Former Sarasota actress returns home in ‘Pretty Woman’ musical tour

Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·4 min read
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Channing Weir practically grew up on theater stages in Sarasota and Bradenton and she’s looking forward to returning home, however briefly, as part of the ensemble of the touring production of “Pretty Woman: The Musical.”

It’s been 10 years since she left the area to begin college, but she’s hoping to catch up with old friends when the show stops at Sarasota’s Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall for three performances Nov. 27 and 28.

It’s a musical version of the hit film that starred Richard Gere as businessman Edward Lewis who hires a prostitute (Vivian Ward, played by Julia Roberts) and helps transform her into a proper escort for some social events, leading to an unexpected romance.

Channing Weir, who grew up performing in community theater productions in Sarasota and Bradenton, is now featured in the national tour of “Pretty Woman: The Musical.”
Channing Weir, who grew up performing in community theater productions in Sarasota and Bradenton, is now featured in the national tour of “Pretty Woman: The Musical.”

The musical features a score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, with a book by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton. Marshall directed the film and Lawton wrote the screenplay. Jerry Mitchell directed the Broadway run of “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” and his work has been recreated for the tour by DB Bonds.

Weir said the show “brings all your favorite moments from the movie to a whole new medium. It’s the film on stage. It’s like if the movie had more music involved, 80s power ballads. Vivian has a lot of strong ballads.”

A different show every night

Weir, who had lead roles in “Smile” at The Sarasota Players and “Miss Saigon” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, as well as parts in many other musicals, is a swing in the touring show. That means she has to know all the roles played by the seven female ensemble members, and could go on for any one of them at any performance. She’s also an understudy for the two female lead characters, Vivian Ward and Kit De Luca.

She recalled going on as a replacement at Sarasota’s Golden Apple Dinner Theatre with less than 24 hours to learn a show. “I became an accidental swing and I’ve been doing stuff like this since high school. Fortunately, my brain works that way.”

The cast of the touring production of “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” which will be presented at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
The cast of the touring production of “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” which will be presented at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

On long contracts, she prefers to be a swing or understudy because “it keeps the show exciting. I never know what our day is going to consist of,” Weir said. ‘You always have to be prepared to go on, even in the middle of a performance. The show is always new in a different way.”

And while most performers want to be in the spotlight, being a swing requires them “to set ego aside. You’re the hardest-working person and you’re doing the job you were hired for and it’s valuable and everybody keeps the show working as it should,” she said.

Because of the hectic nature of the touring schedule, the cast can move from city to city a couple of times each week. Weir said there’s a good chance she will appear on stage as one character or another in every performance.

“On tour, it’s more likely that people call out,” she said. “We do eight shows a week, but when we’re not performing we’re traveling. We don’t have time to sit and recover, so there’s not much downtime and people need to rest.”

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Chase Wolfe, left, as Edward and Ellie Baker as Vivian in a scene from the national tour of “Pretty Woman: The Musical.”
Chase Wolfe, left, as Edward and Ellie Baker as Vivian in a scene from the national tour of “Pretty Woman: The Musical.”

A local start

Weir credits her career to the years she spent performing in community theater.

“Community theater was everything to me,” she said. “I started my entire journey in community theater.” She attended Manatee School for the Arts before transferring to Lakewood Ranch High School, but didn’t do many shows in school.

“I preferred the Sarasota Players and the Manatee Players. My first show in the area was ‘The Music Man’ way back in the day at the Manatee Players’ old theater, and then I did ‘Smile.’ And then I never stopped. I must have done three to four shows between the two theaters per year for my entire middle and high school.”

All those shows made it possible to work as she does on the “Pretty Woman” tour.

“That’s how I learned to do what I do. That theater community raised me and they are my family.”

‘Pretty Woman’

Music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, book by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Presented at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $70-$115. 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Actress who grew up on Sarasota area stages returns for ‘Pretty Woman’