Arts

Watch ‘Pretty Woman: The Musical’ at the Opera House

The production's first national tour makes a stop in Boston.

Olivia Valli and Adam Pascal star in the national tour of "Pretty Woman: The Musical." Photo by Matthew Murphy

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Heading out on its first national tour, “Pretty Woman: The Musical” stops by the Opera House for two weeks in late January. The stage adaptation of the Hollywood hit stars Tony Award nominee Adam Pascal as Edward Lewis and Olivia Valli as Vivian Ward.

The show brings to life the 1990 hit romcom “Pretty Woman,” which starred Richard Gere as the unethical business tycoon, Edward, who hires Vivian (Julia Roberts), a sex worker, as an escort when he’s in LA for a week on business. As the week progresses, the pair fall for each other, beginning to see their own lives differently, too. Edward’s status may provide Vivian resources, but it’s her good heart that turns Edward’s career around.

The musical’s original score was written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance (“Summer of ’69”) and features Roy Orbison’s 1964 hit “Oh, Pretty Woman,” which inspired the original film’s title. Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton, the film’s director and screenwriter, collaborated on the stage adaptation’s book, but the show has marked differences from the movie. Besides the obvious — new, lively song and dance numbers — the stage production’s gender dynamics have been updated to suit a modern audience.