'No, I Don't Have Change for a 20 ... '
Andy Karl and Samantha Barks meet cute and haggle on Hollywood Boulevard in "Pretty Woman: The Musical" at the Nederlander Theater.
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DON'T SAY A GREAT Broadway musical can't make its debut in the heat of a New York City summer. Consider "Hairspray" (opening night: Aug. 15, 2002), which won eight Tonys, ran almost seven years and lives forever in our hearts. Good morning, Baltimore, indeed!
Three Broadway musicals opened this summer, within a six-week period, but The New York Times hated them all. Why? What? Where? When? How? Are the Times critics wrong? Well, yes, no and partly.
This, the September issue of pressnights.com, covers them all. Let's start with "Pretty Woman: The Musical" (the opera scene is heavenly). Links to "Gettin' the Band Back Together" and "Head Over Heels" are at the end.
PRETTY WOMAN
Nederlander Theater / Opened on Aug. 16 / "On Broadway you can't go broke overestimating the popular appeal of clones." -- Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Brantley's theory -- shared by a number of other theater critics -- is that "Pretty Woman" was always pretty creepy, even as a movie, but that the "lewdness-proof megawatt charm" of Julia Roberts saved it.
Let's consider the story:
Shopping Spree
In the Broadway version, Edward goes along with Vivian to buy a new wardrobe and throws a lot of money and hints around.
A young, handsome, filthy-rich, amoral, emotionally shut-down financial type (the super-charming Andy Karl here, Richard Gere in the 1990 movie) hires a hideously dressed but perky and pretty L.A. streetwalker (Samantha Barks here, Julia Roberts in the movie) for six days for $3,000. (Not to mention a Rodeo Drive shopping spree, in photo, for a brand-new, less whorish wardrobe.)
Maybe because it's just easier than having to deal with "real women" and feelings. Maybe because he's charmed by her in ways that go beyond their frequent sexual intercourse in the Beverly Wilshire penthouse suite. Over the course of the six days, they both fall in love. And after the brief threat of a truly anguished unhappy ending, they reunite, rescue each other and go off into the Hollywood sunset together.
THE TIMES CRITIC IS: RIGHT.
I'm sorry to say. The show doesn't work. But here are five things I really liked about "Pretty Woman."
(1) The towering palm trees with pretty lights in them. Scenic design by the gifted David Rockwell. The hotel penthouse, with its beautiful balcony and a baby grand Steinway, is really nice too.
(2) The opera scene. Edward and Vivian (Andy Karl and Samantha Barks, in their box in the top photo) attend a performance of "La Traviata," and the soprano Allison Blackwell raises her voice in ariatic splendor. As Brantley wrote in The Times, "Something like real passion had finally entered the building."
(3) Eric Anderson as the hotel manager (played by Hector Elizondo in the movie). He's a charmer. And he's adorable when he dances with the bellboy (Tommy Bracco), in his effort to teach Vivian proper ballroom technique.
(4) "I Can't Go Back." Vivian's eleven o'clock number. It's a winner. As is that white outfit (in photo, shown during a curtain call). Costume design by Gregg Barnes.
(5) Lots of the rich characters are played by black people.
And here are five things I hated about the show:
(1) The Hollywood Boulevard ensemble. Based on costumes and demeanor, they appear to be pimps, prostitutes and homeless folk. Why do they like Southern California so much?
(2) Andy Karl seems to be in pain for most of the show, even in party scenes (like the one in the photo). He knows he's too good for this, after "Groundhog Day." "On the Twentieth Century" and even "Rocky" (three Tony nominations in a row). And the composer-lyricists (Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance) have him singing about how mysteriously alluring Vivian is long before she's demonstrated a single sign of allure beyond her long legs and six-pack abs.
(3) Feeling compelled to applaud every time Edward and Vivian have sex. Their musical numbers tend to lead into their lovemaking, and I felt a little licentious about clapping repeatedly as the lights went down and they embraced on the rollaway (theater-style) bed. I also really wish they hadn't done it on the Steinway; God knows what effect that has on the sounding board.
(4) A mishmash of musical styles. When Vivian sings, she seems to be telling a country-western tale about a sad childhood, poverty and hopelessness. Edward seems to be in a Sondheim-Gershwin world. Orfeh seems to be recording a greatest-hits album. Although, that said, the Act II number "This Is My Life' is quite touching.
(5) Way too much Orfeh (in photo with Alexander, who also plays a trashy character called Happy Man). She plays Vivian's fellow prostitute and roommate, a tiny role in the movie. In the stage version, she's always turning up in fabulous costumes singing about shopping or partying or living the dream. I know she's Andy Karl's IRL wife, and I know a deal must have been made. (Steve Kazee, of "Once," was originally signed to play the male lead. That's him, with beard and with Barks, in a cheek-to-cheek photo from the Chicago tryout.) But Orfeh is a larger-than-life belter, and while that's usually a good thing for a stage performer it's jarring here. I also keep wanting to call her Orpheus or Oprah.
NOW READ ABOUT:
WHY THE TIMES HATED 'GETTIN' THE BAND BACK TOGETHER' (Seriously, Marilu Henner looks fabulous. And who can resist "I Slept With Your Mom"?)
WHY THE TIMES HATED ' HEAD OVER HEELS' (Was the Oracle of Delphi not always transsexual? Do shepherds always look this good in drag?)
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