The Devil Wears Prada has been quite the success story. It has consistently smashed sales records since opening at the Dominion Theatre last year, becoming the fastest selling show in the theatre’s history and continues to be a Box Office hit in the West End with Vanessa Williams leading from the front as the fearsome magazine editor, Miranda Priestley.
Elton John is the man behind the music and is of course one of the most successful writers of musicals of all time. For over 30 years his works have graced stages across the world, winning him Oscar, Tony, Grammy, and Laurence Oliver Awards along the way. The Lion King is one of the West End's longest running productions, having had its home at the Lyceum Theatre for 26 consecutive years. On Broadway alone, The Lion King has grossed over $2.1 billion, with Billy Elliot over $183 million and Aida $165 million.
Now the original cast recording from The Devil Wears Prada: A New Musical has been released and in its splendour is a reminder of the genius of Elton John’s songwriting. The CD and Digital release includes two previously unheard Elton John Original Demos, which formed the architectural drawings the musical was built from, and means that this new album marks the first time fans can gain an insight into the creative process with Elton’s recordings of I Mean Business and The Devil Wears Prada.
The great man himself recalls how he began to approach the work: “Well, obviously, I watched the film a couple of times to refresh my memory, and it's such a great film, but that was essential to do that - to get a grip on the characters.
And then I write them to lyrics, so when Shaina Taub & Mark who wrote the lyrics - we went from there.
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We were very painstaking about what we do. I pay a lot of attention. The attention goes into the sound, how it should be, the mood of the music.”
But he says when the lyrics are so brilliant, “I find it easy,” and in general writing musicals is an enjoyable experience for him, particularly for the change it provides from the ‘day job’: “I find it great to write musicals, because you have a beginning and an end, whereas in an album, you don't have a beginning; you don't know where you are.”
That said, he stresses the process does have much in common with usual recordings. “I did full scale demos, like an Elton John album. I worked really hard on those with the band, and we had to do lots of rewrites because things changed during the course of a musical life.
It's just like writing any other music for me, because I love it. I'm not a director, so once my music's done–and I concentrate a lot on the music, I go to see the singers and the rehearsals–then I leave it up to the director and the sound people.”
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He continues, “When I make [music] for any musical I've ever done, the demos are like proper records because you get an idea of what it should sound like. That's why I'm going, ‘this is how it should sound’. There's a whole album of demos, that one day might come out! For Vampire Lestat, for Aida, for Billy Elliot, and for Tammy Faye. They're all studio, they’re proper records. They've never been out, because it was never my intention to do it as an album, because you hand it over and the cast have to do it, but I have great fun.”
Of course, this is the distinctive point, that Elton has to step away in the end, and leave the production team to then work their magic is putting it all on stage. It’s something that he has become accustomed to, after his illustrious history of working in theatre. He will lend his voice but ultimately, the show must go on without him.
“You have no control over how the cast are going to sing it, what they're going to do. You know they're capable of singing it, but I'm always listening to see if it’s loud enough? Is the band playing it right? Are they singing it right?
But it's the same for any musical I've ever written, it's out of your hands. When I'm playing live, I'm totally in control. When I'm sitting there in the audience for the musical that I've written, I have no control whatsoever.”
For producer Kevin McCollum, it was as fascinating as ever to see Elton work, with The Devil Wears Prada feeling like an especially satisfying fit.
“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Elton and David Furnish for over 10 years now, and working with them both is always a great experience,” he says, “Asking Elton to compose the music for the show was my first instinct when I acquired the rights. Elton John has always championed and celebrated so much of what has become popular fashion from the 1970’s to today, so collaborating with him on The Devil Wears Prada was Kismet!”
As for what makes Elton John so special as a songwriter, well as one who has seen him at work, he has some thoughts:
“With Elton, it is not one thing that makes him such a special songwriter. It is EVERYTHING. He pours his heart into all that he creates and whom he spends time with. As an artist he is always present and mindful. He overflows with passion, empathy, and curiosity. His music is authentic because of this foundation.
When he reads a lyric on the page for the first time, Elton’s soul can almost immediately translate those words into unique melodies that stir imagination with emotional truth that enables the words he has just read to soar off the page to the heavens. It’s an unbelievable talent and profound gift to witness.”
In terms of favourite songs from the record, McCollum finds it hard to pick one, but does confess, “you might catch me grooving to Dress Your Way Up to my morning coffee as I get ready to tackle another day on the West End or Broadway.” Elton is similarly torn but says, “The beginning of the show is I Mean Business. and it's the first song I wrote. It starts to show in such a great way.”
Both talk of the great thrill of seeing the show for the first time, and it prompts John to recall some other highlights from his theatre experiences:
“The first night of the Lion King in New York, was like an out of body experience because I didn't know how they were going to do it. And of course, Julie Taymor came up with all these brilliant ideas, and it was just so gorgeous and so fabulous, and so exactly what I hoped but 100,000 times more.
Billy Elliot was very important to me because it was complicated. We had to have three boys doing the part, revolving.It was very important to me because of the story, and I wanted to be more political than the film, and it was, because Lee Hall pointed that out. That was a magical thing.”
As for the particular magic of The Devil Wears Prada, McCollum is clear on the distinctive approach the production had in order to make it work: “One of the ways we tailored our approach is that we all committed to have FUN. We knew we were writing a show that an audience could dress up for (or not), escape the day, laugh a lot, and have a really great time in the theater! We had a team that kept FUN as our North Star.”
Elton is fully in agreement on that front.
“The show's a great experience. You’ll come out with a big smile on your face. Everybody is happy, they go back and see it again.
That’s just what you hope that they'll get from the album, reminding them of a great night out. And that's what music does, it stays in your mind. If there's a special moment in the show that they love, they'll go to that track and rethink it.”
The Devil Wears Prada: A New Musical Original Cast Recording album is out now
