‘Pretty Woman’ Sings Its Way to Santa Barbara

The beloved 1990 romantic comedy movie Pretty Woman gets a Broadway makeover when Pretty Woman: The Musical comes to The Granada Theatre January 22-23. Roy Orbison’s hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman” — which inspired the film — is back in the stage version, along with a top-notch creative team that includes direction and choreography by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), original music and lyrics by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance (“Summer of ‘69,” “Heaven”), and a book by the movie’s legendary director Garry Marshall and screenwriter JF Lawton.

I had the opportunity to speak with Chase Wolfe, the lead actor who stars as Edward Lewis (a k a the Richard Gere part) in Pretty Woman: The Musical, last week, where he was with the touring company for performances in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

For those who’ve never seen the movie, he advised, “Just know that it is like a modern day telling of Cinderella or Pygmalion or My Fair Lady in that ultimately, it’s just, it’s a love story between two people and how they bring out the best in each other. Vivian is our main character [played by Ellie Baker], and she’s strong and independent and wonderful, and just a little spitfire to watch, and watch how she sees the world, aspires after something and ultimately obtains it in the end, which is really neat.”

For fans or those that have seen the movie, he said, “You’re going to be able to quote along for some of the iconic moments … you’re going to see characters that maybe you just got a glimpse of in the film, and also the movie’s full blown characters, which is fun. There’s lots of little candy, if you will, candy moments in the show that are waiting for fans to find and see them.”

As BuzzFeed News said, “If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!”

“It’s been a blast to kind of bring to life this kind of movie classic that plays — at Christmas, I realized how often this movie just plays on everyone’s TV, like it’s on loop constantly — so it’s fun to bring that to life and take that the live version around to everyone,” said Wolfe. 

When asked about his favorite song in the show, Wolfe said, “I don’t know that I have a favorite number per se. I have favorite scenes, because Ellie and I do more, well, Ellie sings her face off in the show. She’s awesome. … My favorite moments are actually the scenes with her because that’s when we actually kind of get to interact and play. And that’s when we’re kind of like telling this story that everyone knows and loves. So those are my favorite parts.”

He adds, “One of my favorite moments is always the classic necklace-in-a-box scene [where Gere presents Julia Roberts with a diamond necklace and jokingly slams her hand in the box]. We always get a genuine laugh out of her during that one.”

The original Broadway production of Pretty Woman: The Musical ended its 13-month run at the Nederlander Theatre in New York on August 18, 2019. The musical began performances in Hamburg, Germany, on September 24, 2019, and opened in London’s West End in February 2020 before COVID-19 shuttered theaters around the world. The London production reopened July 8, 2021 to great acclaim at the Savoy Theatre in the West End and a U.S. touring version of the show was finally able to launch later that year.

“We’re really excited to be in Santa Barbara and to share and share the story with them,” said Wolfe. “And we’ve got a wonderful cast and we’re ready to have some fun.”

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Pretty Woman: The Musical is at The Granada Theatre (1214 State St.) on Monday, January 22, and Tuesday, January 23, with both performances at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, see ticketing.granadasb.org/overview/18221.