Much to fans’ delight, Pretty Woman: The Musical stays true to the 1990 original movie!
The rags-to-riches story of Vivian Ward falling in love with wealthy businessman Edward Lewis hits the Big Apple in August with Samantha Barks stepping into the vinyl boots of Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts while Andy Karl suits up to play the wealthy businessman previously portrayed by Richard Gere.
PEOPLE has an exclusive look of just how similar the upcoming production is to the Garry Marshall-directed rom-com — and these three juxtaposed fan-favorite scenes will stop you from saying, “Big mistake. Big. Huge.”
Meet Cute
Bark transforms as prostitute Vivian (with a heart of gold) dressed in the iconic Pretty Woman cutout dress, black vinyl boots and platinum wig as audiences first see she and Edward meeting in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard’s red light district.
All that’s really missing is Edward’s 1989 Lotus Esprit to whisk them away to his home away from home, the Beverly Wilshire.
Opera Date
Both the film and the Broadway adaptation prove that Pretty Woman is much more than just a man-makes-over-woman plotline as a coutured-out Vivian further enters Edward’s world of luxury and culture during her first-ever opera outing.
The pair takes in a showing of La Traviata, which coincidentally is about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.
Just like Roberts, Bark is dressed in the beautiful red column dress that has become synonymous with the movie. Featuring a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder details, the gown is accessorized to the tee with silk opera gloves and that iconic diamond necklace.
“This image of Vivian and Edward on the steps of The Metropolitan Opera was always in my head and heart as the perfect night. It’s the perfect moment when Edward shares a night at the opera with Vivian and sees the world through her eyes. It changes everything he thought he knew about love and life!” director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell previously told PEOPLE.
From Lust to Love
It turns out Edward has many artistic interests including playing the piano as demonstrated in this sexy love scene. Though Vivian was wearing a hotel robe in the original film, she opts for one of Edward’s business shirts.
As their romance intensifies, audiences see Vivian breaking her one rule: she doesn’t kiss on the mouth.
“Samantha Barks and Andy Karl are magnetic actors, they sing like dreams and I could not be more excited to have them introduce Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance’s brand new songs to the world,” Mitchell said. “Bryan and Jim have written a fantastic score and musicals are as much about the songs as anything else.”
He added, “Pretty Woman is first and foremost a love story — the perfect Cinderella story. But in this instance, the Prince is just as lost as Cinderella and end up saving each other. What’s better than love?”
Earlier this month, Roberts revisited her iconic role when she was among those in the star-studded crowd for a special performance of Pretty Woman: The Musical. The show was paying tribute to Marshall, who died in July 2016.
Pretty Woman: The Musical kicked off with a five-week limited engagement at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago ahead of its preview opening in New York on July 20 at the Nederlander Theatre.
Pretty Woman: The Musical will officially open on Aug. 16 at the Nederlander.
