BREAKING NEWS: Adam Pascal and Olivia Valli are set to go WALKING DOWN THE STREET in a city near you in the upcoming National Tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical this Fall.
Pascal (known his Tony nominated portrayal of “Roger” in the original cast and film versions of Jonathan Larson‘s Rent along with appearing in Aida, Cabaret, Chicago, Memphis, Disaster, and Something Rotten) will take on the role of womanizing business man “Edward Lewis which he previously played temporary for a brief stint in the Broadway production
and
Valli (previously seen as “Elphaba” in the National Tour of WICKED and last seen Off Broadway in Jersey Boys about the life of her real-life Grandfather Frankie Valli) will play the role of the beautiful free spirited Hollywood prostitute “Vivian Ward”.
Additional casting will be announced in the next few weeks.
PRETTY WOMAN’s National Tour is set to kick off October 9th. 2021 in Providence, RI before traveling to the following cities across North America….
Cincinnati, OH,
Detroit, MI
St. Louis, MO,
Buffalo, NY,
Rochester, NY,
Chicago, IL,
Washington D.C.,
Philedelphia. PA.
Cleveland, OH,
Hartford, CT,
Boston, MA,
Baltimore, MD,
Los Angeles, CA,
Tucson, AZ
San Diego, CA,
Denver, CO,
and
so much more.
Check out the official tour dates on line.
In case anyone may not know, Pretty Woman. is a musical based on the iconic 1990 film of the same name with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. It tells the story of a on down-on-her-luck Hollywood hooker who gets hired by a wealthy businessman, to be his escort for several business and social functions, and their developing relationship over the course of her week-long stay with him. The musical features a score by legendary singer-songwriter Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. It also includes a book by the original film’s writers J. F. Lawton and the late Garry Marshall. Notable songs include WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD, ANYWHERE BUT HERE, LOOK AT ME NOW, FREEDOM, YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL, NEVER GIVE UP ON A DREAM, I CAN’T GO BACK, and LONG WAY HOME. Later on the iconic titular song OH, PRETTY WOMAN by Roy Orbison was added as the Finale number of the show.
PRETTY WOMAN was originally developed for the stage following the legendary success of the iconic 1990 film back in 2014. Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton had secured the rights and began expanding more from what they’ve done in the film and including it on stage. At the same time, Bryan Adams was hired to co-write the songs giving it that early 80’s / 90’s vibe. However when Garry Marshall (who also directed the original film died in 2016), the show’s head producer Paula Wagner said the show will continue to go on. After several years of early development readings and workshops. It was ready to go.
The show originally had its world premiere out-of-town tryout in Chicago, IL playing The James M. Nederlander Theatre (formerly the Oriental Theatre) in the Spring of 2018. It would then make its way to the Big Apple in the Summer of that same year playing (IRONICALLY) Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre for 27 previews and 420 regular performances. Under the direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell, the cast was led by….
Samantha Barks (later Jillian Mueller) as “Vivian Ward”,
Orfeh as “Kit De Luca”,
Eric Anderson as “Mr. Thompson”,
Jason Danieley (later Charlie Pollock) as “Philip Stuckey”,
and more.
The musical earned mixed to negative reviews. Critics praised the cast but expressed the disappointment of the show’s writing. At the same time, the show went through a rough set of disappointing low ticket sales.
It did not receive any major Award nominations from the Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and Outer Circle Critics Award.
Despite the production being a disappointment on Broadway, PRETTY WOMAN still went on to become successful overseas. The first production after Broadway opened in Hamburg, Germany with the entire score and book translated into German.
At the same time, the show is continuing to play to packed houses in London’s West End. Originally the show opened in February 2020 at the Piccadilly Theatre but was abruptly shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it reopened recently, it’s now playing at London’s Savoy Theatre. With the same creative team, this London cast stars….
Danny Mac as “Edward Lewis”,
Aimie Atkinson as “Vivian Ward”,
Rachael Wooding as “Kit De Luca”,
Bob Harms as “Mr. Thompson”,
Neil McDermott as “Philip Stuckey”,
and more.
We are so excited to see this powerful show back in America set to wow audiences everywhere once again.
Who is excited?!!!
