Sam’s very smart Pretty Woman . . .
SAMANTHA BARKS doesn’t need rescuing, and nor does the iconic Pretty Woman she plays in the musical version of the Julia Roberts film. The actress is getting ready to make her Broadway debut as Vivian Ward, the savvy sex worker whose meeting with troubled businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere in the film) turns both their lives upside down. The British star, who played Eponine in the Les Miserables movie, insists that Pretty Woman is ‘not the traditional Cinderella story, in that she’s lost and needs saving. ‘She saves him. He’s got an empty, sad life. Yes, he has lots of money — and yes she has a glamorous transformation — but she has the moral compass,’ Barks says when we meet to discuss the show. After a successful, out-of-town run in Chicago, Barks will start working on the musical in New York from Monday. Full rehearsals are scheduled for June 25 with director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell and leading man Andy Karl (whose wife, Orfeh, is also in the show). Previews start at the Nederlander Theatre on July 20. Barks was magnificent when I saw her in Chicago, opposite Steve Kazee as Edward. (Kazee was unable to move with the show to Broadway for family reasons.) She notes that Vivian is ‘not the damsel in distress some people think she is’. ‘There has been this post-#MeToo thing going on where people think Vivian’s being exploited by him . . . with the clothes, the apartment, the car and so on. But what she wants is for him to invest in a relationship, and love. ‘ Some people think: billionaire businessman good, and prostitute bad. But he’s the one who needs her guidance. ‘Why can’t a prostitute be a goddess? This idea that people can be viewed as less because of circumstance is wrong,’ says Barks, who hails from the Isle of Man. She adds forcefully: ‘When you think about it, he’s the one who learns the most — from her! She’s the one who’s empowered. Women are having a moment, and that moment is here to stay.’
Although the creative team is all male, director Mitchell has ensured Barks has her say. ‘He welcomes ideas from others, and throws his ideas out if they don’t work,’ Barks tells me. ‘The greatest thing about Jerry is that he’s not precious. He’ll listen.’
Also, the production is led by producer Paula Wagner: a formidable force in Hollywood. ‘Paula’s the strongest of the strong and she’s our leader,’ Samantha says.
Mitchell and his associates will implement a lot of changes for Broadway to make the musical sharper and funnier. They are adding a couple of new songs to the score by rocker Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.
Barks has dreamt of being on Broadway and is excited to be in a production based on a film she has ‘loved my whole life’.
ACTUALLY, as the title character, she pretty much is the show, despite support from a brilliant company. That means stamina is important, so she has been working out and going to yoga and Pilates. She tells me she was ‘well behaved’ in Chicago (not out till the early hours) and will apply that same discipline in New York.
‘There is a lot of pressure, and you have to look after yourself and those tiny muscles right here,’ she says, pointing to her throat.
She was without her closest companion during her three months in Chicago. But happily Ivy, her cava-poo-chon (that’s a cavalier King Charles spaniel, miniature poodle, bichon frise mix), has arrived in Manhattan, on a dog passport. ‘She’s such a star — she’d join me on stage if she could.’
She adds: ‘I don’t have a boyfriend, so having a little pal to be responsible for keeps you grounded.’
She keeps up with the friends she made on Les Miserables and hopes to bump into Hugh Jackman while she’s in New York.
A few weeks ago, in London, she accompanied Russell Crowe — who played Javert in Les Miz — and Jimmy Carr to watch an episode of Britain’s Got Talent.
Laughing at the memory, she says ‘sitting between Russell Crowe and Jimmy Carr is how everyone should watch BGT’.
And sitting in the Nederlander Theatre, as Pretty Woman weaves its web, is how everyone should watch Samantha Barks.