Vanessa Williams Gives First Look at Miranda Priestley in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Musical
Written by Rtradio on July 8, 2024
Miranda Priestly has arrived! The Devil Wears Prada fans got their first proper taste of Vanessa Williams‘ take on the iconic fictional Runway magazine editor-in-chief when the Instagram account for the upcoming musical adaptation shared a brief clip of the star in character over the weekend.
On Saturday, the show’s social media account shared a short video featuring Williams as the formidable Miranda as she enters the stage from below. “Miranda has arrived,” is written on the screen as Williams ascends, clad in a fabulous, sparkling, red gown with a matching red trench coat draped on her shoulders. When the rising platform stops, bringing her level to the stage, she flares out the lapels of her coat with the drama befitting a woman of her fictional status. An arrival worthy of an icon!
“That’s all,” the clip’s Instagram caption cheekily reads.
Williams and the producers of the upcoming musical adaptation revealed in February that the Ugly Betty alum will play Miranda on the West End stage when the show begins performances at London’s Dominion Theatre in October 2024.
Williams, 60, and the production’s Instagram account shared videos of her as Miranda to their respective pages to make the announcement. One teaser featured the unforgettable introduction uttered by Stanley Tucci’s Nigel in the 2006 film as Williams struts into her character’s office without revealing her face.
“Yes…it’s me 👹,” the Tony Award nominee captioned the post before unveiling another video in which she is shown entering the fictional magazine’s offices in character.
“Don’t just sit there,” Williams says in the video. “Buy tickets, or something.” In a caption to that post, Williams added, “That’s All…now buy some tickets to @pradawestend 🇬🇧 #thehouseofmiranda👠.”
The full cast was announced in early June: Georgie Buckland stars as Andy, in her West End debut; Amy Di Bartolomeo (SIX: The Musical) as Emily; James Darch as Christian; Rhys Whitfield as Nate; and Olivier winner Matt Henry as Nigel.
Based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger and the 2006 film adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada musical had its world premiere at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre in 2022. That production was directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro, and starred Beth Leavel and Taylor Iman Jones as Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs, respectively.
The upcoming rendition features a score by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub, a book by Kate Wetherhead, and direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell. Kevin McCollum and Rocket Entertainment’s David Furnish remain producers after working on the Chicago world premiere, with Alchemation and Jamie Wilson joining for the London bow. They present by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.
Mitchell’s West End production boasts a new creative team for the staging with scenic design by Tim Hatley, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Bruno Poet and sound design by Gareth Owen.
According to Playbill, the new musical will have an exclusive preview engagement at Theatre Royal Plymouth in July 2024, prior to opening at the Dominion.
ET recently spoke with John and his husband, David Furnish about producing the upcoming musical, as well as the biographic stage musical Tammy Faye, based on the life of Tammy Faye Messner.
“They’re shows we’ve been working on for eight years, 10 years, 12 years,” Furnish told ET. “It takes a long time to build a musical, they’re challenging to get right and to sculpt. You have to get the right team working with you and we’re just so excited that both of them are sort of ready to launch.”
With such a legendary career and even more on the horizon, it wouldn’t be surprising if John is ready to take a step back. But the EGOT recipient says he’s just excited to check off more items on his bucket list.
“Things seem to just arrive unexpectedly,” John said when asked what he still wants to accomplish. “For example, in 1993 I got a phone call from Tim Rice about doing a thing called The Lion King, Disney’s first-ever original animation film… I said, ‘Are you kidding me, I’ll do it!’ That changed my life… It’s the great, unexpected things that happen and the gift that keeps giving.”
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