Back in 2013, Tony-award-winning producer Kevin McCollum signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to develop stage versions of the studio’s vast library of films. The first film to get the musical treatment was the 1998 Drew Barrymore fairy tale Ever After, with Mrs. Doubtfire also reportedly in development. And now McCollum has confirmed a third project: a stage adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.
McCollum has apparently been interested in the 2006 Anne Hathaway/Meryl Streep workplace comedy for a while, although it initially took a backseat to Ever After. But with that latter musical currently in a presumed pre-Broadway run, he can put his focus on figuring out which Broadway diva should take on the role of Devilish magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Patti LuPone? Bernadette Peters? Donna Murphy?) and which ingenue should play her put-upon assistant Andrea Sachs (Laura Osnes or Sierra Boggess would be natural choices).
Since musicals often go through a workshop phase before premiering on Broadway, it could be a while before the show actually hits the stage (if it does at all). And while it’s easy to make fun of this screen-to-stage trend, Devil actually isn’t terrible source material for a musical, and at least McCollum didn’t go the obvious route and offer up Avatar: The Musical. That’s Cirque Du Soleil’s job.