In 1990, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere turned “Pretty Woman” into an instant classic of the romantic comedy genre.
Now, the Broadway version of “Pretty Woman: The Musical” hits National Theatre in D.C. from Dec. 12 through Dec. 17.
“You won’t want to miss it,” actress Ellie Baker told WTOP. “If you already love the movie, it’s a wonderful musical to watch. It stays so true to the movie. You’re not gonna watch it and go, ‘Oh, they really took the plot and ran with it.’ The music only helps heighten the emotions on stage. … If you’ve never seen the movie before, it’s a really fun story with fun characters. … You’ll never walk away not smiling.”
Featuring a stage book by J.F. Lawton and Garry Marshall, the writer-director duo behind the movie, the story follows Hollywood sex worker Vivian Ward, who is hired by wealthy businessman Edward Lewis to be his escort to social functions. Living with him for a week, the two surprisingly develop a real romance and lasting love.
“I actually was not born when [the movie] came out; I watched it when I was younger, maybe 11 or 12, with my mom,” Baker said. “Our family has always been huge Julia Roberts fans, so when it showed up on our TV one time, my mom was like, ‘You have to watch this!’ So we sat down and watched it and I’ve loved it ever since.”
The role of Vivian Ward is a treat and it’s obvious to see why it earned Roberts an Oscar nomination.
“She’s a character,” Baker said. “She’s so much fun to play on stage because she wears her heart on her sleeve the entire show. … You never know what she’s going to say next, because she’s kind of a rocket like that, but you always know where her heart is and where she stands on that side of the fence. It’s really fun getting to run around stage and bring myself to a goofy role and try to connect with everybody sitting in the audience.”
Thankfully, the show keeps the famous scene of Gere snapping the jewelry box on Roberts’ hand.
“The funniest part is that Chase [Wolfe], who plays Edward, he messes with me every night and never snaps it the same,” Baker said. “Every night my reaction is genuine because I never know when he’s going to snap the box.”
The film was adapted for Broadway in 2018 by Tony-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell.
“The set is super fun,” Baker said. “The lighting is so beautiful on stage, there’s so many pinks and blues, the colors change based on where you are. Hollywood Blvd. is dark blues and purples; the Beverly Wilshire is very yellow and orange. … You’re gonna get every costume you saw in the movie, all of the iconic outfits, the white-and-blue dress, the red opera dress, her newsboy cap in the beginning, you’ll get everything.”
Of course, the biggest change is that the show adds musical numbers by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.
“The opening number is one to look out for, it’s so much fun, ‘Welcome to Hollywood,’ all of the characters are introduced at once,” Baker said. “There’s a really pretty song called ‘A Night Like Tonight’ where Mr. Thompson, the hotel manager, teaches Vivian to dance for the fancy dinner … In Act 2, ‘You and I’ is such a wonderful number, they’re at the opera, Edward is watching Vivian and falling in love with her in that moment.”
Do we get to hear the title song made famous by Roy Orbison and Van Halen?
“You’ll have to come and find out!” Baker said.
Listen to our full conversation here.
