Interview: 'We've Really Figured Her Out': Performer Amy Di Bartolomeo on Her Dream Role of Emily in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

The Devil Wears Prada has strutted into the Dominion Theatre on the West End. Led by Vanessa Williams as the iconic Miranda Priestly, the show, based on the 2006 film (which itself was adapted by the 2003 novel), follows Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Georgie Buckland) as she enters the world of fashion as a second assistant at Runway magazine in New York City.

BroadwayWorld sat down to speak with Amy Di Bartolomeo, who plays Emily Charlton, Miranda’s first assistant. We discussed how she first got started in the world of theatre, the world of The Devil Wears Prada and what it has been like to contribute to this new version of Emily on the stage!

How did you first get started in the world of theatre?

The very beginning . . . My mum and dad bought a restaurant... We lived in the building - there was mum and dad's restaurant, a car park and then a stage school. So it was as easy as that. Apparently I saw all the girls coming out in their tutus at five years old and was like, “I want to do that.”

I'm really lucky my mum and dad saw that I had something and totally invested in me. I went to competitions every weekend, did all of the shows every couple of months, did panto every year. When I was eleven, I started going to London. My mum would do a day trip to Urdang with me just doing classes all day, and then come home. I did summer schools when we could. They did everything they could to try and immerse me into it. But we didn't know anyone. We had no connections. We had no idea - they just worked out what they could from face value and did all the things a parent could possibly do to help me on my way. 

I went to Italia Conti for a year and I majored in singing. Two years behind that, I got into Laines because I thought I was a dancer - I was too terrified to sing in front of anyone! When I got there, I went with an injury that I'd done at a competition, and they just told me I'd never dance again when I was eighteen. I thought my life was over! In my mind, I was a dancer - that's what I did. But weirdly and amazingly, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me, because as a performer, I'm a way better singer than I am dancer. So it made me sing. 

Then I got my agent while I was there and I went straight into Starlight Express! But I always want kids to know that, I thought I was a dancer - I got told I'd never dance again. I didn't go to ArtsEd or MountView. They're amazing schools, they really are, but they aren't your name - they aren't you. You are you, you can represent you and you can put the work into yourself. If you invest in yourself and you just keep pushing and keep going, then you can do it. My mum and dad did everything they could to help me, but I'm just a from a normal family in a very small town where everyone thought I was crazy. London? That's crazy! Just keep going, because it really will work out. That's my little two cents.

And so what drew you into The Devil Wears Prada?

So I got an audition through and on the audition, it said, “You have to be available for all of these dates.” And all of the dates had been spread across two years. So I've already been with the show for a year!

The minute I saw Jerry Mitchell . . . I have been desperate to work with him because he's my kind of person, my kind of creative. #FullOut! That is what me and my mum have always said - maybe not the hashtags, but “Full out.” 

But it was an amazing audition process. Sometimes they say it just happens...And they were just such a beautiful panel to work with. I already knew that from the first round.

So when I went into the final I was like, “You're going to have so much fun!” We didn't do it once and then I left. We did it loads of times - we spoke about it and tried things out. I also made a really bold decision and changed some of the song to show them what I could do with my voice and how I see Emily.

Because this was brand new, nothing’s solid yet. This character, these songs, these scenes, they're all going to change. And I was like, “Okay, I'm going to give them a bit of what I think Emily would sound like.” So thank God the risk worked! 

For those unfamiliar with the show or the movie it’s based on, can you tell us a bit about it and the role that you play, Emily Charlton?

So the show is set in a magazine called Runway, which is based on the magazine Vogue. It's the offices of the magazine and Miranda, the editor in chief, is slightly based off Anna Wintour, who is the editor in chief of Vogue. And the film came from this fabulous book - Lauren [Weisberger] actually was the second assistant to Anna Wintour, so the film was made out of this amazing book. I

It's her story of getting the job and what she had to do to keep her job. By the end of it, she realises that everything she's done isn't actually her true self. She's been doing something to be successful, to be great at her job and work hard and be committed, but actually she doesn't want to be in fashion. It's amazing for people that do fashion, it’s all positive on them, but she wants to be a writer...And along the way, she meets the first assistant, who is me, Emily Charlton! [Laughs] She also meets the head of fashion design for the magazine, Nigel, played by Matt Henry, and Vanessa Williams plays Miranda.

A bit about Emily . . . She's a dream role. At the top of my audition email, it said, “Comedy role,” and I was like, “Let's go!” I've been desperate to do comedy, but I just couldn't get seen for it and I was so grateful that they gave me this opportunity. She's a complicated character.

What I love about the show is we've elaborated on her because we're able to - it’s a musical, I'm on stage and we can tell the tale more. The reason that Emily is so sharp and fierce and quite mean with her words is because she's desperate to be good - to be seen by Miranda, to go to Paris with Miranda. She's worked her whole life to be in this position! She used to be a very anxious child, and she always wanted to do really well.

Me and Kate and Jerry, we've really worked on her [Emily] not being a one-dimensional bitch. The reason she is the way she is is because she's so hungry, she's so exhausted - she's doing two people's jobs! Every time she employs and gets a second assistant, they're sacked within two weeks. She wants to be Miranda. And then by the end of it, I've got a full arc, a full story line, which you don't really get in the film.

And with Mark [Sonnenblick], the songwriter, we realised that no, her backstory isn't the bully at school, the mean girl, or, “I've always known I was going to be number one.” She's not that. She wanted to do well! At the top of my song, I say, “My parents back in Surrey used to worry for my health / They say, ‘Emily, you need to breathe, my dear.’” So she's always been so eager and passionate, and that's where it all comes from. 

And I get to wear incredible clothes! I'm wearing only designer clothes. Gregg Barnes [Costume Design], Kamil [Bartnicki, Associate Costume Desinger] and Karen [Short, Costume Supervisor], they've dressed me in head to toe Balmain, Versace, Prada, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen . . . Only designer. It's just the dream! 

You mentioned being able to collaborate with people through the development of the show. What is it like having been a part of this and having created that character?

Just the dream! We've really figured her out. Literally, my opening of Act Two changed yesterday, a fews days before, my solo changed - loads of lyrics changed. We're still changing every day, but I've got to a point now where they can hand me anything and I'm not majorly thinking about delivery or anything, because I feel like we've created her now. We know the way she talks, we know the way she acts. We know the why she says the things that she says because of the workshopping we've done and the work we've put into her and the show.

Everyone, we know each other's relationships. I know the way that I stand with Miranda and the way that I stand with Andy or Nigel - it's all different. I've got a different relationship with everyone. I feel like we’ve found her and now we're just finessing. But yeah, this whole year has been a year of creation. It's been so organic and creative and collaborative.

Do you have any favourite lines or songs?

Kate’s done a beautiful balance of lines from the film and new lines that are so Emily, you think that they're from the film! One from the film that we managed to get in not long ago was, “I'm sorry, do you have some prior commitment? Some hideous skirt convention to go to?” I was so glad that got in because we didn't manage until rehearsals in the West End. And then we found it!

And finally, how would you describe the show in one word?

Powerful, because everyone is a really powerful character - even our ensemble are so powerful. I feel the power radiating off the stage! it's just sensational performers doing their absolute finest. I look at Vanessa Williams and I'm like, “Powerful.” I look at Georgie and I'm like, “Powerful.” I look at Matt and I'm like, “Powerful.” Rhys, James, Ethan, everyone powerful!

The Devil Wears Prada runs at the Dominion Theatre.

Photo Credits: Matt Crockett