Pretty Woman the Musical removes ‘antisemitic’ joke from show

Producers of a West End show have removed a joke from the script after an audience member complained it was antisemitic.

In emails seen by Jewish News, producers of ‘Pretty Woman the Musical,’ Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), agreed to remove a quip that contained a play on the words ‘sabbatical’ and ‘Shabbat’.

In response to the complaint from Ms Lewis, of Hampstead Garden Suburb, ATG said: “It is a simple switch to button that scene differently and [we] will subsequently cut the line.”

The show previously contained an exchange between main characters Kit and Rachel:

Rachel: Where’s Vivian?

Kit: She’s on a paid sabbatical

Rachel: I didn’t know she was Jewish!

ATG also confirmed that the decision to drop the line was supported by the show’s US-based director Jerry Mitchell and writer J.F. Lawton, who wrote the original screenplay for the 1990 film.

The producer added that no audience member had previously complained about the line. Lewis told Jewish News that although the gag was “not the most serious in the world,” she was “absolutely delighted” that ATG had decided to remove the line.

She added: “I am not calling [ATG] antisemitic as such, but it just felt out of place and was incredibly jarring.”

Currently showing at London’s Savoy Theatre, the show is an adaptation of the 1990 film starring Julia Roberts. The original film, about a wealthy businessman who pursues a relationship with a Hollywood prostitute, did not contain the shabbat pun, although the picture’s gender politics have been questioned in recent years.

In her original complaint, Lewis accused ATG of “not understanding the issue” and needing to “further educate itself.” She added: “It’s important to remember that even seemingly innocuous comments can be harmful or offensive when they rely on stereotypes or assumptions about a person’s identity.”

Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust, said: “The theatre appears to have responded with sensitivity to the complaint they received, and the minor change they made to the script avoids any potential misunderstandings in future without significantly affecting the musical itself.

“While this is not the most serious example of antisemitism in theatre, when it is easy to make a small change like this then it makes sense to do so.”

Some viewers in the US, where the musical originated, took a different view.

Writer Sandi Masori asked: “Is it because we are such great patrons of theatre that we deserve to have a mention, nod or joke tossed out to us? I was glad to have my Jewish angle without resorting to playing ‘guess if any of the actors are Jewish.’”