Pretty Woman The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by L Burton

Last night Pretty Woman strutted her stuff on the stage at Milton Keynes Theatre. One of my favourite films, Pretty Woman has been one of my all-time favourites and it was exciting to see how the story would be portrayed on the stage. Pretty Woman tells the story of a street worker Vivienne Ward (Amber Davies) meeting billionaire businessman Edward Lewis and an unlikely story of romance.

This musical adaptation about Vivian the street worker and Edward the corporate vulture (he acquisitions failing companies and sells them at large profits) comes amid a surge of 80s and 90s nostalgia. Its wide-eyed worship of wealth makes no apology for the idea that everything – even love – emanates from the exchange of cold, hard cash.
We first meet Vivian Ward (Amber Davies) arguing with her flatmate Kit de Luca (Natalie Paris with absolutely fantastic vocals) about rent money and having to work their turf to make up the rent money Kit had spent on alcohol. Enter Edward Lewis (Oliver Savile) and they both realise that this could be the golden ticket they need to get their landlord off their backs.

Amber Davies surprised me as a Vivian Ward. Having the image of Julia Roberts in my head, this Vivian Ward was a lot shorter in stature and even thought the clothes and wig were the same, it takes me a while to warm up to another actress portraying a character played so well by someone else. But it didn’t take long and where Amber Davies may not look very much like her, boy oh boy did she make up for it with her vocal ability. Absolutely fell in love with her vocal performance and she completely made the role her own.

Oliver Savile immediately fitted the role of Edward Lewis. Me not being a massive Richard Gere fan, I wanted to see how the actor would portray the role on the stage but it didn’t bother me that he looked nothing like the film character. But he did fit the role so impressively perfectly, bravo for the casting of these two actors for the lead roles – their onstage relationship was so incredibly believable, we absolutely fell in love with their performance. Their voices complimented each other beautifully and every single person in the audience felt the electricity on the stage.

Massive shout outs to some other cast members who pretty much stole the show for us and added that extra giggle one does not get from the film. Ore Oduba as the Happy Man and Mr Thompson, the hotel manager, oh how we love you! From the ballroom dancing to conducting the orchestra, his fabulous onstage presence added to the show and made it that much better than I was expecting. And Noah Harrison as Giulio, how you absolutely made us laugh out loud so very often. This young man’s dedication to his role was outstanding and he brought everything to his role and more.

The set design and costumes were phenomenal and whizzed me right back to the era – the choreography was superb and ensemble were glitzy and gorgeous.

Pretty Woman is on at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 30th March. 

https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-woman-the-musical/milton-keynes-theatre/
Rating: 5/5