CULTURE

The Devil Wears Prada Musical Is Being Soundtracked By Elton John and Composer Shaina Taub

John is "delighted with the way the show is shaping up."


"The Devil Wears Prada" New York Premiere - Arrivals
Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic

From Top Gun to the musical Mean Girls, there are enough sequels in the air to occupy your every hour. That’s why it’d be easy to forget that, like the latter, there is a new rendition of The Devil Wears Prada at work, and it’s being led by Elton John and writer Paul Rudnick.

The Devil Wears Prada musical was first announced over a year ago, but, now, the production has found its soundtrack. Elton John, the legend behind The Lion King‘s soundtrack — among many other hits — has tapped composer Shaina Taub to transform all of Miranda Priestly’s one-liners into songs. Taubs opened up about the forthcoming play to Billboard, saying, “The fashion world is so larger than life and theatrical, the movie itself is so theatrical, and the characters—in Andy, you have everything you want in a protagonist, someone with big dreams and huge ambition who has to deal with the reality of the world and adulthood for the first time. And I haven’t quite seen a relationship like [Andy and Miranda Priestly’s] between two women onstage. And the movie is such a delicious comedy, with real stakes and heart. It really excites me to put that in a musical.”

John, who is as in demand as ever at the moment, between The Devil Wears Prada musical and working on a new soundtrack alongside Beyoncé for the live-action remake of The Lion King, gave a similar statement when he announced the project, telling Deadline, “Re-imagining The Devil Wears Prada for the musical theatre is super exciting. I’m a huge fan of both the book and the feature film and a huge aficionado of the fashion world. I can’t wait to sink my musical teeth into this hunk of popular culture.”

This isn’t the only Devil Wears Prada reboot in progress. The novel’s author Lauren Weisberger just released a spinoff centered around Emily Blunt’s character, Emily, called When Life Gives You Lululemons. Considering Blunt, hasn’t ruled out suiting up as the character once again, it’s possible that the book could inspire a film sequel. Blunt’s one condition: “If everyone did it, I would be up for it,” she said in April. “I almost hope it doesn’t [happen] because I think sometimes when you sequel everything [it] kind of dilutes how special the original is.” But judging by the Mean Girls musical, it is possible to pull it off.