Source
r/Broadway•
Challahween

Has anyone else seen Pretty Woman yet?

I know that it just started previews, but I saw the show tonight and was really unimpressed. The performers were all fantastic and the book stayed very true (almost too true) to the film, but the songs were SUCH a bore. They were so cliché, forgettable, and seemed to go on forever. There were a lot of forgivable set/placing issues that will undoubtedly be fixed before opening, but I really don't see this show doing well on Broadway at all. As a fan of the film and many of the performers, I feel really sad about it.

Posted Jul 24, 2018, 4:14 AM UTC

1011
capnbly7•

100% agree and this seems to confirm that they didn’t change much after Chicago, even after the horrible reviews it got. I saw it in Chicago, as I mentioned in another post recently, and it was the worst show I’ve ever seen. Just so bad. I don’t think it’ll last long unless it gets a huge overhaul before opening.

10
ChallahweenOP•

I'm reading some of the bad Chicago reviews and I'm really shocked that they haven't changed it much! I live in NYC and see shows very regularly, but I have to say that this is the most boring one I've seen in a VERY long time. I am just so disappointed and I feel so bad for Samantha Barks :( As for Andy Karl, I think he needs to stop doing movie-to-Broadway musicals lol

5
WashedAwayADreamOfU•

I have not seen it, but the song they just released is not doing it for me. (and I adore Sam Barks, as all people should)

It's just too generic, and it had me checking my watch after 90 sec. A little like the GROUNDHOG DAY album, actually. but maybe it will grow on me.

2
OverBurntSienna•

Hello! Discussed here Pretty Woman

1
heyyfrankie•

What a let down for this to be so underwhelming. Especially when you consider that Pretty Woman is such an iconic movie. For some reason I envisioned the sets to be over the top (LA, Rodeo Drive, the penthouse, the opera, etc)

😔

1
ChallahweenOP•

I personally found the sets to be very elementary and lacking. For starters, there is no car! They mention the car, but you never get a visual of it. There is a cheap "vroom vroom" sound, but I wasn't impressed at all. I found this really surprising, considering it's literally the reason why Vivian and Edward meet/get together in the first place.

The penthouse was just a doorframe, some windows, a couch, and a piano -- nothing extravagant or beautiful. The opera was just a black curtain with some stairs leading to a booth. The first fancy store was just a rack of clothes and the second one isn't much better. The polo scene is literally just a banner (indicating the event) and a table with some champagne.

You can tell that no real care or effort was put into the production. They'll be coasting off the film's success, but it truly has nothing else going for it (besides the performers, as I mentioned above).

3
notacrook•

You can tell that no real care or effort was put into the production.

This is an incredibly offensive point of view - just because you didn't agree with the choices doens't mean that "no care or effort" was put in.

People have been working on that show for over a year by this point, probably longer for many of the title page names, so to claim no one cares because you didn't like it is absolutely outrageous.

4
ChallahweenOP•

It simply wasn't as professional as the dozens (upwards of 50) of other Broadway shows I've seen before. I personally did not feel that the show was worth a $100+ ticket, and I personally don't believe that it is ready for Broadway (see my reasoning listed in my previous posts).

It seems that funding was probably an issue for the set design team and it seemed as though they didn't know how to work with it. From what I saw, it seems as though this musical--at least from the production side of things--is a cash grab. In other words, it appears that it simply intends to ride off the nostalgia of the original film.

You're welcome to have your own opinion and I'm welcome to have mine!

1
notacrook•

It seems that funding was probably an issue for the set design team and it seemed as though they didn't know how to work with it.

Yes, I am welcome to my opinion, but you keep offering your own speculation as fact, and that's unfair.

1
heyyfrankie•

Thanks for your review and the sets sound truly TRAGIC.

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