PRETTY WOMAN in Chicago — Page 2

Just got rush tickets for tonight. I arrived at 9:15 and was the first person there until 9:30. By the time the box office opened at 10 there were probably 10 people there.

I didn't have a chance to ask how many rush tickets they'll give away each day, but I'm assuming everyone got them!

My seats are orchestra right, row K, on the side.

Saw the show tonight, and well, I found it to be a mess (an opinion shared by several people I spoke with after and a number of conversations I heard as well). It was very well-sung, and I really loved Eric Anderson's Mr. Thompson (the Hector Elizondo character from the film)- his act one "Don't Forget to Dance Number" was my favorite in the show. The older/middle aged women seated around me also really liked the show (but, to be fair, when I saw First Wives Club, that demographic had the same response to it).

For all the talk about "modernizing" the story and making it more appealing to a current audience...yeah, that didn't happen. In the finale, Vivian says she saved Edward just like he saved her, but nothing in the story has been changed to give her any action that makes Edward change. It just seems like sleeping with her/spending time with her loosened him up to the point where he decided to torpedo the hostile takeover? Also, I suspect the Act 1 closer is going to start the think pieces about sexism in shows right back up again- it's called "You're Beautiful," and the sole purpose is for Edward to tell Vivian she's beautiful and that's why she should have confidence. It's not great...especially for a show that already has plenty of issues baked into its story surrounding Vivian not really having much worth to Edward beyond her free spirit and her beauty (especially in Act 1).

The songs are the real glaring issue overall. There are a couple in Act 2 that would have been big hits for Bryan Adams back in the early 90s. But most of the lyrics are so on the nose that I could guess what was coming next, often word for word. The songs are broken into, generally, two groups: pop songs that don't really relate to the moment and songs that are exposition/explicit explanations of what is happening (example: the Act 2 opener- helpfully titled "Opening of Act 2" is a bunch of rich folks singing about how they are stuck up and rich, with a chorus of "Welcome to our world!" ). There's so much work that needs to be done on the book (which, at this stage, isn't going to happen- it's basically the screenplay, as was said earlier in this thread) and the songs (there are a few I would cut right now, like "Money Makes the Man", Jason Danieley's only song, and it's just awful), that I don't know if it's salvageable. It reminded me a lot of First Wives Club- a soulless musical of a hit film.

Performance-wise, it was a mixed bag. Steve Kazee was very flat (acting-wise) throughout, and I honestly didn't understand how anyone could fall in love with Edward. Samantha Banks tried her best, but Vivian isn't that complex of a character, and the performance hewed close enough to Julia Roberts to force the comparison. They don't have much chemistry at all, which is a major problem. Both of them sang beautifully, though. Orfeh was good in the scant stage time she had, but as was mentioned, the role is essentially Paulette again.

I'm sure the performances will grow as the show continues, so I'm not particularly worried there, but I don't think the bones of the show can be fixed, unless there's major work on it. But, who knows. Personally, I'd rather just watch My Fair Lady than see this version of it.

Here's the song list: https://i.imgur.com/4lgdkUV.jpg

Updated On: 3/14/18 at 11:59 PM

Opening "curtain"

RippedMan said: "What was the design/direction like? anything interesting? or all very middle of the road?"

Nothing special design-wise. Set pieces tracked in and out for the bulk. Pretty minimalist. Costumes were very similar to the film. Direction wasn't that standout. Aside from the "Don't Forget to Dance" number, the choreography didn't stick with me much.

Hopefully, now that the first preview has happened, my post won't get deleted again.

I agree with Menken Fan--it's a big hot mess. The score is a collection of generic rock songs, none of which forward the story. And we're treated to such gems as "I Can't Go Back" (followed by a scene in which Vivan--you guessed it--goes back), and a three minute song about going to shop on "Rodeo Drive," but none of the shopping takes place within the number, we just hear Orfeh sing about how exciting it will be to go shopping on Rodeo Drive. That leads us into a 30 second anticlimactic scene.

The singing is great, though Kazee fails to leave an impression, and Barks is going for this sort of youthful optimism/innocence which feels at odds with the story.

But the other big problem is that the musical doesn't know how it feels about sex/prostitution. It kind of flips back and forth between (a) the prostitutes owning their situation and being proud of who they are, (b) times may be tough but we're going to work our way through them, and (c) life sucks and we wish we didn't have to do this for a living. Not that sex workers can't feel those conflicting things, but the musical changes its perspective constantly without announcement, leaving us confused as to how to feel about everything. Are we supposed to dislike Kazee at the beginning for hiring a prostitute or are we supposed to sympathize with his need for connection? The musical is so afraid to engage with this question that part of me was unsure if Kazee's character even knew that he was hiring a prostitute until Barks undid his belt. It often felt like they were trying to make the musical "family-friendly" until the moments when the plot requires sex, which stick out and feel uncomfortable. The writers/team need to really contemplate why they want to tell THIS story NOW. Everything feels so vague and generic because the team clearly has been thinking more about what they don't want to say with this musical rather than what they do. And so we're left with recreations of movie iconography (right down to the Julia Roberts hairstyle) that only serve to remind you what could have been.

Also, we should be beyond the point where it's acceptable to make the sudden revelation of a minor character's homosexuality a punchline.

Whizzer wrote: "Disappointing to hear that it’s just a chop and drop with little actual adaptation of the source material."

I think that I would have been astounded to hear that it wasn't like this - none of the writers have an iota of theatrical writing experience, and the director (although he has directed two successes) isn't particularly known for depth or integrity.

Echoing many of the thoughts already said about the show last night. I thought it was fine.

The music were incredibly generic and I also found myself predicting what lyrics would come next based on the simple rhyming throughout all of the songs.

Samantha Barks was good but she alternated between a midwestern and a southern accent. The woman behind me was involved in the production and I overheard her saying that Samantha had been sick, which I didn't find to be obvious. She has a great voice.

Agree with others saying Steve Kazee sounded good but fell flat in terms of acting. I'm not sure if this was because he was playing into the uptight nature of Edward's character or not, but there's a lot of room for improvement there.

Eric Anderson's character(s) was a standout for me. He acted as the narrator for the show and did a great job.

Orfeh played more of the same with Paulette from Legally Blonde.

Also, I was sitting in the side orchestra and could completely see what was happening in the side stage area. They had lights on and were moving around props, preparing for the next scene, etc. I even saw Steve/Edward walking offstage as he was zipping up his pants from the prior scene, haha. Hopefully they made note of this so it won't be such a distraction moving forward.

Updated On: 3/14/18 at 09:56 AM

Eric Anderson is very good in the role and gets to sing quite a bit. The reason he seems like a narrator is that he is the only character who breaks the 4th wall and addresses the audience a few times. He plays multiple characters, which is winkingly acknowledged with the audience in a "look, it's me" manner, even changing costumes in full view during a scene change.

Updated On: 3/14/18 at 12:26 PM

So, does the story "glorify" the prostitute to Cinderella status? I have a hard time seeing this fly at this time of Women's empowerment. Will the Woman's movement accept or protest this show?