CASTING FOR MIRANDA!

CASTING FOR ANDY!

NEW DATE IN CHICAGO!

TONY AWARD-WINNER BETH LEAVEL TO STAR

AS THE ALL-POWERFUL EDITOR MIRANDA PRIESTLY

TAYLOR IMAN JONES TO PLAY ANDY

JAMES ALSOP, MTV VMA WINNER, JOINS AS CHOREOGRAPHER

NEW MUSICAL WILL PREMIERE AT

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S CIBC THEATRE IN JULY 2021 (NEW DATE)

Tony Award-winner Beth Leavel will play the iconic Miranda Priestly in the new musical, The Devil Wears Prada and the role of the wide-eyed assistant, Andy Sachs, will be played by Taylor Iman Jones (Groundhog Day, Head Over Heels). The Pre-Broadway World Premiere of the new musical will open at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre from July 13-August 15, 2021 for a limited run prior to a Broadway engagement.  The production had previously been announced to play in Chicago next year at a different venue.

Tony Award winner Beth Leavel. Photo: Nathan Jones

Strutting an all-star team, The Devil Wears Prada has music by Tony Award-winner Sir Elton John (Billy Elliot, Disney’s The Lion King), lyrics by singer-songwriter Shaina Taub (Twelfth Night at The Public Theater), a book by Paul Rudnick (In & Out, Jeffrey), music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo (Waitress), and direction by Tony Award-winner Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County).

Taylor Iman Jones to star as Andrea in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ musical. Photo; Press handout.

MTV Video Music Award-winner James Alsop, known for her work with Beyoncé, Lady GaGa, Kelly Rowland, Janelle Monae, Perez Hilton, Shanice Wilson, Wayne Brady, has joined the production as choreographer.

Additional casting and creative team members for the Chicago production and future Broadway plans will be announced at a later time.

The Devil Wears Prada is based on Lauren Weisberger’s best-selling 2003 novel and the 2006 blockbuster film from Fox 2000 Pictures.  The musical is produced by Kevin McCollum and Rocket Entertainment and presented by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.

Producer Kevin McCollum said, “I am so thrilled that Beth Leavel, one of the American theater’s great leading artists, will be playing one of the most powerful and feared women in popular culture. Producing The Drowsy Chaperone and seeing Beth win the Tony Award for her performance was a career highlight for me and I know that she will create a brilliant Miranda.”

McCollum explained the reason for the rescheduling of the production. “We realized that we wanted more time to work on the show. Our creative team members are in demand around the world with ridiculous schedules. The new dates mean that not only do we get an ideal theatre in Chicago (the CIBC Theatre), it also allows our New York landlord to confirm the Broadway venue, which means we have more time to coordinate our physical design, marketing and sales plans accordingly.”

Sir Elton John. Photo: David Guay

Producer David Furnish (Rocket Pictures) said, “Elton and I are very excited by the exceptional level of theatrical artistic talent signing up to help The Devil Wears Prada leap onto the stage from its successful literary and cinematic origins. Everyone is fiercely dedicated to creating an updated version of the much-loved tale.  The show needs to reflect the cultural and societal changes that have redefined the fashion world since Lauren Weisberger wrote her novel over 16 years ago.”

Beth Leavel won the Tony Award for her performance in The Drowsy Chaperone. She made her Broadway debut in the original production of 42^nd Street and has also been seen in Hal Prince’s Show Boat, Crazy for You,  42nd Street (revival), Mamma Mia!, Young Frankenstein, ELF (twice), Baby It’s You, and The Prom (for which she received her third Tony Award nomination).

Andy, an ambitious young writer in New York City, lands a job at a prestigious magazine. Trying to survive under her stylish yet terrifying boss, she finds herself caught between the dreams she thought she wanted, and the cost of what that reality brings. A joyous, funny, and — of course — ultraglamorous story about navigating life’s runway to discover where you’re meant to be, The Devil Wears Prada is a new musical that gives the hit film a fabulously fresh makeover. Sometimes the best fashion statements are sung.

For more information, visit DevilWearsPradaMusical.com.

TICKET INFORMATION

Broadway In Chicago will be in touch with Subscribers and Groups regarding the new dates. Subscribers with questions, please call 312-977-1717. Group Leaders with questions, please call 312-977-1710. Tickets are also currently on sale for Subscribers and Groups for the new dates. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com.  Individual tickets for The Devil Wears Prada will go on sale at a later date.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 19 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country.  A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining more than 1.7 million people annually in five theatres.  Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at the Auditorium Theatre.

The post Beth Leavel to star in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ musical appeared first on StageZine.

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Taylor Iman Jones & the company. Photo: Joan Marcus

HEAD OVER HEELS
Songs by The Go-Go’s
Based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney
Conceived & Original Book by Jeff Whitty
Adapted by James Magruder
Music supervision, orchestrations & arrangements by Tom Kitt
Choreographed by Spencer Liff
Directed by Michael Mayer
The Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855) 801-5876
www.HeadOverHeelsTheMusical.com

By Scott Harrah

Being an aging Generation X member and a longtime Go-Go’s fan, I was initially thrilled when I heard about Head Over Heels, thinking it would be a fun chronicle of the ups and downs of Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine and the rest of the L.A. all-female rock group from the 1980s. When I later realized the show is a jukebox musical featuring Go-Go’s music and a story based on Sir Philip Sidney’s obscure Elizabethan story The Arcadia, my expectations were low indeed. A tale set in a mythical land with a royal family facing the threat of its beloved “beat” sounds like an absurd premise for a jukebox musical showcasing the iconic hits of the most successful female rock band ever, but naysayers and skeptics beware: The show grows on you if you simply go along with it and accept it for nothing other than the mindless, splashy entertainment it is.

Brought to us by musical supervisor Tom Kitt, choreographer Spencer Liff, book writer Jeff Whitty and director Michael Mayer–the creative team behind such Broadway blockbusters as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and American Idiot, Spring Awakening and Avenue Q—Head Over Heels is a mixture of a 17^th century romance with gender-bending characters that often speak in Shakespearean iambic pentameter.

The plot revolves around the King of Arcadia, Basilus (Jeremy Kushnier) and Queen Gynecia (Rachel York) reigning over an ancient kingdom, along with their younger daughter Philocea (Alexandra Socha). The younger princess is romantically involved with a shepherd, Musidorus (Andrew Durand). Their older daughter Pamela (Bonnie Milligan) has a secret. The kingdom’s future is threatened when the non-binary Pythio, the Oracle of Delphi (Peppermint), unleashes a prophecy of doom.

Such Go-Go’s classics as “We Got the Beat,” “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Turn to You” and “Lust to Love,” along with the Belinda Carlisle solo hits “Mad About You” and “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” are woven into the wacky narrative of changing genders, revolution in the monarchy and sexual discovery.  The story’s humor is sometimes riddled with corny visual puns, such as the choreography for “Mad About You” when dancers are dressed as sheep. Get it? Ewes.

The show is a colorful mess, thanks to winning period costumes by Arianne Phillips and Spencer Liff’s frenetic choreography.

Some of the cast members are also refreshing. Jeremy Kushnier, Andrew Durand and Rachel York give good but mostly serviceable performances, and Peppermint as Pythio primarily serves up the boilerplate camp that made her (or they?) famous on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The true standouts here are the winning Bonnie Milligan as Pamela, the brash and zaftig young princess who gets many of the laughs, as well as Taylor Iman Jones as her gal pal Mopsa. Both Ms. Milligan and Ms. Jones are a sheer delight whenever they are onstage.

In comparison to some of the dreadful jukebox musicals recently, from the inane Escape from Margaritaville (featuring Jimmy Buffett songs) to the factually challenged Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Head Over Heels is a vast improvement for the genre. Perhaps an escapist tale with Go-Go’s songs, full of characters exploring nonconformity and sexual freedom, is exactly the tonic needed in these troubled times.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published August 3, 2018
Reviewed at August 2, 2018 press performance.

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Rachel York & Jeremy Kushnier & the company. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Peppermint (center) & the ensemble. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Tom Alan Robbins & Jeremy Kushnier. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: Andrew Durand & Alexandra Socha. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: The ensemble. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus

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