Pretty good ...if you ever had a mullet
Edward and Vivian in the West End musical
SIOBHAN McNALLY
Pretty Woman The Musical Piccadilly Theatre, London ★★★★
“WELCOME to Hollywood,” sing the cast of the brand new Pretty Woman The Musical show.
The stage version of the 90s movie starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts has been sanitised for public consumption, although it’s still too sexy and seriously unreconstructed for anyone born after the era of the mullet, which explains the 12+ rating.
Fans of the fairytale love story between the rich but ruthless Edward Lewis and happy hooker Vivian Ward will totally buy into this high-energy version.
Sticking faithfully to the film’s storyline, the musical version practically replicates the movie script word for word, with a few added jokes.
And if you don’t mind the coitusinterruptus guitar chords of music co-writer Bryan Adams in between the main action, you’re in for a treat.
But while Julia Roberts boasted about her 44-inch legs, teeny-tiny Aimie Atkinson, who plays Vivian, is practically swallowed by her thigh-high boots.
Similarly, leading man Danny Mac, who plays Edward, is a Gere mini-me – and when the two of them get together, it looks like kids playing dress-up.
Saying that, small but perfectly formed Aimie has a voice big enough to fill the Albert Hall, even without those weird forehead microphones. Surely all that bad 80s hair would be a perfect hiding place for the pesky devices?
However, the beautiful couple are eclipsed by Happy Man (Bob Harms) and Vivian’s BFF Kit De Luca (Rachael Wooding), with show-stopping numbers.
If you can park your 21st century sensibilities, Pretty Woman hits the spot.