Kazee to star in Pretty Woman Musical

Morehead State University alumnus Steve Kazee will portray Edward in the new “Pretty Woman” musical.

The musical is based on the beloved 1990 romantic comedy and will feature a book co-written by the film’s director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J.F. Lawton, and music and lyrics by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and his longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance.

Bringing Julia Roberts’ character to life, the lovable street worker Vivian, will be Samantha Barks. She will star alongside Kazee as Edward, the businessman who unexpectedly falls for Vivian after hiring her as an escort (played by Richard Gere in the film).

In 2012, Kazee won the Tony Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical” for his role in “Once” and was inducted into the MSU Alumni Hall of Fame.

“Pretty Woman: The Musical” will be directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell. It will begin a five-week run at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago March 13. Broadway performances begin in the fall of 2018.

Kazee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from MSU in 2002. After graduation, he moved to New York, received his M.F.A. degree from the Graduate Acting Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

For more information about theater programs at MSU, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/mtd.