A new Broadway musical about the life of the late Princess Diana called “Diana” will make its debut in a filmed version on Netflix ahead of its premiere on Broadway — which has been shut down since March due to the coronavirus.
Jeanna de Waal stars in the musical that started previews back in March and was meant to open on March 31 at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway.
“Diana,” directed by Christopher Ashley, will be filmed without an audience on the stage of the Longacre Theater and will feature the original Broadway cast including de Waal as Diana, Roe Hartrampfas Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles, and two-time Tony winner Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth. The producers have worked closely with Actor’s Equity Association on all protocols.
The show is currently scheduled to open on Broadway on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, and the filmed version will debut on Netflix at some time next year.
“We speak for the entire company when we say that we couldn’t be more excited to finally be able share our show with theater lovers everywhere. Though there is no substitute for the live theater, we are honored to be a part of the quality entertainment that Netflix provides its subscribers worldwide,” the producers said in a joint statement.
The complete cast of “Diana” includes Zach Adkins, Tessa Alves, Ashley Andrews, Austen Danielle Bohmer, Holly Ann Butler, Stephen Carrasco, Bruce Dow, Richard Gatta, Lauren E.J. Hamilton,Emma Hearn, Shaye B. Hopkins, Andre Jordan, Gareth Keegan, Nathan Lucrezio, Tomǡs Matos, Chris Medlin, Laura Stracko and Bethany Ann Tesarck.
“Diana” has a book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music & lyrics by David Bryan (the same writing team behind the Tony Award-winning musical “Memphis”), with direction by “Come From Away” director Ashley, choreography by Kelly Devine and features ascore with music supervision and arrangements by Ian Eisendrath.
Broadway remains dark until at least next year, and while some shows have set dates for their return, others will not open or reopen at all. Hollywood meanwhile may be looking to Broadway to find new content, as Disney+ saw incredible results and a huge boost in subscribers when the filmed version of “Hamilton” aired on the streaming service on July 4.
The filmed version of David Byrne’s “American Utopia” as directed by Spike Lee will play at the Toronto International Film Festival and will then premiere on HBO Max this fall.