Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell knows how to bring a beloved film to the stage and make a hit musical. Highlights from his career as a director and choreographer include Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots, Hairspray, The Full Monty, Catch Me If You Can, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. He returns to Broadway next season with an adaptation of the beloved Julia Roberts/Richard Gere film Pretty Woman
(which begins pre-B'way performances in Chicago on March 13).Below, BroadwayBox takes a look at the film-to-Broadway roots of the Pretty Woman company.
Steve Kazee (Edward Lewis)
Kazee won a Tony Award for his brooding, ultimately heartbreaking performance as Guy in the Broadway adaptation of the film Once. He previously appeared on Broadway in two other movie-to-show adaptations: Spamalot (based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and To Be or Not to Be (based on the 1942 film of the same name).
Orfeh (Kit De Luca)
This big-voiced scene-stealer received a Tony nomination for her performance as trashy but lovable Boston hairdresser Paulette in Jerry Mitchell’s Legally Blonde. Years before, she had a breakout moment as Annette (aka “If I Can’t Have You”) in the musical version of the iconic disco film Saturday Night Fever and slayed the vocals in Broadway’s Footloose adaptation.
Eric Anderson (Mr. Thompson)
The constant stage delight appeared in three movie-to-musicals on Broadway. Eric played Cal, the salty diner cook in Waitress, four roles in the musical version of the boxing hit Rocky, and appeared in the ensemble of the Tony-winning musical adaptation of Kinky Boots.
Kingsley Leggs (James Morse )
Kingsley Leggs appeared twice before on Broadway, both times as the villain in musical adaptations of iconic Whoopi Goldberg films. He was mob boss Curtis in Sister Act and Mister in the OBC of The Color Purple.
Jason Danieley (Philip Stuckey )
This golden-voiced stage star previously appeared in only one musical that began as a film, but boy was it a doozy. Jason broke hearts with “You Walk with Me” and brought tons of laughs in songs like “Big-Ass Rock” and “The Goods” as the awkward Malcolm in David Yazbek’s The Full Monty.
Samantha Barks (Vivian Ward)
This is Samantha Barks Broadway debut though the West End star is most well known for performance as Eponine in the film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical Les Miserables—total switcheroo there. Though, she did play the leading roles in the world premiere of Amelie and UK premiere of Honeymoon in Vegas, both of which began as films.
Even the Ensemble
Allison Blackwell did The Lion King. Tommy Bracco made his debut as Spot Conlon in Disney’s Newsies. Anna Eilinsfeld and Alex Michael Stoll were in American Psycho, and Anna also did Kinky Boots. Ellyn Marie Marsh also starred in the Boots, as well as Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Jesse McGraw Wildman did Ghost and Doctor Zhivago. Jill Mueller was a Who in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Jake Odmark is yet another Kinky alum. The super-talented Jennifer Sanchez was in Ghost and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Matthew Stocke was in The Wedding Singer and The Full Monty. Alan Wiggins was a Simba in The Lion King. Finally, Darius Wright made his debut in A Bronx Tale.
