Vanessa Williams plays Miranda Priestly in ‘Devil Wears Prada’ musical
Vanessa Williams and Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly | Images: Instagram/@vanessawilliamsofficial, YouTube/Movieclips
Gird your loins! Hollywood singer and actress Vanessa Williams is set to don the heels of Miranda Priestly, previously played by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film, as she landed the lead role for “The Devil Wears Prada” musical.
The announcement was made on Instagram by Williams and the production’s official account on February 19, as they posted a clip of the former Miss Americana titleholder embodying the iconic character as she walks into the offices of Runway magazine in a red slingback, tossing her things onto the assistant’s desk, sitting down to work, and delivers the line, “Don’t just sit there. Buy tickets or… something,” in a demanding tone.
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“The Devil Wears Prada” musical first premiered in Chicago in 2022 and the production is set to return to the West End featuring an original score from Elton John, a book written by Kate Wetherhead, and lyrics written by Shaina Taub.
Williams, who rose to fame for her portrayal of Wilhelmina Slater in the TV series “Ugly Betty”, said in a statement per Variety, “Bringing Miranda Priestly to life in the West End is an absolute dream come true. Gird your loins, folks.”
Streep’s portrayal of Runway’s editor-in-chief earned her one of her many Oscar nominations, and this is not the first time that the two stars will be playing off each other’s characters.
In 2002, the “Save the Best for Last” singer played The Witch in the Broadway revival production of “Into the Woods,” earning her a Tony nomination, which Streep went on to play in the 2014 film adaptation.
Williams made her Broadway debut in 2019 through a revival of “City of Angels” and has appeared on Broadway in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Sondheim on Sondheim,” “The Trip to Bountiful,” “After Midnight,” and, most recently, 2022’s “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.”
Notably, she was also the villainous Wilhelmina Slater in “Ugly Betty,” the American adaptation of the Colombian dramedy where she tries to claw her way to the top of the publishing world, though her efforts to become editor-in-chief of a topnotch fashion magazine was thwarted by the plain-looking Betty Suarez (America Ferrera).
The London staging of “The Devil Wears Prada” is set to open in October this year, and the additional casting is expected to be announced in the coming days.
