Elton John made it to the opening night of his new musical in London on Sunday night (Dec. 1), but the pop icon admitted that he could hear the show, but could not see any of it.
According to the Associated Press, John, 77, said he struggled to watch the stage debut of The Devil Wears Prada because, as he told the audience, “I haven’t been able to come to man of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight.”
John added, “So it’s hard for me to see it, but I love to hear it and, boy, it sounded good tonight.” The singer wrote the score for the stage musical based on the beloved 2006 movie about an eager young journalist (Anne Hathaway) trying to make her mark at a fashion magazine lorded over by an imperial, demanding editor (Meryl Streep).
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The London production at the Dominion Theatre stars Vanessa Williams as lacerating editor — memorably played by Streep in the film — Miranda Priestly, with music by John and lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick and a book by Kate Wetherhead. Sunday’s gala opening night was a fundraiser for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and featured an A-list crowd, including designer Donatella Versace and former Vogue editor Anna Wintour, the rumored inspiration for the Priestly character. The famously exacting fashion figurehead gave a typically tart-tongued assessment of the musical, referring to it as “entertaining.”
John recently told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts that he suffered an eye infection this summer that has turned into a complete loss of vision in his right eye, which has impacted his ability to work on new music.
“I unfortunately lost my eye sight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France,” said John. “It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see. And my left eye is not the greatest.” John teased a new album last year, but now that project is up in the air as the manages his poor vision.
“There’s hope and encouragement that it will be okay,” John said. “But I’m kind of stuck in the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording… I don’t know. Because I can’t see a lyric, for start.” John’s most recent album was 2021’s Record Store Day reissue of a shelved late 1960s album Regimental Sgt. Zippo.