Pretty Woman: the Musical opens in Chicago on March 13
Pretty Woman: the Musical opens in Chicago on March 13
#1Pretty Woman: the Musical opens in Chicago on March 13
Posted: 3/9/18 at 12:11pm
First look at Pretty Woman: the Musical:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-ae-pretty-woman-premiere-0311-story.html
Previews begin March 13. They play until April 13 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. See http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/show/pretty-woman/ for information and tickets.
FloraPoste
Swing Joined: 12/25/15
#2Pretty Woman: the Musical opens in Chicago on March 13
Posted: 3/14/18 at 10:58pm
Saw the first preview last night (March 13th), and enjoyed myself.
The audience had a good time, and was enthusiastic in their applause at the end.
Things went very smoothly for a first performance. Didn’t notice any scenery / costume issues or forgotten lines.
It is a nice, entertaining, somewhat old fashioned musical that can stand on its own. In fact, you will probably like it more if you have not seen the movie since you won’t be sitting there listing the differences. Which aren’t that many. The story line follows the film rather faithfully.
The music is enjoyable. Not a great score – I didn’t leave the theater humming anything. But I did find myself often tapping my toes. The songs do what they need to do to keep the story moving along.
The set is somewhat bare bones through much of it. That might be to make scene changes easier. But the show is “framed” by an outdoor set that creates a mini version of the outside of Vivian’s apartment building, complete with a short fire escape that Edward can conquer at the end of the show.
The costumes are functional. But you do get the red dress for the opera scene. And they chose to essentially recreate in detail Vivian’s initial “hooker” outfit – red jacket, thigh high black boots, blue mini-skirt, white tank top, fisherman cap and blond wig.
There is not a lot of choreography, and none of it is particularly memorable.
ORFEH as Kit DeLuca sings great but doesn’t have too much to do. But she generally gets her laughs. And yes, she does say “Cinder-*******-ella” at the appropriate moment.
ERIC ANDERSON plays the hotel manager, and at least one other part. He gets funnier as the evening goes on.
JASON DANIELEY is rich casting for a small part. I could easily see him as Edward Lewis at some point. He does “mean and greedy” as well as Jason Alexander, and is a lot cuter.
SAMANTHA BARKS and STEVE KAZEE are fine in the lead roles. Both have excellent Broadway style voices, tho I might have preferred a baritone for Edward. At the moment, they look very comfortable with each other. As time goes on, hopefully a bit more “heat” will develop between them. Both actors are probably 4 – 5 years older than Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were back in 1990 when the film came out. The grey in Kazee’s beard only emphasizes that. It makes for a slightly different feel to the romance. Despite her vocation, Roberts just looked so innocent – Barks looks a bit more worldly wise. But Barks certainly has the body for the costumes, even when quite brief, which certainly helps.
There are still some timing issues. A few laugh lines were lost because an actor didn't pause quite long enough before delivering it. I didn't hear what Edward says to Vivian in the last scene on the fire escape just before she responds "and she saved him right back". "I want the fairy tale" got lost a bit as well. But that should be easily corrected as they see how audiences respond and adjust pacing accordingly.
In summary, I had an enjoyable time. I won’t be retiring my video, but it worked better than I expected. It plays for 5 weeks in Chicago – I may try catching it in the last week to see if there are any major changes. But as it stands now, they have a good foundation.
FloraPoste
Swing Joined: 12/25/15
#4Pretty Woman: the Musical opens in Chicago on March 13
Posted: 3/15/18 at 3:40pm
For those currently in or near Chicago, half price tickets to PRETTY WOMAN are available at www.hottix.org. They are only selling for dates through March 18th. That is typical of HotTix - they tend to only sell a few days ahead. So check back next week and there will likely be more dates available. The sponsor, Broadway in Chicago, generally fills its subscription obligations within the first two weeks of a run. So tickets may actually open up a bit starting the third week. Or not.
I also checked Chicago listings for www.goldstar.com and www.todaytix.com. Neither one had listings for PRETTY WOMAN at the moment, but that could easily change. So try checking those websites on a daily basis.
Broadway in Chicago (www.broadwayinchicago.com) also has two "deals" currently posted at their website. Make certain you pay close attention to the limitations:
$25 Day-of-Show Rush Tickets for Pretty Woman: The Musical
A limited number of $25 student/senior/teacher/military rush tickets for Pretty Woman: The Musical will be available for all performances. Rush tickets are available to purchase only at the box office at the Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph) on the day of the performance, when the box office opens. Limit of 2 tickets per valid ID.
$64 Main Floor Seats to Pretty Woman: The Musical
Click here and use code VIVIAN before selecting your seats*
*Valid for select locations for Sunday evenings – Thursdays through March 25; and valid March 30 and April 1 matinee and evening performances. Normal ticketing fees apply. Not valid with any other offer or on previously purchased tickets. Subject to availability. Offer ends April 1 at 7:30 pm Central. Other restrictions may apply.
The show is playing at a revamped movie palace, the Oriental Theatre. So think wide, with a single capacious balcony. No pillars to deal with. But you'd rather see as close to center as you can. I viewed it from the center of the balcony, about half way back, and saw everything.
FloraPoste
Swing Joined: 12/25/15
#5PRETTY WOMAN: the Musical opens in Chicago on March 13
Posted: 3/16/18 at 7:04pm
The website TheatreInChicago.com is listing Wednesday, March 28th as the official opening date for PRETTY WOMAN in Chicago. Local reviews should start to appear within a day or two.
TheatreInChicago.com is the best spot to find information on what is opening and closing in Chicago area theatre. They will provide comprehensive lists, links to theatre websites and ticket discounts, show dates and time, what is scheduled to open in the months ahead, and so on. It also is an excellent review aggregator, under Review Round-Up, including not only the main local newspapers but a fair number of online only reviewers.
Chris Jones is currently the major print reviewer, but the Chicago Reader, New City, Windy City Times, and other smaller (often weekly) print papers do good work as well. The suburban Daily Herald regularly reviews Chicago shows. The Chicago Sun-Times, since the departure of Hedy Weiss, is using free lancers for its theatre, dance and classical music reviews. As for Hedy, she continues a relationship with local PBS station WTTW, so check their website. And she has a Facebook page.
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