Steven Oxman 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,” now trying out in Chicago ahead of a projected Broadway run, provides some serviceable entertainment but needs a hefty dose of guilty, edgy fun to boost 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”) that never quite decides between authentic glamor or a more theatricalized kind, resting right now in a merely semi-satisfying middle.
There’s plenty of skill and craft on display here, particularly in the lead performances. As the young protagonist Andy Sachs, Taylor Iman Jones (“Head Over Heels”) displays all the triple-threat potential you could ask for.
And as Miranda Priestly (inspired by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour), Beth Leavel reveals her diva-dom toward the end when she sings a deliciously villainous soliloquy.The book (by Kate Wetherhead) flows coherently and has moments of wit.
Read more on variety.com