PRETTY WOMAN Reviews — Page 4

Sara Holdren in Vulture panned it.

http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/theater-pretty-woman-and-the-trouble-with-onstage-nostalgia.html

blaxx said: "With very few exceptions, recent productions show that mostly indie films are the ones that Broadway audiences respond to, when it comes to film to stage adaptations.

All your Rocky, Sister Act, Catch me if you Can, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, Ghost, Wedding Singer, Legally Blonde, 9 to 5, and all upcoming mainstream hit films fromthe past will continue flopping on Broadway.

Audiences need a faithful recreation or can just stream the original at home. Nostalgia doesn't sell if you can't find all things you loved about the original within the show."

Legally Blonde I feel like is an exception to the ones you listed.

Call_me_jorge said: "I’m really interested to see if there will be any mention of Allison Blackwell, who I thought was the surprise star of the night."

Well, NY Times's Brantley loved her:

"No, the loudest clapping came when Allison Blackwell, the soprano performing Violetta in “La Traviata,” sang her character’s farewell declaration of love. Something like real passion had finally entered the building."

Kudos to Allison Blackwell!!!

RippedMan said: "A Lauper 'Pretty Woman' could have been fun. She's got that 80s pop thing down.

This just sounds so boring, and all the clips I've seen are pretty boring.

In reference to Barks, I think people tend to get swept up with a good belt. She might hit some high notes, but doesn't make her performance a breakthrough."

No. Samantha Barks was a delightfully fresh presence in a role that required her only to be a Julia Roberts clone. She may not have been able to override the Roberts stamp on the character but she was a pleasure to spend a night in the theatre with.

newintown said: ""Lauper, incidentally,is working on a Working Girl musical, which is not only a superior film from this era but I think a better choice for a musical adaptation."

I know thatKinky Bootsis a success, but I do hope that Lauper stretches herself when it comes to her lyrics for this. I'd be disappointed to hear another score that consists of phrases like "The most beautiful thing in the world" or "Everybody Say Yeah" repeated hundreds of times.

What could be the repeated hooks inWorking Girl, the Musical? "It's not even leather!" "Coffee? Tea? Me?" "Head for business, body for sin.""

Oh my god, there's IS going to be a "Head for Business, Body for Sin" number...isn't there...? Gawd....

"Work hard... or die tryin', girl!"

Oh, I'd SO much rather see a stage version of that than what's actually going to happen.

Updated On: 8/17/18 at 09:06 AM

Elegance101 said: "I at first thought this would close very quickly, but now I'm pretty sure this show will be critic-proof. It won't run for years and years, but so many people love the movie and kind of want to see a recreation onstage. Kind of low-hanging fruit."

This thing is very, very well sold through at least the holidays, and the couple of times I've been by the theatre during the day, there's a line. This thing ain't going anywhere. And while I'm happy Andy Karl has landed a hit show, does it have to be this one?

blaxx said: "With very few exceptions, recent productions show that mostly indie films are the ones that Broadway audiences respond to, when it comes to film to stage adaptations.

All your Rocky, Sister Act, Catch me if you Can, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, Ghost, Wedding Singer, Legally Blonde, 9 to 5, and all upcoming mainstream hit films fromthe past will continue flopping on Broadway.

Audiences need a faithful recreation or can just stream the original at home. Nostalgia doesn't sell if you can't find all things you loved about the original within the show."

This is so true - at least in terms of Broadway audiences -- but most of these shows - especially Footloose, Wedding Singer, Legally Blonde, and Sister Act seem to have gone on to huge success in the regional /educational market. So maybe it has more to do with the Broadway ticket price. Audiences seem willing to pay 35 dollars to see these things in their own hometowns but not 150 to see them on Broadway.

I imagine this will have a trajectory similar to Bronx Tale- an undistinguished run that goes a lot longer than anyone thought by appealing to the nostalgic impulses of bridge and tunnelers and tourists.

(Incidentally, I suspect the audience that Gettin' the Band Back Together wants is actually spending their money here).

Kad said: "I imagine this will have a trajectory similar to Bronx Tale- an undistinguished run that goes a lot longer than anyone thought by appealing to the nostalgic impulses of bridge and tunnelers and tourists.

(Incidentally, I suspect the audience that Gettin' the Band Back Together wants is actually spending their money here)."

My bet would be a similar trajectory to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That show was posting some really strong grosses for its first few months, most likely based on familiarity with the property, but word of mouth caught up fairly quickly and the show entered a downward spiral that proved fatal. (Summer seems to be following the same pattern as well)

I saw the show in Chicago with Steve Kazee, where I felt it was the absolute epitome of okay. It seems very little had changed. I was disappointed to read that Andy Karl seemed detached and like he wanted to be anywhere but on that stage. Steve wasn’t perfect for the role, but I didn’t get detached from him.

Some one else pointed out that for this is lame Jerry Mitchell choreography. It’s flat out disappointing for Mitchell choreography