PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL recoups on the road

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 12:02pm

The producers of the first national tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical announced today that the touring production has recouped its $4.7 million investment after 39 weeks on the road. The Equity tour, which launched in October 2021 at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI, will continue through May 7, 2023 with the final scheduled engagement in Sacramento, CA.

The cast of Pretty Woman is currently led by Adam Pascal as Edward Lewis, Olivia Valli as Vivian Ward, Jessica Crouch as Kit De Luca, Kyle Taylor Parker as Happy Man, and Matthew Stocke as Philip Stuckey. Rounding out the company are Jade Amber, Natalie Bourgeois, Christian Brailsford, Anju Cloud, Nella Cole, Michael Dalke, Carissa Gaughran, Em Hadick, Graham Keen, Christian Kidd, Keyonna Knight, Chris Manuel, Devon McCleskey, Kaylee Olson, Amma Osei, Hillary Porter, Alice Reys, Jonathan Ritter, Trent Soyster, Brett Stoelker, and Jonathan Young.

Based on the hit film, Pretty Womanfeatures a book by the movie's legendary director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J.F. Lawton, original music and lyrics by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and direction and choreography by two-time Tony winner Jerry Mitchell.

https://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/pretty-woman-the-musical-tour-recoups_94218.html

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 12:22pm

Didn't love this show on Broadway but ecstatic to hear it's recouped on the road. Excellent news!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 1:06pm

On the road was the only place this terrible show was going to recoup! Good for them, tho. 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 1:20pm

I enjoyed the show, but regardless of my opinion, always thrilled when people who invest in art (or in any other business), make a killing and now the show will always be remembered as a hit. Well done!

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 1:33pm

I'll echo the posts above: I hated the show, but it's encouraging to hear that recouping on the road is still a viable business model. And I do feel weirdly proud of them for managing to beat the odds, despite (as I said) thinking the show was utter garbage.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 1:43pm

Congrats to the producers.   Surprised the overall investment was only $4.7M.  I guess it showed in the sets on Broadway - and I can only imagine the tour was even more scaled down.  

[DaveyG]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 1:46pm

Marlothom said: "Congrats to the producers. Surprised the overall investment was only $4.7M. I guess it showed in the sets on Broadway - and I can only imagine the tour was even more scaled down."

The tour production recouped its $4.7 million capitalization. The Broadway production cost over $14 million and I doubt that will ever be recouped.  I detested the show, but good for them for finding some success on the road. 

[Dolly80]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 2:01pm

Where the hell did that money go on Broadway? Sure wasn’t the production values

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 2:22pm

I’ve never seen a worse show on Broadway. The sets looked like they had been used and abused despite being a brand new show. Not even one good song. Terrible direction.

happy it recouped but I just feel like this gives the green light for more ****ty rom com musicals. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 2:24pm

The West End production is also doing extremely well.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 2:36pm

This is good news for the cast as well, right? Because they start getting bigger overages? I wonder what the benefits are to announce your tour has recouped, I always thought this happened much more frequently and thus wasn’t newsworthy. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 3:18pm

I saw it recently. I won’t say it’s high art but I enjoyed seeing Adam Pascal. His vocal performance was impressive. I thought the sets were perfectly acceptable for a tour, which I imagine was the issue on Broadway since we don’t expect to see a set built for the road in a Broadway house. The score wasn’t too memorable but I did enjoy “Never Give Up on Your Dream” and “Long Way Home.”

[DAME]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 3:28pm

And yet.. the Moulin Rouge tour is playing to half empty houses. 

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 5:52pm

DAME, yes! Isn't that wild?!?!?! What's so funny to me though is that you couldn't get a ticket to MOULIN ROUGE in Chicago; it did super well. But RIGHT down the road at SIX, they were playing to quarter full houses! And MOCKINGBIRD, full! HARRY POTTER in New York doing so well, but couldn't fill a single house in San Francisco. Audiences are so strange post pandemic!

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 6:29pm

Happy news when this news comes in for any show. Congratulations, Pretty Woman!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 10:30pm

inlovewithjerryherman said: "DAME, yes! Isn't that wild?!?!?! What's so funny to me though is that you couldn't get a ticket to MOULIN ROUGE in Chicago; it did super well. But RIGHT down the road at SIX, they were playing to quarter full houses! And MOCKINGBIRD, full! HARRY POTTER in New York doing so well, but couldn't fill a single house in San Francisco. Audiences are so strange post pandemic!"

Audiences are not strange, but broke post pandemic. Many people are struggling financially, regardless of what the government stats say. Hit shows in NYC charge inflated prices on the road that many people just can’t pay now.

I enjoyed Six but the prices they charge for one of the shortest and cheapest looking shows I’ve ever seen is ridiculous. Truly. 
 

As for Pretty Woman, I’m glad it recouped but it was another show that looked so cheap. It’s no wonder if recouped.

Mockingbird is really well done with exceptional reviews. It feels substantial. I can see why it sells out on the road. It’s quality. Moulin Rouge is fun, buts it’s overpriced junk food. If people are sticking to a budget, junk food is the first to go. 

 

[David10086]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 11:10am

THIS  ^^^^^^^

What BettyBoy said is absolutely true. Post-pandemic, people are making more deliberate decisions on how to spend their money, as inflation and gas prices are eating at their wallets still. And now with hikes in mortgage rates and credit card interest, they are more savvy then ever - especially with entertainment. I posted earlier about Toni Tennille starring in a revival of 'Hello Dolly' in Prescott, AZ. Ticket prices go as high as $365 to sit in a college theater and see Tennille sing and dance as Dolly Levy.  I'm very curious how that's going to work out for them (please note: I'm not at all familiar with the economy and audience in Prescott, AZ). 

 

[Marlothom]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 11:46am

In terms of Moulin Rouge and Pretty Woman tour ticket sales, it might also have something to do with Pretty Woman doing short stints in many cities (hard on the cast and crew!) so it has more urgency, where ML did 2+ months in Chicago, and a similar long stay in LA so interest sorta dies down once they head in month number two.  

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 12:17pm

I wonder if they will play a return engagement to Chicago after its run here was cut short due to Omicron/Covid.

[DAME]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 12:38pm

Bettyboy72 said: "inlovewithjerryherman said: "DAME, yes! Isn't that wild?!?!?! What's so funny to me though is that you couldn't get a ticket to MOULIN ROUGE in Chicago; it did super well. But RIGHT down the road at SIX, they were playing to quarter full houses! And MOCKINGBIRD, full! HARRY POTTER in New York doing so well, but couldn't fill a single house in San Francisco. Audiences are so strange post pandemic!"

Audiences are not strange, but broke post pandemic. Many people are struggling financially, regardless of what the government stats say. Hit shows in NYC charge inflated prices on the road that many people just can’t pay now.

I enjoyed Six but the prices they charge for one of the shortest and cheapest looking shows I’ve ever seen is ridiculous. Truly.


As for Pretty Woman, I’m glad it recouped but it was another show that looked so cheap. It’s no wonder if recouped.

Mockingbird is really well done with exceptional reviews. It feels substantial. I can see why it sells out on the road. It’s quality. Moulin Rouge is fun, buts it’s overpriced junk food. If people are sticking to a budget, junk food is the first to go.

"

You can get great seats for Moulin Rouge for $59.00 on any given night.  So saying it is overpriced is simply not true.  I think it has more to do with Moulin Rouge being a really long engagement.  Its future bookings are doing well.   Also.. Mocking Bird out here is not selling very well at all.  Heavy discounts are starting to go out and the house looks 90% empty on any given night.  It might also have to do with the Pantages being so uninviting for a play.  SIX had already played a very long summer engagement in Chicago a few years back.  So maybe people didn't feel a need to go again.  I don't know.   Pretty Woman played to less than full heavily discounted houses here in LA.  They must just have a great business model.   I do think the main audience on the road is older.. and they are still too shy to be sitting in groups of people. 

Updated On: 8/26/22 at 12:38 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 12:41pm

Some of these shows just don't warrant doing multi-month long runs in big cities. I think the days of long sit downs for these bigger shows is going to start to dwindle in the coming touring seasons.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 12:56pm

These road houses are huge. I don’t think anyone expected Pretty Woman to sell out a theater that hosts the Oscars.

Maybe interest in theater in general is dying down a little? Or at least these movie turned musicals. I feel like audiences want something new and fresh these days. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 1:05pm

SouthernCakes said: "Maybe interest in theater in general is dying down a little? Or at least these movie turned musicals. I feel like audiences want something new and fresh these days."

I think (a) there are no rules and (b) if there were a rule it would be that the shows that succeed are the ones folks want to see. A slight course correction for some regarding PW recoupment: if you read what was announced it is the TOUR that recouped, which is not the same as saying that the Broadway production recouped because of a tour. I agree people definitely want something fresh; not so sure about new. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 3:42pm

How does that work via $$ 

Now that the tour is paid off, do the profits go back to pay off the Broadway run? 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 4:45pm

There are multiple ways that a tour can be structured and I don't know how this one was set up. Some money would always flow back to the Broadway entity, even without profit (and as it would from any production on any level), but the specifics beyond that depend on the deal. With a tour like this one, there would definitely be profit shared.