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While you count down the days until you can watch Kristen Stewart play Princess Diana in Spencer, Netflix has some new Diana content you can watch right now: Diana The Musical, a filmed recording of the stage musical that will open on Broadway in November.
Yes, you read that correctly. Netflix subscribers have a chance to watch this Broadway musical over a month before it officially opens. The musical initially began previews at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway on March 2, 2020, but was shut down just ten days later when Broadway closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But during the shutdown, a production of the show—with no audience, and safety protocols in place—was filmed at the theater in the summer of 2020. And now that version is available to Netflix subscribers worldwide.
The show was composed by David Bryan, with lyrics by Bryan and Joe DiPietro, the latter of whom also wrote the book. It tells the story of Princess Diana from the moment she first met Prince Charles, up until her sudden death in 1997. (Don’t worry, they don’t actually act out the car crash.) Jeanna de Waal, who originated the role in the show’s first production at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, stars as Diana Spencer, who was just 19 years old when she married Charles, Prince of Wales (played by Roe Hartrampf). Also starring in the show is Erin Davie as Charles’s then mistress and later wife, Camilla Parker Bowles; and Judy Kaye as both Queen Elizabeth II and Barbara Cartland.
While the real Princess Diana was a fan of musicals herself, some may find the idea of a Diana musical to be off-putting. After all, the intense scrutiny on her private life contributed to her unhappiness, and—according to some reports that the paparazzi were a factor in the car crash that killed the princess—her death. And yes, there is a song in Diana: The Musical that features photographers dancing around with cameras while singing “snap, click, snap” in a Cockney accent. So do with that what you will.
But the good news is that thanks to Netflix, you don’t need to drop money on a Broadway ticket and a New York City hotel to see this show. Netflix has invested in several Broadway shows over the years, including movie versions of American Son, The Boys in the Band, and The Prom, and hosting filmed productions of stages shows like Oh, Hello, Springsteen on Broadway, and Shrek the Musical. But Diana: The Musical marks the first time that Netflix has debuted a Broadway show on streaming before it officially opened in person. Could this be the beginning of an era of theater streaming? Only time will tell.
Diana: The Musical will begin previews on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on November 2nd, with an opening night on November 17th.
