'Pretty Woman: The Musical' hits Chicago stage next week

CHICAGO (WLS) -- "Pretty Woman: The Musical" is ready to open at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago one week from Tuesday.

Rock star Bryan Adams spoke about creating the soundtrack for this fan favorite moving from the screen to center stage.

"You get asked by a director to do something or you feel inspired by this idea and then you just go with it and see what happens," Adams said.

The Canadian rocker - along with his 40-year collaborator Jim Vallance - have written the music and lyrics for "Pretty Woman: The Musical." Adams is another in the rock genre lured by the Great White Way.

"A lot of the people who have come from the rock world have written some amazing, moving songs," Adams said. "In many cases, songs of people's youth and what they've been brought up with, so why not take that talent and utilize it to something theatrical?"

Writing a musical score is not quite like composing an album.

"There's a lot of wiggle room, lyrically we can write whatever we want, within the context of what's appropriate for the artist, we have a lot of freedom. But on Broadway, you have to stick strictly to the story," Vallance said.

Garry Marshall, who directed the film version, co-wrote the musical before he passed away.

"Jim and I often talk about Garry, I wonder if Garry would like this...he brought a great sense of humor and whimsy to the film which I think that we've tried to do also when we've been creating the songs," Adams said.

The familiar story and all original new songs hits the stage March 13 at the Oriental Theatre.