The rumors? True.
The facts? In the works.
The hype? High.
The iconic 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway is Broadway-bound but before you get too excited, the show isn’t going straight to New York City. The musical rendition of the trendsetting comedy is headed to Chicago first in 2020 before hitting the east coast.
For those who have been living under all of the rocks, The Devil Wears Prada tells the story of Andy Sachs, an aspiring journalist whose life is swept up under her feet when she lands the high-stress job at a fashion magazine as the assistant to infamous icon Miranda Priestly- and then she falls in love, too, of course. Basically, it’s the dream and nightmare of every fashion lover, creative soul and hopeless romantic all at once.
And now it’s time to get excited again because although all the details aren’t set, here’s what we do know:
First of all, the music is going to be written by none other than Elton John, who recently was brought back into the spotlight in Rocketman, the sensational 2019 film that showcased his musical life and career. Despite Miranda Priestly’s typical dismissive quote, “that’s not all”, there’s more. For all the Broadway fanatics, the musical is planned to be directed by Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro, who has also been involved with shows including Of Mice and Men and Straight Out of Youth on Broadway, and Trafficking in Broken Hearts and The Pain and the Itch on off-Broadway stages. Shapiro explains that she feels “truly honored” to be working on the project and it “has already proven to be one of the great thrills of my career.”
So far, the show is scheduled to be performed at the James M. Nederlander Theatre in Chicago from Jul. 14 to Aug. 16. Details on its predicted relocation to Broadway have yet to be announced, as well as the cast. Along with Elton John, however, other contributions to the show’s music include lyricist Shaina Taub, who has also worked with an off-Broadway production of Twelfth Night. The production crew includes Kevin McCollum, who has worked with recent popular musicals including Something Rotten! and Motown the Musical.
And although most are familiar with the film, the story was originally written as a novel by Lauren Weisberger in 2003- which was only three years before it was created for the big screen, so you could say it was a hit.
Courtesy: International Business Times
Although the cast is currently a mystery, hopeful fans are beginning to speculate on whether members of the original cast will return, such as Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt or Meryl Streep. They’ve proven themselves fitting the skillset for sure. For example, Hathaway won an Oscar for her role in the film version of Les Misérableswhile Blunt recently showed off her musical talent in the 2019 adaptation of Mary Poppins Returns, and Meryl Streep has stolen the show in various films including the crowd-pleasing Mamma Mia.
Although the full set of details most likely won’t be released for another few months, tickets for parties of ten or more are available for purchase, so if you’re inspired to plan a summer trip to Chicago early, you can do as you heart desires.
But since everything else is up to speculation, I’ll just leave Miranda Priestly herself the final word for now:
Courtesy: Giphy
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