“Diana,” a stage musical based on the life of the Princess of Wales, will premiere on Netflix next year ahead of its opening on Broadway.
The show had begun previews earlier this year when Broadway was shut down in mid-March to help stop the spread of coronavirus. With theaters shut for months to come, “Diana” will now open there May 2021 – a year later than originally planned.
Christopher Ashley will helm the Netflix version which will be filmed without an audience on the stage of the Longacre Theater and will feature the original cast, including Jeanna de Waal as Diana, Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles and Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth.
The producers have worked closely with Actor’s Equity Association on health protocols to ensure the set will be safe during the pandemic. Joe DiPietro wrote the book and lyrics to “Diana” while David Bryan penned the music and lyrics.
The acquisition by Netflix follows hot on the heels of “Hamilton” being a massive hit for Disney+. Analytics firm 7Park Data revealed this week that 37% of the research firm’s sample of viewers in the U.S. watched “Hamilton” last month. That number is sky high when you consider the biggest viewership across all streaming services the previous month was Netflix’s “Space Force” at 8%.
Source: Variety
