Pretty Woman: The Musical is Broadway’s newest must-see show. Based on the 1990 award-winning film starring Julie Roberts and Richard Gere, the film is known to have the highest number of ticket sales ever recorded in the US for a romantic film. The directors of the Broadway musical adaptation have made slight modifications to the storyline in an effort to keep it current and up-to-date yet maintaining the integrity of the original love story.
The Plot
The plot surrounds successful businessman, Edward Lewis whose relationship with his girlfriends has recently ended. He is so enraged after a phone conversation with her that he storms out of a party and takes off with his business associate’s sports car even though he’s never driven a vehicle with a manual transmission. He finds himself in the seedy area of Hollywood Boulevard and pulls over to the side of the road where he meets up with a prostitute named Vivian Ward. Edward offers Vivian money to drive the sports car to his Beverly Hills hotel. Vivian does so and ends up accepting Edward’s offer to not only stay the night but escort him to a series of upcoming business functions that require a date. It is strictly a no-strings-attached business deal. As his romantic relationships tend to become complicated he sees this as the best way to attend these functions. When Vivian transforms herself from a low-class prostitute to an elegantly dressed woman of sophistication a romantic relationship between Vivian and Edward begins to unfold.
The Cast
Vivian Ward: The role of Vivian Ward is portrayed by Samantha Banks. Bank’s is widely recognized for her role in Universal’s film of Les Miserables where she starred with well know actors such as Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway. Samantha Banks has been the recipient of many awards for her acting ability. She has appeared in several of London’s West End productions and UK television shows.
Edward Lewis: Edward Lewis is played by actor Andy Karl. Karl is the recipient of the Oliver Award, Drama Desk Award and has been nominated for his third Tony Award for his starring role in Broadway’s Groundhog Day. He has appeared in a number of Independent films and the ABC comedy pilot “Staties.”
Kit De Luca (Vivian’s friend): Kit is played by actress Orfeh who is married in real life to actor Andy Karl who is cast in the role of Edward Lewis. Orfeh was recently seen on Broadway as Paulette in the musical production of Legally Blond. Orfeh was nominated for a Tony Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in that role. She has been in several other Broadway and Off-Broadway productions along with several other performances. Orfeh is also known for her impressive musical career.
This show is sure to entertain audience goers as the original score is by Grammy winner Bryan Adams along with his songwriting partner Jim Vallance. The musical’s direction and choreography is by two time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell.
Pretty Woman: The Musical is playing at the Nederlander Theatre located at 208 West 41st Street in New York City. The running time for this show is 2 hours and 30 minutes with ticket prices starting at $85. Tickets are available through March 2019.
If you’re dead set on seeing one of the city’s famous productions and looking to nab tickets at a discounted price, check out our guide on getting cheap Broadway tickets.
Leave a Reply