Bucks &amp; Oxon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2527.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-153641" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2527.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2527-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2527-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2527-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2527-788x525.jpeg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



The New Theatre in Oxford was packed for the opening night of <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-woman-the-musical/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pretty Woman The Musical</a> last night. It&#8217;s testament to the enduring chemistry of Julia Roberts/Richard Gere back in the 1990 movie, and our desire to see romance win against all odds &#8211; even when those odds feel out of step with modern sensibilities.



I&#8217;m not the first reviewer to feel a bit uncomfortable in 2023 watching a romance between a cold, hard-nosed, selfish billionaire and his $100 hooker on Hollywood Boulevard but if you can take this musical at skim level, you&#8217;ll leave the theatre like the rest of the audience, standing on your feet clapping.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2250" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-153642" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-0114-350x525.jpg 350w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Amber Davies takes on Julia Roberts&#8217; as Vivien, looking very much the part in those boulevard-strutting thigh-high black patent boots and a skirt that defies gravity to stay at thigh level. She plays the role a bit tougher than Roberts, and you never quite get the feeling that she&#8217;s madly head over heels in love with Edward (Oliver Savile) but she has an effortless, powerful singing voice that has placed her as Lorraine Baines in Back to the Future: The Musical at the Adelphi Theatre and Judy in the original West End cast of 9 to 5 the Musical.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2736.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-153644" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2736.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2736-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2736-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2736-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-2736-788x525.jpeg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Savile, as Edward, gives the musical more emotional depth. Handsome and very tall (clearly one up on teeny tiny Richard Gere here) with a CV that includes West End leads and a US tour starring alongside Sting in The Last Ship, he shows his acting chops by making his arc from lone shark to loved up romantic feel authentic. (Also, a total digression but fun for any Ted Lasso fans &#8211; Savile played Luca in Series 2, the naked lover of&nbsp;<a href="https://ted-lasso.fandom.com/wiki/Rebecca_Welton">Rebecca Welton</a> who makes tea in the kitchen when her mum arrives!).



Two headline performers were missing from the performance at New Theatre last night &#8211; Ore Oduba (formerly Strictly winner and TV presenter: now a bona fide West End performer) in the dual roles of Happy Man/Mr Thompson the hotel manager; and Natalie Paris as Vivien&#8217;s sidekick Kit De Luca. Curtis Patrick stepped into Oduba&#8217;s shoes with mostly success &#8211; more winning as Mr Thompson and enjoying a cute subplot of romance with his bellboy, played winningly by Noah Harrison. Annell Odartey stepped up from the Ensemble to play Kit. The role here gives her little chance to show much emotional range but her vocals were spot on and she clearly felt comfortable centre stage.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-8384-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-153645" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-8384-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-8384-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-8384-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-8384-2-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Pretty-Woman-TOUR-PROD-8384-2-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



The highlights of the show for me weren&#8217;t the memorable moments from the movie &#8211; when Edward pretends to close the jewellery box on Vivien&#8217;s hands, or Kit remembers that it&#8217;s &#8220;Cinder-fuckin-rella&#8221; who proves dreams come true. It definitely wasn&#8217;t the sex scenes which, like those in Dirty Dancing, feel a bit OTT from a theatre seat, though I fully accept some in the audience want to see the film replicated in its entirety. The best moments for me were the ensemble numbers, all about beautiful costumes, tight choreography and joie de vivre, and the moment at the opera when Lila Falce-Bass, playing the soprano, belted out Sempre Libera from La Traviata and won the biggest cheer of the evening.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



Good for: If film-adaptation musicals are your life source, there&#8217;s much to enjoy about Pretty Woman. The auditorium was 80 per cent women, which will tell you the pull of the rom com! FYI this is your last chance to see Pretty Woman locally until March 2024 when it returns from its Northern tour to Milton Keynes.



Not for: If you think you&#8217;ll feel weird watching a 2023 stage romance about a billionaire paying for sex, swerve now. The sex scenes are true to the film (remember the piano?), so you might want to think twice about bringing under 16s. 



<a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-woman-the-musical/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pretty Woman</a> is showing at New Theatre Oxford until Sat 9 Dec. <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-woman-the-musical/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tickets</a> from £25.50. 24-26 George St, Oxford OX1 2AG.

Review: Pretty Woman, New Theatre Oxford

You may also like