'Pretty Woman: The Musical' gets by on fairytale gloss and touring company's charm in OKC

Much like the movie that inspired it, "Pretty Woman: The Musical" manages — just barely — to generate enough charm, chemistry and Cinderella vibes to overcome its cringey aspects and qualify as a sexy crowd-pleaser.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell ("Kinky Boots"), the musical played on Broadway for a year between 2018 and 2019. Several members of the Broadway cast are reprising their roles on the national tour, playing Oklahoma City through Aug. 21 at the Civic Center Music Hall. It's the final show in OKC Broadway's 2021-2022 season.

Adapted from the smash 1990 film, "Pretty Woman: The Musical" features a book by the movie's original screenwriter, J.F. Lawton, and director, the late Hollywood legend Garry Marshall, who died in 2016.

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So, it's hardly a surprise that the stage version sticks pretty close to the movie's modern-day, grown-up fairytale plot about a rich, ruthless and solitary corporate raider named Edward Lewis who crosses paths with a Hollywood Boulevard "hooker with a heart of gold" in Vivian Ward. Since Edward is a New Yorker only in Los Angeles for a week on business, he hires the clever and likeable Vivian to be his companion for that time frame.

It's hardly a spoiler to reveal that the movie has a happy ending — although it's an intriguing bit of Hollywood lore that it almost didn't — and that the musical follows suit.

And it's hardly a shock that seeing "Pretty Woman: The Musical" is a vivid reminder of just how much the movie relies on Julia Roberts' incredible onscreen charisma and her palpable chemistry with co-star Richard Gere.

Fortunately, the musical's national touring company boasts its own charismatic leading lady in Olivia Valli, an effervescent charmer with a powerhouse voice that she's given ample opportunity to show off on big numbers like "Anywhere But Here," "This Is My Life" and "I Can't Go Back."

She's surprisingly well-matched with Tony nominee Adam Pascal, who played the original Roger Davis in "Rent," Billy Flynn in "Chicago" and William Shakespeare in "Something Rotten!" before donning Edward Lewis' suit and tie. The Broadway veteran proves he's still got the chops as an actor and singer in the underwritten role (and despite a bit of crackling on the microphones at the Aug. 16 OKC opening-night show).

They get plenty of help from the strong supporting cast and energetic ensemble (the latter includes Oklahoma native Michael Dalke). Jessica Crouch steals the show every time she takes the stage as Vivian's fellow prostitute and best friend Kit De Luca (the role played by Laura San Giacomo in the movie).

Although it makes a few canny changes, the musical keeps most of the "big, huge" moments from the movie: the Rodeo Drive shopping spree gone wrong, the trip to the polo club, the outing to the opera. (Despite some narrative similarities, it's a bold move excerpting Verdi's "La traviata" right in the middle of your musical, especially with a performer as good as new addition Jade Amber as Violetta. But like so much else involved with this title, they only just manage to make it work.)

One of the biggest and most successful alterations for the stage is the role of Happy Man, a sort of fairy godfather character who appears throughout the story, as the Hollywood Boulevard denizen asking everyone "What's your dream," as the kindly hotel manager and even in the pit as the opera conductor. With Kyle Taylor Parker playing the part, it's fun keeping up with Happy Man.

Grammy-winning pop star Bryan Adams and his songwriting partner Jim Vallance — a pairing that has produced radio hits like “Summer of ’69,” “Heaven” and "Cuts Like a Knife" — have penned a slew of songs well-suited to the vibe of show's setting in "Hollywood — Once Upon a Time in the 1980s."

Like the movie, the musical really lays on the fairytale gloss, and it's really for the best. The story of a wealthy older businessman romancing a small-town girl-turned-prostitute still presents its share of uncomfortable moments. It's hard not to roll your eyes at Edward conflating his problems with the prostitute's he's literally picked up off the streets, or at Vivian suddenly finding her confidence after she is suddenly outfitted in five figures worth of designer outfits.

But the show, its cast and the creative team keep the mood light, the fashion dazzling and song-and-dance spectacle rolling. By the time the performers capped the OKC opening night with a spirited sing-along to Roy Orbison's classic hit "Oh, Pretty Woman," it was practically impossible not to be at least a little swept off your feet by this Cinderella story.

'PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL'

When: Through Aug. 21.

Where: Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker.

Tickets and information: www.okcbroadway.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Pretty Woman: The Musical' tour gets by on fairytale charm in OKC