Interview: Beth Leavel Opens Up About Getting Into the Mind of Miranda Priestly

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this week, 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).

Leavel recently chatted with BroadwayWorld about her exciting new role. "I was so deliciously overwhelmed with all the love that I was getting earlier this week that I had to get in my car and drive to the mall," said Leavel. "I just needed to walk around feeling grateful and preparing myself for this incredible journey that I'm so lucky to be a part of."

What can fans of the movie expect from her version of the iconic character? "You can never forget about [Meryl Streep]'s Miranda Priestly. I don't know what the script is gonna be like, but this Miranda gets to sing! I'm really looking forward to discovering that... to have her story told through songs."

With a year and a half until the Chicago debut, Leavel is already thinking about ways to get into the character's head. "I'm trying to figure out how I can be a fly on the wall in Anna Wintour's world- just to watch how it runs," she says. "I would be a very quiet, very respectful sponge. That would be awesome."

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.

Beth Leavel won the Tony Award for her performance in The Drowsy Chaperone. She made her Broadway debut in the original production of 42nd 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).