Vivian Ward may feel like she “ain’t Cinderella”, but for us, Samantha Barks became a true princess portraying the sassy hooker.
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| Andy Karl, Ezra Night, Samantha Barks and Robby Clater; photo: Matthew Murphy |
As the production of Pretty Woman: the Musical has just released its original cast album, we are re-discovering the wonderful yet atypical love story of Vivian and Edward through the beautiful voices of Samantha Barks, Andy Karl, Orfeh, and many others. The musical, based on the 1990 movie of the same name starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, is as much a smash hit, featuring fantastic original tracks composed by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.
First of all, let’s talk about how Samantha Barks shines as Vivian. Not only does she play the role with perfection, bringing both sass and glamour, she also has such an incredible voice that you almost wish that she had more tracks on the soundtrack. Whatever she does, Samantha puts her everything into it. It might be in “Anywhere But Here”, where you can feel Vivian’s longing and desire to escape the life she is trapped in, or in the emotional ballad “This Is My Life”, where you just want to give her a hug and protect her from all of her pain and misery. Even in the fabulous, uplifting anthem that is “I Can’t Go Back”, Samantha could get a Tony Award nomination if we’re being honest. She brings such emotion and passion to the character, from a cheeky prostitute to an endearing woman trying to find her way—and she only does it through her voice! Is there anything she cannot do?
Yet, Samantha is not the only one to stand out on that fantastic soundtrack. Indeed, Broadway veteran Andy Karl here portrays skillfully the not-so-heartless Edward Lewis. Andy gives the role a renewed passion and freedom, especially as we hear him put his heart and soul in the song “Something About Her”. This song reflects Edward’s dreams and hopes, embodied by Vivian, as it is quite similar to her own song “Anywhere But Here”. You have to listen to the beautiful ballad that is “You And I”, where Edward confesses his love for Vivian, his voice perfect and heartfelt. One of the tracks that stuck out for me is “You’re Beautiful”, which is firstly a gorgeous anthem with beautiful lyrics, but is also a catchy song that puts a glorious end to the first act!
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| Ellyn Marie Marsh, Eric Anderson, Orfeh and Renée Marino; photo: Matthew Murphy |
Moreover, Pretty Woman doesn’t only have Andy Karl - but Orfeh, his stage and real-life companion, is also part of this amazing cast. Orfeh, who plays Kit, Vivian’s mentor and friend, just owns the song “Rodeo Drive” as her voice goes from raw to soulful in a heartbeat and her riffs in “Luckiest Girl in the World” are the best things I ever heard. Yet the cast album would not be as spectacular as it is without its amazing ensemble, with actors like Eric Anderson, Jason Danieley or even Tommy Bracco, who bring vitality and energy to the musical.
In short, the cast album of Pretty Woman is everything you could have ever hoped for: it’s got passion, romance, melancholy, laughter, and a million more elements of a perfect cast recording. It’s a beautiful love story with a twist where the princess “rescues him right back!” and when you get to the end with “Together Forever”, you’ll have a smile on your face for the rest of the day and the desire to fall in love through your own modern fairytale.
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| Samantha Barks and Steve Kazee (Chicago Edward); photo: Matthew Murphy |
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