There’s a very large high heel on top of the marquee at the Dominion Theatre announcing the arrival of the much anticipated ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’
Underneath it states ‘a new musical’ and ‘music by Elton John’. Well it sure is a new musical, but the music is totally unforgettable.
Based on the very popular 2006 movie – about the relationship between a high powered fashion magazine editor and her aspiring journalist assistant – is making its debut in London’s glittering West End – and unfortunately adds a few mothballs to the memory of the movie, and doesn’t really offer anything new and exciting – it’s a safe production, enjoyable but unmemorable.
The story, as you may remember, is about Andy, who wants to be a journalist, and gets a job as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, an editor modeled on the icy Anna Wintour of Vogue Magazine.
The petite Georgie Buckland (making her West End debut) has the acting and singing chops as Andy, but it is all too easy for her to get one of the most coveted, and demanding, and scary jobs in publishing – assistant to Priestly.
Vanessa Williams, mega television star (Ugly Betty) returns to the West End stage (after 2019’s City of Angels). Here she’s just merely a presence on stage – we really don’t feel the power (and terror) that was so acutely portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie. Williams gently floats around wearing one beautiful design after another – the writers have made her out to be a caricature of Wintour. Williams doesn’t have that many songs to sing, and when she does it’s a bit obvious that she’s no Nicole Sherzinger (brilliant in ‘Sunset Boulevard’) nor a Patti Lupone (though to her credit she has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards – never won).
The saving graces for this show, besides Buckland, are the simply gorgeous outfits – designed by Pamela Roland – (well this is a show about a fashion magazine so that makes sense). Kudos to costume designer Greg Barnes for putting it all together, with sumptuous shoes by Terry De Havilland. And if weren’t for Amy Di Bartolomeo who plays Priestlys first assistant Emily this show would be off the rack. Amy/Emily has the best lines, she’s sharp and witty, really really wants to go to Paris for Paris Fashion week with Priestly, and has dreamed about it all her life. Di Bartolomeo plays her to perfection, with witty dialogue, and is mostly deserving of any awards she will receive for this role. Matt Henry, meanwhile, as the magazine’s fashion director, is no Andre Leon Tally!
But let’s get back to the music. Sure this is billed as a musical, but none of the songs are memorable, and some are complete duds that don’t have any relation to the story at all. Songs with titles such as ‘Dress Your Way Up’ and ‘Seen’ and ‘I Only Love you for Your Body’ are downright strange, and I couldn’t help but shudder while they were sung. Elton – what were you thinking? The songs in ‘Billy Elliott’, ‘Aida’ and ’The Lion King’ were fantastic, here they are not.
Kate Wetherhead could’ve taken some risks with the Book but she didn’t and the stage show mimics the movie – nothing new is added, not even anything topical (me too movement, politics…..). Though some parts of the story in the movie have had to be reworked or removed.
The Devil Wears Prada played its first American Chicago production on July 19, 2022, and played a limited run through August 21, 2022. The run was billed as pre-Broadway (it never did make it to Broadway). In a September 2022 interview with Zoe Ball, Elton John stated the show was not ready for subsequent stagings, adding “It’ll be ready in about another year. Well two years later (and after a two month try out in Plymouth, UK) this is what we’ve been given.
The Chicago production received universally poor reviews. In the New York Post, Johnny Oleksinski said the show was “alarmingly un-fun and sluggish,” adding that “every song is lousy, and there is nothing here worth fixing.
London reviews have been just as harsh as well. The Independent stated ‘Elton John can’t save this truly diabolical production’ while The Telegraph calls it a ‘so so musical.’ It’s not as bad as these reviews make it out to seem, it’s a fun show to watch and it will be a fun night out, but it doesn’t stay with you long after you leave the theatre (a year later ‘Sunset Boulevard’ is still with me). For what’s its worth, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ is recommendable and enjoyable.
’The Devil Wears Prada’ is playing well into 2025.