Pretty Woman: The Musical to open at QPAC in October

International rock superstar Bryan Adams has stepped away from his sellout music tour to reveal concrete plans to bring a raunchy production that he fought for years to make happen to Brisbane.

Pretty Woman the Musical. Picture: Supplied.

An international rock superstar has announced the first Australian season of his rom-com turned smash hit musical will hit the stage in Queensland this year.

Bryan Adams and long-time songwriter pal Jim Vallance will debut Pretty Woman: The Musical at Brisbane’s QPAC in October, almost 8 years after it first opened in Chicago.

Based on the iconic film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and with a score and lyrics written by Adams and Vallance, Pretty Woman: The Musical has seen huge success on Broadway and the West End. Adams is currently touring Australia with his So Happy It Hurts tour and is set to make a formal announcement at QPAC later today.

Fresh off the back of his sold-out show at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Boondall last night, Adams sat down at QPAC on Friday morning to chat all things Pretty Woman: The Musical.

In 2007, Adams’ friend Victoria Hind, who is the associate choreographer of Sister Act, currently showing at QPAC, and who made a surprise appearance at the Q&A, made a throwaway comment that would spark his hard-fought goal to turn the iconic film into a musical.

Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. (Photo by Joshua Sammer/Getty Images)

“It was her, this lady here, that told me this was a good an idea, someone should make Pretty Woman a musical … so thank you Victoria,” Adams said.

Despite Adams’ pitch for the musical being knocked back by Disney in those early days, in 2018 it finally debuted in Chicago and has continued to see great success.

“I don’t think in 2007 Disney wanted to do the story, you know billionaire meets hooker,” Adams said.

“It was right in the Me Too (movement) … even when we were making it, we were worried about the association.”

“In fact even in the promotion of the original musical back in 2018, there was the amazing outfit and the high boots and you won’t find a photo of it because they wanted to play down that image of her as a hooker.”

The story, set in the late ’80s follows the tale of sex worker Vivian as she meets billionaire Edward, changing her life forever, as she gets swept up in an unexpected romance that is as hilarious as it is heartwarming.

Tony award winner Jerry Mitchell, the genius behind Kinky Boots and Hairspray, takes on the direction and choreography for the musical.

Meanwhile, producer Suzanne Jones of JONES Theatrical Group said casting would begin in early March.

“We are pretty sure we have already found our Vivian … but we are still looking for our Edward,” Jones said.

“I’ve sat in the audition space in the last couple of weeks … it’s pretty amazing sitting there listening to them, singing these songs, but also this dialog that you just, I flashed being four because I was four when the movie (came out)”

On the musical choosing to debut in the Sunshine State both Adams and Jones believed it “fit” in Brisbane.

“Brisbane is this really great secret that everybody else hasn’t worked out yet,” Jones said.

Queensland, and Jones herself, have big shoes to fill, with Adams admitting his recent viewing of the performance in Belfast had been the best yet.

“Well, to be quite honest, it’s, I think it’s the best production of it that I’ve seen, I would say it’s even better than it was on Broadway. It’s evolved,” Adams said

A wait list is already available for tickets.