Diana: The Musical was supposed to open on Broadway in the Spring of 2020. Then the Pandemic hit and Broadway closed down. Netflix approached the producers of Diana: The Musical and negotiated a deal for the play to be filmed and then shown on the Netflix streaming platform.
Christopher Ashley, director, filmed this performance in the summer 2020, in an empty theater–no audience–with Covid-19 protocols in place. Ashley is also a Tony Award winner for his staging of the Sept. 11 musical “Come From Away,” and the director of an excellent filmed version which is streaming on Apple TV+. Highly recommended!
Ashley knows how to make a theatrical production feel intense, compelling, and involving for the home-viewing Netflix audience with Diana: The Musical. With 39 incredible, inspired, wickedly sly on-stage costume changes, Diana: The Musical pulls a lot of magic tricks that even Cher would be proud of. When de Waal steps into Diana’s behemoth pouf of a wedding gown, it’s hard to figure out how she did it in the blink of an eye. Costume designer William Ivey Long recreates dozens of Diana’s most famous outfits, including the incredible sweater with the little sheep on it.
Pacing is a problem. For example, Diana (Jeanna de Waal) gives birth to both of her children–William and Harry–with Prince Charles (Roe Hartrampf) in attendance during a single song. Then there’s Charles admitting he’d been unfaithful to Diana with Camilla Parker Bowles (Erin Davie). Everything seems rushed in this 2-hour performance. The music is basic pop with the intension of moving the action. If you’re interested in the Royals and Princess Diana, you’ll enjoy Diana: The Musical. Not a great performance, but entertaining. GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
1. Prologue
2. Underestimated
3. The Worst Job In England
4. This Is How Your People Dance
5. Snap, Click
6. Whatever Love Means Anyway
7. I Will
8. The World Fell In Love
9. Happiness / Simply Breathe
10. She Moves In The Most Modern Ways
11. Diana (The Rage)
12. As I Love You
13. I Miss You Most On Sundays
14. Pretty, Pretty Girl
15. Here Comes James Hewitt
16. Him And Her (And Him And Her) / Just Dance
17. Secrets And Lies
18. The Main Event
19. Whatever Love Means Anyway
20. Pretty, Pretty Girl
21. The Words Came Pouring Out
22. The Dress
23. An Officer’s Wife
24. If (Light Of The World)
Sounds awful. I have no interest in the Royal Family. At least not in modern times. And no interest in the cult of Diana.
Steve, DIANA: THE MUSICAL shows how Diana won over the UK (and then world) to become a global sensation.
I don’t have much interest in the royal family either, so I’m not sure why I’ve found THE CROWN so addictive, but there it is. Whatever the lure is, it wouldn’t extend to this thing, or to any musical. The way Netflix bombards me with email about their programming I’m surprised I was unaware of this. And now that I am, I’ll promptly forget it.
Michael, Netflix won’t disclose how much they spent on DIANA: THE MUSICAL but I’m guessing they got it for a song.
This musical is a total disappointment. The show is nothing more than a recitation of headlines, put to music. There’s no search for motivation in any of the characters. There’s no allusion to anything more than a surface relationship among the characters. It’s nothing more than dead leaves on the surface of a very deep lake.
And the lyrics are insipid. A sixth grader would come up with a more complex analysis of events, more imagination, and much more sophisticated lyrics. Really. The lyrics are so mundane that they will hurt your brain. You’ll wonder how they could find backers willing to risk money on this.
And regardless of the talent of the poor actors and behind-the-scenes production artists, you’ll wonder why you wasted your money and time on such an appalling show.
It all seems like just another attempt to use Diana’s image to suck in money, and that puts it in the same bucket as the paparazzi that hounded her in life. It’s an insult to the audience.
Onslow, clearly your opinion of DIANA: THE MUSICAL is becoming the majority view. I still maintain that DIANA: THE MUSICAL will make money because Diana’s many loyal fans will want to see it.
Meh. Can’t watch it. Too busy folding laundry…or something…anything.
Jerry, I’m guessing that within five years we’ll have robots who will fold laundry.
Love THE CROWN but won’t watch this. So few musicals now have memorable music. Where did all the great song writers for the stage go?
Patti, Sondheim is the only classic Broadway composer still around. The juke box musicals like Abba’s MOMMA MIA! changed the whole approach to musicals.
Not only THE CROWN but VICTORIA was excellent too. Zero chance I will watch this, however.
We have our own Royal Wedding tale. We were visiting with our friends in England then, went with them to Ireland book hunting for a week, then came back to their house in the West Midlands. The women stayed in and watched the entire show, while Bob and I (and a friend of his) took the empty roads to Hay on Wye, which we had pretty much to ourselves.
Jeff, Diane and I love VICTORIA. Diana was no Victoria, but seeing what kind of life she led after she married Charles gives some insights into why she became self-destructive and manic.
My mother and I had the biggest fight of our adult life over that wedding. Visiting at the time, I wouldn’t stay up and watch it with her. I should have in retrospect.
Patti, all my sisters were transfixed by the Royal Wedding. My sister Paula has a dozen books on Diana.
Not a Diana fan. Have no interest whatsoever.
Neeru, Diana lived a tragic life. This musical captures some of her angst.
2 hours you won’t get back.
Rick, I’m going to spend 2 hours and 43 minutes watching the new BOND movie on Thursday. We already have our AMC tickets!
Here in Hungary and Germany people are waiting for Dune and the new Bond film. Some of our young relatives have seen one of them and are happy.
I’ve never understood why so many people were so interested in Diana and her relation to Charles, generally in the activities of the UK royals.
My friends in London and my sister’s family there (she married an Englishman) have no interest at all in the royal family and would like to urn the UK into a republic.
We can call ourselves lucky in continental Europe that we (at least most countries) got rid of the monarchies.
Wolf, from the trailer I saw, the new Dune movie has little to do with the book.
Rick, I’m on the bubble about seeing DUNE. If it’s offered on HBO MAX, I might watch it.
Wolf, Diana and other celebrities have a Cult of Personality and their fans follow them passionately!
I have no interest in a bunch of in-bred Eurotrash!
Bob, I’m mostly indifferent to the Royal Family. But I think Diana got a Raw Deal from Day One.
I’ve watched it and liked it. Can’t wait to see it on Broadway.
It’s not the best, but it’s different and entertaining. They covered the whole marriage with all ups and downs up within 2 hours. Cast and costumes are sensational. Rest is “special” but fun and touching at the same time.
It’s controversial, yes, but since people keep talking about it, it will be iconoc.
I don’t understand all these negativity around it but I see that cheap british tabloids really want to spread hate against really badly. That’s definitely not deserved.
June, I totally agree with you! I found DIANA: THE MUSICAL different and entertaining, too. It’s supposed to open on BROADWAY in 2022.