First Look at PRETTY WOMAN- Page 2
First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Sutton Ross
Broadway Star Joined: 11/22/17
#25First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 12:18am
Yes! The only reason I know that is because my Father was a friend of the original screenwriter and he told me right before I saw it when I was 13. He said "this version is not realistic, sweetheart". Haha. 
#26First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 1:11amI read the article. Still sounds vile and ill timed. So the writers are further sanitizing the subject-more than the film did. She’s a feminist now. Awesome. I hope the folks that go enjoy it. Times change. It’s the reason Miss Saigon sank like a led balloon this time around. It’s disgusting depiction of Asian women and the whitewashing of history doesn’t sit so well anymore.
#27First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 2:46pm
justasmalltownboy13 said: "Can't we just go and enjoy the show without having to worry if it is politically correct or not? Isn't that what theatre is? Being able to escape the real world for a couple hours and enjoy someone else's story."
Really? Theatre is entirely about escapism and not any sort of examination or reflection of society? It's inappropriate to suggest that art bears any sort of responsibility to be thoughtful in its content?
I mean, people enjoy art for a lot of reasons, and escapism is surely one of them. Suggesting that escapism is the point of theatre is to grossly misunderstand the historical importance and power of art in society.
#28First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 3:17pm
Isn't the question of if Charity is more than a taxi dancer left intentionally ambiguous? The show takes place at the end of the burlesque and dance-hall era, an era where Charity and her "sisters" would be pushed to either start stripping or find a different line of work. Having recently read the book "Behind the Burly Q" about the displacement of burlesque as strip clubs and adult movies rose at the end of the 1960s, the same rule applied to dance hall girls of the early 1960s as strippers of the late 1960s and after: a dancer is not a hooker by definition- however, the realities of the business were that many (not all, possibly most) of the girls would "trick" from time to time under the table.
We certainly have the right to see Charity as just a dancer, a good girl in a rough profession, but the ending, in which Oscar asks in so many words if Charity is a working girl, is left unanswered. Our own baggage and our own prejudices combine to decide how much we're willing to believe Charity or not. (Some productions slant it one way or another- Christina Applegate's Charity never seemed like a sex worker, while the Sutton Foster production definitely implied it much more heavily.)
Tom5
Broadway Star Joined: 9/23/11
#29First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 3:45pm
It's clear that Charity is not just a taxi dancer. If I remember correctly at one point she tearfully tells her fiance that with some men she does...more. He says that since he's in love with her it doesn't matter. Later, he dumps her.
#30First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 4:01pm
Charity never ever even hints that she accepts money for sex. Like in the novel Butterfield 8 (not the film), there was a distinction at that time between a "tramp" and a "prostitute." A tramp was a girl who had sex before marriage for fun; a prostitute was paid for it. Charity may be a tramp, but she's not a hooker.
In fact, Charity explicitly says to Oscar: "I am not in any other business. All I sell is my time."
#31First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 4:31pm
This whole concept of placing the musical in a certain time is noteworthy because Waitress playing right now is essentially about the same thing, except for the hooker part. I just saw it yesterday and there many cringe worthy moments and whole number about extramarital and affairs. I looked through the program but couldn't really find what time this was supposed to be set during. It's not until the last 10 minutes or so when everything gets all tied up in a bow. I imagine the same will be for Pretty Women.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#32First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/22/18 at 8:50pm
I repeat: Charity Hope Valentine IS NOT a prostitute.
The "pretty woman" is.
Think Stormy Daniels being rescued from her "life" by the Dumpster.
If that's OK with you Enjoy!
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#33First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/23/18 at 6:07pm
Re: Sweet Charity
It's this. https://www.refinery29.com/sugar-baby-hostess-personal-experience#slide-1
I don't think she's a prostitute but there's a reason Big Spender is so skeevy and deadpan.
EllieRose2 said: "Had you read a thing about this new musical, they changed it a bit, completely changed the attack scene with his friend, and made her more of a feminist. Now, the whole feminist sounds strange considering her profession, but it's not just like the movie. Educate yourself if you care to see this."
The Riedel article is very vague and I also SUPER don't trust the all-male creative team to get any feminist angle right.
#34First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 1:07pmIs the promo art for the show in Chicago temporary or the final thing? It just looks painfully sad in its current form.
#35First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 3:01pm
Just wanted to mention actor Steve Kazee is absolutely handsome in this photo. Maybe they should turn 'American Gigolo' into a musical and have him star?
Fordham2015
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/17
#36First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 3:43pm
Call_me_jorge said: "Is the promo art for the show in Chicago temporary or the final thing? It just looks painfully sad in its current form."
This might be the most bland marquee I've ever seen
http://www.playbill.com/article/check-out-the-new-pretty-woman-marquee-lighting-up-broadway
Sutton Ross
Broadway Star Joined: 11/22/17
#37First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:02pm
I don't think that's real. It doesn't look real. But, it lets tourists know, IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, that this is a musical about the movie. If it's real, it truly is sad. But, it couldn't really be much different, right?
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#38First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:07pm
It's definitely real: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfq3XI5D2WR/?taken-by=prettywoman
Sutton Ross
Broadway Star Joined: 11/22/17
ethan231h
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/5/11
#40First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:11pm
i know this logo is similar to the movie's, but this logo is literally Billy Elliot's logo.
#41First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:13pm
EllieRose2 said: "I don't think that's real. It doesn't look real. But, it lets tourists know, IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, that this is a musical about the movie. If it's real, it truly is sad. But, it couldn't really be much different, right?"
Here ~ At The Oriental in Chicago...real?
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#42First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:17pm
ethan231h said: "i know this logo is similar to the movie's, but this logo is literally Billy Elliot's logo."
It's uncanny.
Sutton Ross
Broadway Star Joined: 11/22/17
#43First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:40pm
Ooooh, those early evening lights make it so much more attractive. The Chicago one gets my vote. That is HILARIOUS about Billy Elliot. Oh my god, I cannot stop laughing.
#44First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 6:56pm
Sutton Ross
Broadway Star Joined: 11/22/17
#45First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 7:07pm
Nah
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be_wcL0H__e/?hl=en&taken-by=stevekazee
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#46First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 8:13pm
That is the most bland artwork of all time. It doesn't say anything. No font choice, no anything. Like ,can't they play around with something?
#47First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 8:21pm
They seem to be reusing the font from the movie poster which isn't a bad idea in theory - but i"d have liked the actual woman to be featured in the poster.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#48First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/26/18 at 11:38pm
just give me something that invokes a story.
#49First Look at PRETTY WOMAN
Posted: 2/27/18 at 12:17am
'She walked off the street.......'---fairly blatant that she's a hooker, and a street one at that.
Hookers exist, housewives/Mothers/uni. students etc etc.
She is what she is for whatever reason, don't 'pretty' it up because someone might be offended.
Everyone has imagination, you don't have to show her 'at work' and we all need a Prince/Princess Charming in our lives.
It's another Fairy Tale come to life, leave it as it is and us adults will survive a little reality without all these 'supposed' changes.
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