The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago Review

The pre-Broadway world premiere of the new musical "The Devil Wears Prada:

Lauren Weisberger's novel "The Devil Wears Prada" was inspired by her real-life experiences as an assistant to Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine. The subsequent 2006 movie starred Anne Hathaway as journalism grad Andy Sachs and Meryl Streep as the demanding and powerful Runway magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly. This perfectly cast role earned the legendary actress an Oscar nomination.

The stage musical, under the direction of Anna D. Shapiro, features Broadway veteran Beth Leavel as Miranda and Taylor Iman Jones as Andy. The songs are the work of pop music icon Elton John (music) and singer-songwriter Shaina Taub (lyrics), with the high-fashion costume design by Oscar-nominated Arianne Phillips.

And Now the bad. The debut of the highly anticipated musical, receiving its pre-world premiere in Chicago, was coming as high regard due to post-pandemic and city closures. But unfortunately, this theatrical release is one of the worst productions I have ever seen from Chicago and New York. Yes. It was that bad.

DISAPPOINTING

First off, it starts very slow with a non-stellar performance and an errie voice that sets the tone in a bad vibe all the way through. The sets were lackluster, disorganized, and too busy, and the wardrobes were not high fashion stellar, transforming the actors into dazzling characters on stage.

There were some moments of wit and humor, but overall, it does not align with what the high glamour movie set production brings forth. Significantly, the music from Sir Elton John.

Overall, I wanted to like this show. But, unfortunately, it just misses the mark. The songs are not quite memorable; the lead character is poor, especially with the combination of intelligence and glamor (after transformation) that the character demands and that the overall production should represent.

Conclusion: This was a colossal flop. The book and score were barely mediocre, and ALL the most important moments fell flat. In addition, the characters were annoying, and the fashion (well, what glamorous fashion)?

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars