The touring Broadway musical, based on the hit movie with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, has some wonderful moments but is undone by bland songs and a story that doesn't…
As Vivian is whisked from a Hollywood Blvd. street corner to a Beverly Hills luxury hotel – David Rockwell’s streamlined, rapidly transforming sets are another highlight – Davidson sells the shock and the thrill.
The biggest problem, not just with this production but the musical, is that the songs aren’t terribly inspired. Written by ‘80s power ballad belter Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, they too often feel flat and extraneous. This isn’t always their fault. Ideally, a musical gives way from dialog to song when emotions overwhelm the characters to the extent that they must sing. Nobody seems very overwhelmed here; as a result, too many of the musical numbers feel like padding.
The book, written by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton , fares better. It judiciously nips and tucks, expands and contracts the original screenplay, delivering a new punchline here, a plot segue there. The primary pleasures of this production come from the periphery, starting with the scene-stealing Trent Soyster. As the hotel’s blissfully effeminate bellhop, Giulio, and as a member of the ensemble, he exudes joy whether he’s eavesdropping on the central couple or cutting a rug with a mop. He’s the best dancer in the show, lithe, playful and athletic, and the production comes to life every time he takes the stage .
About midway through the show he dances a tango with Travis Ward-Osborne, also excellent as the hotel manager, Mr. Thompson, and for a few moments this “Pretty Woman” takes flight. Such moments are the main reason to see this fractured fairytale, which, truth be told, still leaves an odd aftertaste.Chris Vognar is a reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
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