The musical adaptation of Garry Marshall’s classic film Pretty Woman is expected to open on Broadway during the 2018-2019 season, with Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde: The Musical director Jerry Mitchell at its helm.
The project features a book by the late Marshall and J. F. Lawton, the film’s screenwriter, with a score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.
Mitchell, who is a two time Tony winner for Best Choreography for Kinky Boots and the 2004 revival or La Cage aux Folles has yet to cast the two leads, famously played by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the film, but has a clear idea of the types of performers he’s looking for. “Vivian needs to be able to sing like a dream, obviously, because it’s a new show and a new score, 23 songs and she’s got 8 of them,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “With the role of Vivian, I’m looking for a girl who is vulnerable, who can share those emotions, on stage.” Mitchell knows that humor is very important to the character as well, adding, “Also comic timing: It’s going to have a lot of comedy in it. Somebody who’s really funny is going to be important to the part.”
As for Edward, originally played by Gere, Mitchell told EW, “We have to feel like Edward’s been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Again, he has to be an incredible singer—but most importantly, someone who can appear, even with all that, extremely lost in social skills.”
The score, according to Mitchell, will have a late ‘80s-early ‘90s rock feel, “with the rock and roll stuff, the up-tempos,” but the show itself won’t necessarily be as iconically ‘90s as the 1990-set film. “I’m trying to make it work in any period,” he said, “sort of like a timeless fairytale.”
