Vanessa Williams to star as iconic Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada Musical in West End

The ‘Ugly Betty’ actor is switching offices as ‘fashion’s most powerful and terrifying icon’

The Devil Wears Prada musical is coming to the West End and its lead actor has just been announced.

Vanessa Williams, of Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives fame, will be starring as icy Runway Editor-in-Chief Miranda Priestly in the stage production of the cult classic.

The musical based on the blockbuster movie and bestselling novel by Kate Wetherhead, The Devil Wears Prada, will also feature an original score by Elton John and lyrics by Shaina Taub.

In a promotional teaser for the production released on Monday morning (19 February), Williams is seen walking into an office with dummy magazine The Book, polished nails and high heels. She then sits at her desk and says: “Don’t just sit there… buy tickets or something.”

The Tony Award nominee’s theatre credits include Into the Woods, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sondheim on Sondheim, Show Boat and Anyone Can Whistle.

Vanessa Wiliams stars as the iconic Miranda Priestly

(The Devil Wears Prada Musical/Theatre Royal Plymouth)

The new musical will be directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, who is also known for Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Pretty Woman and Hairspray.

The plot of the play will mirror the iconic movie, with aspiring journalist Andy Sachs (played by Anne Hathway in the film) scoring a job at the prestigious Runway magazine for “fashion’s most powerful and terrifying icon” – Miranda Priestly (played in the movie by Meryl Streep).

Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly is surrounded by fellow fashion mavens in ‘The Devil Wears Prada'

(Shutterstock)

As Andy struggles to meet her boss’s demands, she finds herself “seduced by the glamourous world she once despised”, according to the promotional material.

Fans have noticed fictional universe overlaps in Williams’ previous work. She played Wilhelmina Slater, ruthless and intimidating Editor-in-Chief of Mode in Ugly Betty – with the dynamics between her and America Fererra’s character mirroring those of Miranda and Andy in The Devil Wears Prada.

The Theatre Royal Plymouth co-production will be released in July 2024 for previews with tickets available to book now. It will also be produced alongside Kevin McCollum, David Furnish/Rocket Entertainment and Jamie Wilson Productions.

The exclusive preview engagement will be played at the Theatre Royal Plymouth before the production opens in the West End. Preview performances will take place from Saturday 6 July to Saturday 27 July.

Director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell said that fans could expect “all the things they love in the film plus the incredible songs from Elton John”.