Diana

Diana on Broadway Background

Diana is the new biographical musical from Broadway writing duo Joe DiPietro and founding member of Bon Jovi, David Bryan, that recounts the tragic life of the late Princess of Wales. The writing pair are best known for their previous work on Tony Award-winning musical Memphis and have also ventured into off-broadway productions with their work on The Toxic Avenger. Diana made its world premiere in early 2019 in La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre in La Jolla, California. The show was met with a warm critical response and ultimately cemented its trajectory to the Broadway stage. The main cast of the La Jolla performances all transferred to Broadway with the show. The cast includes the likes of Kinky Boots star Jeanna de Waal in the role of Diana, and Tony Award winning Broadway veteran Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth. Prince Charles is played by Roe Hartrampf. The production also boasts an impressive creative team full of multi-Tony Award winners such as scenic designer David Zinn, costume designer William Ivey Long, and lighting designer Natasha Katz.

What’s Diana Like?

Diana the Broadway Musical is a Broadway production based on the life of the late Princess Diana, Princess of Wales. The show begins with an older Diana looking back at all of her life decisions leading to her tragic demise. It all started when Diana was a young and naive assistant kindergarten teacher, meeting her future husband Prince Charles of Wales (heir to the crown) at a party in her family's apartment in 1979. The two hit it off immediately, however unbeknownst to Diana, Charles was still in love with his mistress Camilla Parker-Bowles, who he is unable to marry as she was already married and British law, at the time, did not allow royals to marry either commoners or divorcees. Charles seeks his mother’s advice on his relationships, but he misconstrues the Queen’s words to mean he can discreetly have both women at once. With the British tabloid media constantly pressuring Charles on his relationship status with Diana, the two get married after only 13 dates. Following their marriage, the entire royal family begins doubting Diana’s ability to be a “proper” Princess, and even Charles complains about her while continuing his affair with Camilla. After discovering Charles’ infidelity, Diana begins to wield the oppressive tabloid media to her advantage, exposing Charles’ affair in the process. Diana wears expensive and luxurious clothing as an act of rebellion and begins to publicly support what Charles dismisses as “ghoulish causes” such as AIDS treatment/research and Ugandan minefield clearance. These highly publicized actions show the world Diana’s compassionate nature, in spite of being betrayed by an unaffectionate husband, causing her fame to skyrocket across the country until she became the true “People’s Princess”. Charles and the Royal Family were unable to outshine Diana’s starpower and a public relations war began to take full effect. Tragically, this unruly period in the Royal Family’s history is ultimately ended with Diana’s horrific and untimely death in a Paris car accident, which turns the Royal Family into a lightning rod for criticism as they have some responsibility in her death and the legacy that she leaves behind.

Is Diana Good for Kids?

This production deals with sensitive materials such as, marital issues and death and is not recommended for children under the age of 15.