By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
We’ve heard this tale before.
Maybe in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, or more likely its musical iteration “My Fair Lady.” And certainly its story book progenitor “Cinderella.”
And we’ve heard that classic Roy Orbison tune before.
“Pretty Woman: The Musical,” itself a musical version of the 1990 movie by the same name, owns up to these influences by dropping literary hints and musical tidbits.
“Pretty Woman: The Musical” written by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton who brought us the original movie, is now on stage at the Stranahan Theatre, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd. Toledo, through the weekend. Showtimes are tonight (Friday, April 4) at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 5, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, April 6, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at BroadwayInToledo.com and StranahanTheater.com.
The Happy Man (Max Cervantes) introduces us to the 1980s milieu of this retelling of the tale.
He and the chorus celebrate this funky stretch of Hollywood Boulevard, a place where the street walkers divide up their territory based the stars on the walk of fame. Kit (Tamara Daly) directs another hooker to move over to Ella Fitzgerald and warns her not to venture beyond Paul Anka.
It’s an upbeat celebratory number. But Vivian (Eva Gary) isn’t celebrating. She sings that she’d rather be “Anywhere But Here.” Her voice plaintive, and vulnerable.
Far from this sordid scene we meet Edward (Jack Rasmussen), a hard driving all-business tycoon, with his sights fixed on a hostile takeover of a failing ship building business. His idea is to close it down, sell off the real estate and other parts — the human toll be damned. This despite the wishes of the young owner David (Leron Wellington) who has a dream of producing cruise ships.
At loose ends, Edward wanders off borrowing a sports car that he can barely drive and gets lost.
He happens upon Vivian working the street. She knows how to handle the car’s stick shift. So we’e off into fairytale land.
(Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy/provided)
The heights-fearing Edward has booked the penthouse suite in the fanciest hotel in the city. He only wants the best. The Happy Man has transformed into the snooty manager.
Vivian is out of her element but it’s not the street. She sings “I Could Get Used to This.”
As the story unfolds Edward and Vivian manage through awkwardness and an intimacy beyond the mechanics of sex, all implied and off stage.
Edward even discovers his inner pop country balladeer — why does a prep school boy pronounce “freedom” as “Freedem.”
If anyone in the audience is surprised by anything, then they haven’t been paying attention since they were watching their first Disney cartoons.
Despite the adult themes — Vivian is a prostitute after all — “Pretty Woman” isn’t particularly racy or adult.
We know when Edward’s unscrupulous attorney Phil (Dominic Pagliaro) shows up that he will get his comeuppance. There’s even a comic sidekick Giulio (Yamil Rivera) who’s as comfortable doing a tango with the boss as he is doing a pratfall.
While the plot may not have viewers on the edge of their seats, the dance numbers will have them sitting up straight.
On “Don’t Forget to Dance” the hotel manager gives Vivian a tango dance lesson. As soon as he announces he’s a competitive dancer and teacher, and the male staff struts out behind him, it’s clear this will be funny.
The music by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance sets the tone with a mix of mid-1980s pop rock.
The title tune, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” is teased a couple times in the course of the show. Toward the end of Act 1, the telltale guitar riff pops up from the pit. Then early in Act 2, an actor with an acoustic guitar arrives on stage. Not now, the Happy Man scolds him.
“Oh, Pretty Woman” finally arrives full-throated during the curtain calls sending the audience out on a familiar and rousing note.
