both sexy and sassy in her blonde wig and mini skirt and charming and sophisticated as a brunette in designer clothes.
She plays the role much goofier than Roberts, amping up the comedy for the stage and swapping some of the film character’s coyness for laughs, but it pays off.
TV host Ore Oduba also stars in the show and proves he’s a man of many talents - and roles.
He plays a vagabond, hotel manager, pianist, store assistant and orchestra conductor, all with his trademark likablility. He’s also funny, injecting a big hit of tongue-in-cheek fourth-wall-breaking.
Ever since he was on Strictly we’ve known Ore can move, but now he’s got the voice to match. He even shows off his twinkle toes with a ballroom and Latin routine and proves he’s still got it.
The score is written by Bryan Adams and his songwriting partner Jim Vallance, so I expected it to be a heavy hitter. I’ll be honest, it didn’t really grab me and I don’t think the songs will become musical theatre classics, but they were all performed well.
Elliot David Parkes belts out some tunes as Edward, a role he doesn’t usually play but is stepping into tonight, and he manages to make a character I’ve always thought of as rather bland actually entertaining.
A special shoutout goes to Noah Harrison who plays Giulio, the bellhop at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel.
His character is one of very few words, but his physical comedy is excellent and he has the whole audience giggling every time he’s on stage, often without uttering a word.
The costume department also deserves credit for creating some fabulous eighties ‘fits.
The skimpy neon dresses, striking shoulder pads and bouncing perms really take audiences back to the 1980s as we travel from Hollywood Boulevard to Rodeo Drive.
Like I said, I’m a huge fan of the film and if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure the world was really crying out for the musical adaptation of Pretty Woman.
However, it’s a fun homage to the original and hits all the marks from the screen version so if you’re looking for decent rom-com to enjoy with the girls (or guys), this is one you won’t want to miss.
Pretty Woman is at the Marlowe Theatre until Saturday, August 3. You can book tickets online here.
You can also book by calling 01227 787787.