FAQ: Everything you need to know about the Pretty Woman musical in London

Unsurprisingly, there is more than one Pretty Woman musical writer. The original Broadway production that has now transferred to the West End features a book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton while the show's lyrics and music were written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. The musical is based on the original 1990 film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere that featured a screenplay also penned by Lawton.

The musical theatre production of Pretty Woman follows the same plot as the 1990 film of the same name. A free-spirited Los Angeles escort named Vivian Ward lives with her flatmate and best friend, Kit De Luca, who helped Vivian get into the "world's oldest profession." When Hollywood hottie and wealthy businessman Edward Lewis hires Vivian to be his escort for various social events, their week-long professional relationship soon evolves into something more meaningful. Will Edward find that there's really something about her? Or will Vivian have to give up on a dream?

The Pretty Woman musical West End production is now showing at the Piccadilly Theatre (at 16 Denman Street, London, W1D 7DY). In addition to its London run, Pretty Woman is also running in Hamburg (The "West End" of Germany) at the Stage Theater an der Elbe, where it opened for previews on 23 September 2019 and officially opened on 29 September 2019.

Previously, the show received its world premiere in March 2018 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago before making its Broadway debut on 16 August 2018 at the Nederlander Theatre in New York, where it ran until 18 August 2019.

The Pretty Woman musical running time is approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes including one interval.

Although reviews for Pretty Woman on Broadway were generally poor and lukewarm, it swiftly became a fan favourite among New York audiences and managed to earn three Broadway.com Audience Awards, including Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical (Andy Karl), Favorite Featured Actress in a Musical (Orfeh), and Favorite Diva Performance (Orfeh). It also earned two Broadway.com Audience Award nominations for Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Samantha Barks) and Favorite Onstage Pair (Samantha Barks and Andy Karl).

The critics are also not always right when it comes to the West End's Pretty Woman musical. London reviews for the show have been generally unfavourable, with the exception of the Evening Standard, which claimed the show "matches the charm of the film but has a subversive energy all its own." London audiences positively adore the musical, calling it "nostalgic", "perfectly polished", "brilliant", "fantastic", and "cheesy with a bit of fun thrown in."

The main Pretty Woman musical West End cast stars Aimie Atkinson (SIX The Musical) as the iconic Vivian Ward, a role made famous by Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich, Eat Pray Love). Atkinson is joined onstage at the Piccadilly Theatre by Danny Mac as Edward Lewis, Bob Harms as Happy Man/Mr Thompson, Mark Holden as James Morse, Neil McDermott as Philip Stuckey, and Rachael Wooding as Kit De Luca.

As of 23 March 2020, most UK theatre shows have been confirmed to be postponed or suspended until the end of April. Pretty Woman is currently still booking from June onwards when most West End and SOLT theatres are expected to reopen for business. Rumours that Pretty Woman musical cancelled its West End run due to COVID-19 are false. The show will still go on and is expected to continue running at the Piccadilly Theatre until at least early 2021 or longer. Many fans of the show are currently taking advantage of some low rates for the London Pretty Woman musical. Cheap tickets are available from £18 and up through London Theatre Direct.

The 2.30pm matinee performance of Pretty Woman finishes at around 5pm whilst the 7.30pm evening London performance finishes at around 10pm.

So far no UK tour for Pretty Woman has been announced. But if West End box office sales for the show remain successful, then it is reasonable to expect that Pretty Woman is coming to Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, and more! However, the American production will definitely be hitting the road and is expected to launch its nationwide tour of Pretty Woman in Providence, Rhode Island in October 2020.

Pretty Woman opened for previews at London's Piccadilly Theatre on 13 February 2020. It is now booking until 6 February 2021. London matinee performances of Pretty Woman run every Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm whilst evening performances run Monday through Saturday at 7.30pm.

Officially verified Pretty Woman musical tickets for the Piccadilly Theatre run are available through London Theatre Direct starting at just £18. Located near Piccadilly Circus and not too far from Mayfair. the show is in the perfect location to enjoy London nightlife. Two of the best-rated hotels located nearby (according to Booking.com) include the Ham Yard Hotel and the Hotel Cafe Royal. There is also an abundance of short-term apartment rentals in the neighbourhood.

Pretty Woman contains some moderate sexual references and the musical is recommended for ages 12 and up. Please be advised that children under the age of 5 and babes in arms will not be permitted into the theatre. Neither the show or your point of sale is responsible for tickets that were purchased by you for children under the age of 5.

The Pretty Woman musical song list includes such toe-tapping numbers as "Welcome to Hollywood", "Anywhere but Here", "Something About Her (Preamble)", "Welcome to Hollywood (Reprise)", "Something About Her", "I Could Get Used To This", "Luckiest Girl in the World", "Rodeo Drive", "Anywhere but Here", "On a Night like Tonight", "Don't Forget to Dance", "Freedom", "You're Beautiful" in Act I; plus "Welcome to Our World (More Champagne)", "This Is My Life", "Never Give Up on a Dream", "You and I", "I Can't Go Back", "Freedom (Reprise)", "Long Way Home", "Together Forever", and "Finale/Oh, Pretty Woman" in Act II.

Sadly, the iconic scene from the film in which Vivian loses control of her tongs and sends her escargot flying across the restaurant didn't make the cut in the musical. Though fans need not worry too much, as everything else deemed important from the movie has been either kept or expanded upon in the musical adaptation of Pretty Woman.