Taking an overly respectful and frankly miscalculated approach to its source materials — the 2003 roman à clef novel and the 2006 Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway-starring film — the new musical version of “The Devil Wears Prada,”Chicago is now the location for this show, which will be performing in advance of its Broadway debut. The show provides entertainment but requires a lot of guilt-free, edgy humor to enhance its mild pleasures.
At this stage in its development — having persevered mightily to reach its opening after enduring over 20 cases of COVID during rehearsals and previews — the show boasts an Elton John score that operates in too limited a register and a production from director Anna D. Shapiro (“August: Osage County”It’s a middle ground that doesn’t quite decide between genuine glamor and a more theatricalized type, but it is a good compromise.
There’s plenty of skill and craft on display here, particularly in the lead performances. Taylor Iman Jones plays Andy Sachs (the young protagonist).“Head Over Heels”You could not ask for more triple-threat potential than this. Beth Leavel, inspired by Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s Miranda Priestly, reveals her diva-dom towards the end when she sings an incredibly villainous soliloquy.
Kate Wetherhead wrote the book. It flows smoothly and contains moments of humor. James Alsop’s choreography has potential panache. He is inspired by the gestural, sharp poses of fashion modelling. The second act features a smart set transition from Manhattan into Paris, which sees the design work pick up. And John’s score has its moments, providing his pleasing, peppy pop sound amid a sincere effort to give voice to the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters.
The show never stops. Arianne Phillips, the film’s fashion director “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”It feels both period and contemporary. The setting has been updated, however not aggressively so. Miranda is most affected by the tameness of her portrayal. This character feels trapped in muted pantsuits, sensible hairdos and multiple patter songs by John and Shaina Taub (“Suffs”) that come off as banal recitatives about appointments that need scheduling.
This represents the key miscalibration at the show’s core that requires remedying. Yes, it is the story about a young woman trying to achieve her dreams while losing her senses of self. But to think that’s what made the book a bestseller and the movie a hit is to imagine that people read “Playboy”For the articles or that people watch Fox News to get the information. Here the appeal stems more from being giddily appalled at Miranda’s operatic condescension. The only reason Andy is even mildly tolerable in her own unconscious snobbery is that Miranda treats her so horrifically that we can’t help but root for her.
One of the most memorable scenes from the film isn’t anything aspirational, but when Miranda recounts to Andy why she gave her the job in the first place. “I said to myself, ‘Go ahead, take a chance. Hire the smart, fat girl.’”
Put that sentiment to song, Mr. John, and we’re going somewhere. Right now, it breezes past as a rare moment of forthrightness in the dialogue, just as the show oddly glosses past Andy’s spurred-on transformation to fashion forwardness with a single costume change during a song, “Dress Your Way Up,”That screams for more.
There’s a lot of work needed to replace the sincere and fairly dull songs about the importance of jobs that pay the rent, the sadness of losing friendships, or (from the nice-guy Nigel, played by Javier Muñoz) the trials of growing up gay in the Midwest with songs that express the naked ambition, social irresponsibility and joyful artifice of the fashion industry. The title song, which serves as the Act I finale, comments about those things but doesn’t actually express them, coming across more enervating than energizing.
The question is simple. Can John, Shapiro, et al. — some of the most talented artists at work today — set niceness aside, and channel their inner Miranda Priestlys?