The Devil Wears Prada Reviews – A reviews round-up for the new musical at the West End’s Dominion Theatre

"Absolutely fabulous"

"The beloved film’s West End makeover is fun, full of knowing humour – and packed with Elton John’s irresistible songs"

"Elton John’s irresistible songs are the highlight of this big, bold, metaphorically shoulder-padded musical, which also features a star turn from Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly, wintry supremo of Manhattan fashion magazine Runway."

"The tunes, from disco to power pop to Broadway homage, are draped in witty lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick, and belted out by a glamazon cast in a ritzy, glitzy production by director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell that conquers the cavernous Dominion."

"For the OTT ball scene costumier Gregg Barnes creates a series of ravishing, demonic creations that distract from the fact that the accompanying title song is a rare misfire (partly because only “nada” rhymes with “Prada”)."

"The best numbers – House of Miranda, How to Survive at Runway, Who’s She? – celebrate a time when fashion and New York were both in their pomp and you could never be too rich, too thin or too demanding. Absolutely fabulous."

"Show’s a knock-off but it’s Devil of a good time"

"... Broadway star Vanessa Williams steps into Meryl’s shoes as Miranda. She rises through the stages as if on an elevator from hell, to roars of approval. Having played a fashion editor in TV’s Ugly Betty, she was a shoo-in for the role and handles dialogue like a spitting cobra."

"Outstanding contributions come from Matt Henry as Miranda’s gay stylist Nigel – his song Seen is a heartbreaking highlight"

"Hats off to the designers, who add the frizzle to the couture catwalk, and the dazzling sets revolve with choreographic regularity, lashing us into cartoon chapters."

"There are inevitable factors that work against the plot: the arc is a bit predictable, and the vulnerability beneath Miranda’s armoured carapace feels forced. However, it is a great way to end the year and if you haven’t had your fill of now, it is a great night out."

"More John Lewis than Valentino"

"Audiences at the Dominion Theatre in London will find that this retread of the 2006 movie, with songs by Elton John, is efficient, well-groomed and, at times, a tiny bit dull"

"Aside from the few occasions where Elton John’s music catches fire and the designers begin to throw colour around (there’s a suave red-white-and-blue motif when the story shifts to Paris), the director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s retread of the 2006 Hollywood film is efficient, well-groomed and, at times, a tiny bit dull."

"As anyone who saw her in Ugly Betty knows, Vanessa Williams — who plays Miranda here — can turn on the hauteur. She’s an accomplished singer too, yet you’re still left with the impression that you’re looking at a photocopy of a Technicolor original."

"Georgie Buckland is ebullient as Andy Sachs, the ingénue brought so brilliantly to life on the screen by Anne Hathaway. Kudos, as well, to Amy Di Bartolomeo, who injects fizz into Emily, Miranda’s surly chief assistant (Emily Blunt’s role in the movie)"

"Like the stage version of Pretty Woman, this show doesn’t really have a soul of its own but it’s similarly catering to an audience that probably won’t care what critics think."

"I wanted to love or loathe The Devil Wears Prada but…"

"Elton John’s Voguetastic new musical is enjoyable — but where’s the magic?"

"It is based on a quite good film (I know, I know, others love it). Crucially, it’s got plenty of quite good songs, and maybe two or three very good songs. It retraces the steps of the film quite well, and every now and then — usually in tandem with the very good songs — sprouts into something very theatrical and wonderful. It’s acted, sung, danced and designed very well. It’s enjoyable without quite being magical."

"It’s all decently done. The director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell knows his way round a set piece. I only wish there were more of them."

"So I don’t mean to be sour: The Devil Wears Prada is solidly entertaining."

"The Devil Wears Prada musical is about as groundbreaking as florals for spring"

"Come for the fabulous frocks, not for Elton John’s forgettable songs or the naff dance routines"

"... does this theatrical version complete a gilded hat-trick of triumphs? To some extent, comes my qualified answer as an admirer of both Lauren Weisberger’s book and Aline Brosh McKenna’s whip-smart screenplay, so memorably brought to life by Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep. It’s such a strong and appealing story that it’s a delight to see these characters pop up in another medium, although how it fares as a standalone piece of new musical theatre is a far less certain matter."

"The costumes are, of course, fabulous, and Williams, a made-to-measure fit for the Priestly part as the undisputed mistress of the withering put-down, could not look more stylish."

"If only this fabulousness could extend to director Jerry Mitchell’s choreography, which is bewilderingly and irredeemably naff, like a local Zumba class attempting a line dance. The cavernous Dominion stage is crying out for some top-level hoofing and the talented ensemble of frustrated fashionistas appear to be bursting to let rip. Come for the frocks and the folks, rather than the music and moves."

"Prosecco o’clock musical is old hat"

"It is dressed to impress and has powerhouse singing from Vanessa Williams but this retread of the hit book and film rings hollow"

"o big or go home” seems to be the guiding principle for this musical adaptation of the hit book and film about an aspiring reporter’s foray into the highly strung world of fashion journalism. The sound is massive, with disco beats pumping and Elton John’s balladic piano-rock blaring. The costumes dazzle. The runway models sashay from all directions, while the lights blaze red, blue and white for Paris fashion week."

"A prosecco o’clock musical, briskly directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, that replicates the 2006 film starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway to within an inch of its haute couture-clad life, but without capturing its icy heart."

"To give the show its due, the production values are high, Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick’s lyrics are serviceable and John’s music exuberant. Vanessa Williams is a powerhouse singer as editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, with songs like the clubby House of Miranda, and so is Georgie Buckland as her young, ambitious assistant, Andy. Visually it is nothing if not impressive."

"Even Elton John can’t save this truly diabolical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada"

"‘Desperate Housewives’ star Vanessa Williams turns in a decent performance as the fearsome Miranda Priestly, but this West End production feels frozen in time"

"You’d hope that enlisting Elton John to write the songs would guarantee any musical entry into the former category but, alas, The Devil Wears Prada is truly diabolical."

"It’s not the fault of star Vanessa Williams, who turns in a decent performance as fictional magazine editor Miranda Priestly – acting with a subtlety that her fearsome red-and-black costumes lack. Instead, it’s a result of a lack of imagination from the whole writing team, who cling to the 2006 film’s script like a millennial clings to stretch denim jeans (they’re more comfy, OK?). Director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s production feels less like an ironic comment on the Noughties, than it does a time capsule from back then – albeit one where groundwater has seeped in and made everything a bit limp and soggy."

"Spangly and shallow"

"Lavish stage adaptation of the hit film looks good, but has nothing to say"

"What’s the opposite of devil’s advocate? Because there’s little to advocate for in this brute-force funnelling of a good film so blandly on to the stage."

"As a comment on the fashion industry, it sort of nails it. It looks impressive, in a spangly, shallow way, and convinces itself it has something to say in order to disguise its preening vacuity. As a musical it’s pretty and uninteresting, shot through with the kind of obviousness and mediocrity that Miranda Priestly would abhor."

"The two best things about the production are Georgie Buckland playing Andy and Amy di Bartolomeo as Emily. It’s quite a West End debut from Buckland, dominating even when up against the star power of Vanessa Williams as Miranda. Di Bartolomeo turns Emily into the comic centre of the show, foal-like in the way she staggers in too-high heels and uncomfortable in the haute couture that she loves so much. Her voice is a wonder, too."

"The wit and bite of the film are gone. The show excels in moments of spectacle, rather than in detail."

"Elton John’s so-so musical is no match for Meryl Streep"

"Generic songs, a derivative script and a daunting act to follow add up to a film-to-stage adaptation that’s shiny but skimpy"

"The old saying goes that the devil has all the best tunes. But that isn’t borne out by this shiny yet bafflingly skimpy musical version of The Devil Wears Prada"

"Style as well as (some) substance is required here, and you’d think that’d be here in abundance given that Elton John has written the music. But it’s as if the trendsetter who gave us Billy Elliot and The Lion King – not to mention some of the finest pop songs of our era – has couriered over some generic material and everyone has followed suit (the bland lyrics are by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick)."

"Jerry Mitchell’s fleet but rote production has its flickers of grandeur – an epic Manhattan skyline, later a Paris complete with tricolore lighting and twinkling Eiffel Tower. But even when the stalls aisles become catwalks, to techno thuds, the evening struggles to draw us in."

"A slim, superficial musical"

"Not even Elton John’s songs can redeem this predictable show at London’s Dominion Theatre"

"There’s an ice queen, a ball and a transformation scene, but no, we’re not at a pantomime. This is the world of high fashion as depicted in the spindly heeled musical version of The Devil Wears Prada. And forget good versus evil — here the stakes are really high."

"Jerry Mitchell’s glossy staging leans into the associations suggested by the show’s title"

"Fans of the movie may enjoy revelling in key droll moments, choice bitchy lines, and the sheer poise of Williams’ Miranda, and this was never going to be a musical in the Sondheim vein. But even so, beneath the swirl of Gregg Barnes’ rich costumes and the vigour of Mitchell’s choreography, it’s all fairly predictable and dramatically as undernourished as poor body-obsessed Emily. Sadly that goes too for Elton John’s music, which drives the show with propulsive rock, power ballads and some upbeat highlights — “Dress Your Way Up” — but doesn’t follow you out of the theatre."

"... the show suddenly lifts off during a witty fantasy number for Emily, when, drugged up in hospital, she conjures a chorus line of hot male nurses: it’s a sizzling sequence that illustrates how innovative the musical could have been."

"Despite songs from Elton John, this stage adaptation of the classic millennial film is a decent comedy but a lousy musical"

"The songs are by none other than Elton John, with lyrics by Shania Taub and Mark Sonnenblick. The director-choreographer is Broadway veteran Jerry Mitchell. There’s some serious talent involved. And yet being turned into a musical does… almost nothing for it."

"The problem perhaps lies in the fact that the film already had the archness and acid one liners of a classic musical comedy. It needs to be pushed further, turned into something more, if there’s going to be any point to doing this. Instead Mitchell’s production is simply a nice evocation of the movie, with the zingy repartee constantly interrupted by characters insisting on singing, frequently more to comment on the action than to move it along."

"On the plus side, it’s very well cast... US star Vanessa Williams is terrific in the role, channelling the fundamentals of what made Streep great while offering a more economical, no nonsense take – more ruthless shark than Steep’s venomous serpent. Amy di Bartolomio is a hoot as Miranda’s prissy English aide Emily – louder and less weird than Emily Blunt’s scene-stealing film turn, but it’s the right decision for the format. Matt Henry is endearing and soulful as nice guy Nigel."

"Elton's score could have been written by AI and it all feels like a knock-off, but at least the tickets cost less than anything designer"

"I don't like to kick a man when he's down. However, after seeing this soulless musical version of the Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway film, for which Elton wrote the score, I can offer scant consolation."

"Where the movie had style and swagger, this production by veteran Broadway director Jerry Mitchell – supposedly re-worked since it first tried out in Chicago in 2022 and was dubbed a 'haute mess' by the New York Post – still looks like a cheap knock-off."

"It lacks wit, warmth or joie de vivre. And this from a composer whose greatest songs have been about young people like Andy struggling to find their way in a hostile world – think of Elton's songs in Billy Elliot and The Lion King, not to mention albums like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."