Pretty Woman Opens in Atlanta!

               

Cue the high heel, knee-high boots.  Cue musical numbers from Hollywood Blvd.  Cue romance.

Those are all things you will see and experience this week as Pretty Woman: The Musical rolls into Atlanta to play at our historical Fox Theatre.

As the marquee above says, this show is "Big. Huge."  So get ready.  You are in for BIG fun and BIG romance.

If you were a fan of the original 1990 Pretty Woman film, you will enjoy this musical adaptation.  Producer Paula Wagner brings the story to stage and Grammy Award winner Bryan Adams (yes that Bryan Adams of "Sumer of '69" and "Heaven" fame) and Jim Vallance bring us the original score.  (I had no idea Bryan Adams helped produce the score for this musical.  Interesting sidebar!)

The storyline stays true to the classic film - wealthy business tycoon Edward meets beautiful streetwalker Vivian.  Said tycoon hires streetwalker to be his business and professional escort for one week for a paltry sum of $3,000.  Eventually, over the course of that week, Edward and Vivian fall in love.  They live happily ever after.

But because our movie is now a musical, we have the added pleasure of a few extra scenes and (of course) a musical score.

One of the the extra scenes we are treated to is the infamous opera visit.  This is the part of the movie where Edward (played by Adam Pascal) takes Vivian (played by Olivia Valli, Frankie's niece - another interesting sidebar) to see an opera.  This was my absolute favorite scene of the musical and probably one of the best talent-wise, in my humble opinion.  It centers around cast member Amma Osei who plays Violetta.

Amma takes full center stage (and steals the scene I believe) from fellow cast mates (sorry guys).

I would love to have video of this to show you, but a quick Google search did not produce one, nor was the press provided a media clip.

The only word I have to say here is - WOW!  If you go to this play for nothing else, make sure you don't go to the concession stand or restroom during this scene.  Amma's performance is simply show stopping, and her talent unmatchable.  Who knew all that power was lurking inside this diva?  (Amma was an underplayed ensemble cast member up until this point in the show.)

Simply stunning and a wonderful surprise.

To sum up my very short review, I will say that overall, Pretty Woman: The Musical is a witty and fun musical to spend your evening watching.  Judging by the crowd we saw opening night, it seemed a popular girls night out!

It really is BIG FUN.  All the familiar scenes, humor, and romance you remember.

...And speaking of romance (I always like to point these things out), keep in mind the "romance" in this story is between a wealthy business man and a hooker he picks up on Hollywood Blvd.  Therefore, the romance will be a little on the sexy side and not something I'm sure you'd want children to see.  No nudity or explicit sexual scenes, but our characters do lead up to that point twice.  Something you need to keep in mind if you are considering taking children.

Pretty Woman: The Musical plays Atlanta's Fox Theatre through September 18.  Tickets are available at the theatre box office (660 Peachtree Street), their website (FoxTheatre.org/PrettyWoman), or by phone (855.285.8499).

Performances will play Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 1:30pm and 6:30pm.

...And don't leave early! There is a special and fun ending you won't want to miss! Have a favorite Pretty Woman memory or story to share? Please leave us a comment below or on our social media channels! We love interacting with you!

*Disclaimer: We were provided two tickets to review and promote this musical. Opinions expressed are solely our own.