Vanessa Williams says her Miranda Priestly is ‘not Meryl Streep’ in The Devil Wears Prada musical

Vanessa Williams has spoken about taking on the role of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada musical, telling fans that her version is “not Meryl Streep”. 

The award-winning Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives star will take on the role at the Dominion Theatre from 24 October, when the musical is set to debut in London’s West End. 

Williams has previously appeared on Broadway, including a Tony Award-nominated performance as The Witch in Into the Woods. She also replaced Tony award-winner Chita Rivera — who recently passed away — in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

And soon, the star is set to play Streep’s iconic part from the 2006 film – with the original cast recently sharing a reunion at the 2024 SAG Awards. However, though Williams acknowledges the path that Streep paved for her original role, her version of the character couldn’t be more different.

“Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep. Wilhelmina Slater is Wilhelmina Slater,” Williams began at the VACAYA cruise in the Caribbean on 22 February, as per Out Magazine.

She continued: “And on stage, you have to project… and you can’t do things subtly because no one will see it when you’re in a 1500-seat theatre. So you’re going to own the stage and be a little bigger. 

“So, it’s not going to be Meryl Streep. It’ll be my Miranda Priestley — with music, obviously.”

The star added that the musical will feature some amazing fashion moments, which is very on-brand if you’ve watched the film. 

“We’re gonna have really good fashion… we’re recreating the Met Gala. It’s not just Runway” — the magazine of which her character is editor of in the movie and musical — “it’s going to be huge. It’s going to be worth your dollar, that’s for sure.”

The show, which is running on the West End until 31 May, 2025 features an original score by Elton John and a book by Legally Blonde: The Musical’s Kate Wetherhead.

It’s – of course – based on the blockbuster and best-selling novel of the same name and follows aspiring journalist Andy, who stumbles into the cutthroat world of fashion.

She works under fashion’s most domineering icon, Miranda Priestly and sacrifices her personal life to meet her boss’s impossible demands.

It won’t be Williams’ first time playing a cutthroat magazine editor, as she famously played Wilhemina Slater in her Emmy-nominated role in Ugly Betty.