UPDATE, with statement from actors In a Broadway first, Diana: A new musical, the stage production about Princess Diana that went dark with the COVID closing just before its opening night, will premiere on Netflix next year before its new opening on May 25, 2021.
Directed by Christopher Ashley and starring Jeanna de Waal as the title character, the musical will be filmed without an audience on stage at the Longacre Theater before the Netflix debut.
A Netflix air date was not announced.
The announcement was made today by producers Grove Entertainment (Beth Williams), Frank Marshall and The Araca Group. Prior to the closure of Broadway’s Coronavirus this past March 12th Diana had examples started from 2 March with a planned opening night of 31 March.
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Manufacturers have partnered with Actors Equity Association on all health and safety protocols. Executive Equity Director Mary McColl said in a statement, “Today we can announce that we have approved a security plan for Diana. Now comes the hard part – taking a page security plan and putting it into practice. The work to provide the safest workplace possible in this environment will require everyone to work together, from the employer to every employee. ‘
Equity said the production plans include rehearsals, the recording of a cast album and the performance on the Longacre to film Netflix. The provisions of the safety plan include initial and recurring tests for Equity members, an isolation plan for the actors and stage managers, and HVAC changes to include ventilation requirements in the back of the house, among other things.
The stage for Netflix will feature the original Broadway cast, including the Waal, Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles, and two-time Tony Award winner Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth.
“We speak for the entire company when we say we can no longer be excited to share our show anywhere with theater lovers,” the producers said in a statement today. “While there is no substitute for live theater, we are honored to be a part of the quality story that Netflix provides to its subscribers worldwide.”
The staging for Netflix prior to the resurgence of the industry should be technical Diana the first performance to return to a Broadway stage after the COVID hiatus. Diana will also be the first Broadway production to debut on television ahead of the official opening night of stage production.
The musical features a book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music and lyrics by David Bryan, the team behind Broadway’s Memphis. The production marks director Ashley’s return to Broadway after his Tony-winning direction of the 2017 hit Come from. Kelly Devine is the choreographer for Diana, with music supervision and arrangements throughout Come from‘s Ian Eisendrath.
