The ‘Pretty Woman’ stage adaptation has walked down Leith Street and entered the Edinburgh Playhouse for a run until Saturday 13th April. Based on the iconic 1990s motion picture, the musical follows Edward, a rich entrepreneur, and Vivian, a prostitute, that Edward hires to accompany him on a few social events. Trouble ensues when he falls in love with her and they try to bridge the gap between their worlds.
Starring as the leads of this production are Amber Davies as Vivan Ward and Oliver Savile as Edward Lewis. Davies radiates a woman determined for more, yet naivety is absent and instead, you are presented with a well-rounded, strong, and confident woman. With killer vocals and an ecstatic stage presence, you can see why Amber Davies is quickly becoming one of the biggest names in the UK’s musical theatre industry. Oliver Savile is dashing, charming, and elegant as Edward Lewis. You instantly connect with the flashy millionaire and resonate with the character’s rationale and his relationship with Vivian. The two performers deliver a sublime dynamic and very easily fill the shoes of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
Ore Oduba is the perfect performer for the narrator of this tale (Happy Man), and the owner of the Beverley Wilshire, Mr Thompson. Both characters act as comic relief and intertwine well with the main protagonist’s journey, Ore’s nuanced comedy and cheeky smile puts the audience at ease and they happily allow him to take them into the heart of this romantic tale. Natalie Paris is phenomenal as Kit De Luca. Her vocals are sensational, her portrayal of this supporting character wrings the warmth, humour and drive that the text supplies, bringing a truly engaging performance.
Ben Darcy radiates sleaze and villainy as Philip Stuckey, the story’s antagonist. Ben does well to unfold Stuckey’s true demeanor bit by bit, giving a character that the audience loves to hate. Chomba Taulo is endearing and a true gentleman as David Morse. Both performers do well to make an impact with the stage time they are given.
This production features an energetic, versatile, and fun ensemble. The ensemble of this production are as follows; Becky Anderson (Swing/Resident Choreographer), Rachael Kendall Brown, Rebekah Bryant (Swing), Josh Damer-Jennings (Alfredo), Andrew Davison (Naked Cowboy), Lila Falce-Bass (Violetta/Bag Lady), Noah Harrison (Giulio), Sydnie Hocknell, Elly Jay (Scarlett), Michael Kholwadia, Joshua Lear (Swing/Dance Captain), Stuart Maciver (Swing), Victoria Rachael McCabe (Swing), Eleanor Morrison Halliday, LJ Neilson (Resident Director), Annell Odartey, Elliot David Parkes, Curtis Patrick & Toby Shellard.
Legendary stage director Jerry Mitchell tackles the stage adaptation of this major Hollywood film. Jerry’s creativity is clear as he turns up the dials bringing colour, grandeur, and big characters to the stage. Whilst he should be applauded for bringing mostly the same tone of the film to stage, there was a certain lack of grit in terms of the darker context of the story which could have been leaned into further to strengthen the impact. Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance supply the music & lyrics for this musical, whilst they are all catchy and allow the performers to stretch their range, bar a few (not including the infamous Roy Orbison title number finale), they were rather generic and could have had more variation to lean into the 90s setting.
The late Garry Marshall was the original director of the motion picture and scribed the book for the stage adaptation with J.F. Lawton, this helps the musical stay true to the original film and fans will be pleased at the parallels between the two with their favourite scenes remaining in all their glory. David Rockwell’s scenic design is bright, bold, creative and works well to shift between settings. Kenneth Posner & Philip S. Rosenberg’s lighting design is dazzling and at points very naturalistic to fit in with the almost film-like styling of the production. Tom Rogers’ costume design is luxurious, versatile, and grand, all of the performers look stunning in each scene whether it is the style on the streets of LA or during the bouji upper-class affairs where we see everyone dressed to the tens.
‘Pretty Woman’ is a fun, romantic, and grand musical, that retains all of the characteristics of the film it is based upon. Featuring a supremely talented cast, this is the perfect production to entertain you this April.
Photography – Marc Brenner
Get your tickets here – https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-woman-the-musical/edinburgh-playhouse/
Theatre Scotland 
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