Diana A True Musical Story

[BdwayLife]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:33pm

Hello, I read that Diana begins Broadway previews March 2/20. What’s the buzz? I’ve been checking this, and other sites, on and off, and am a bit surprised by the lack of coverage.  I have tickets to see the production early May, and am looking forward to it.  

Updated On: 2/20/20 at 04:33 PM

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:39pm

I would agree. Many of the reviews that came out of the La Jolla production were very mixed, and the Broadway incarnation does seem to be flying under the radar. I have a friend in the cast so I hope it does reasonably well, but it doesn't look good at this point in time (judging by lack of buzz alone).

[raddersons]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:42pm

Yeah, from what I understand this got negative feedback out of town, but they decided to transfer anyway. So, I'm not surprised it's kind of a mess.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:46pm

I saw this in La Jolla twice.  Loved it twice.  Don't know how it may have been tweaked since then.

[BdwayLife]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:49pm

Thanks Ado. Yes, the out of town reviews were divided. Several agreed it had great potential. Here's hoping the producers have a PR plan ready to launch. I will point out, after skimming through some dates on Telecharge, tickets are selling! I'm very intrigued.

[BdwayLife]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 4:50pm

Thanks Highland! What do you recall particularly enjoying?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 5:06pm

I’m cautiously optimistic. I’m still not sold on an American creative team telling this story, and it does seem like this show is lacking the buzz it should have given the subject matter, but I’m keeping an open mind and I’ll be anxious to give the cast album a listen when it’s available.

[Alessio2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 8:04pm

I loved this at LaJolla and am seeing it again next month!

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 9:56pm

I was a bit meh about it in La Jolla but agree that it had potential.  I think it needed a framing device, since so many people already know how the story is going to go, so it would be interesting to see it from a different take, which they almost seemed to start to do in the beginning before abandoning it.  I'm definitely interested to see what changes they've made, but honestly the lyrics to the two songs they've released (If and Underestimated) don't give me too much hope.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 10:06pm

I’m sure more of us will be at the Company first preview on March 2, lol.

Updated On: 2/20/20 at 10:06 PM

[gibsons2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 10:21pm

ljay889 said: "I’m sure more of us will be at the Company first preview on March 2, lol."

And then seeing Diana in a week :)

[NoName3]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 12:20am

Is it true that "Tunnel of Love" is the interpolated 2nd Act Finale?

[BdwayLife]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 5:31pm

Thanks Alessio, can you tell me what you particularly enjoyed?  Thanks! 

[dexter3]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 1:06pm

How did the musical come into existence? It feels like the kind of show that seems like a good idea, but in actuality is the kind of piece the world neither wants nor needs. What does the musical say in the end? What's the perspective? What's the message? Is it worth raising millions of dollars for and charging $150 a ticket?

I don't know anything about it, but from the song they've released, it feels like the kind of generic, sweeping, big musicals from the 90's that have gone out of style ages ago.

This is the kind of show that needs to way over-deliver to an audience in order to get word of mouth as well as ANY kind of interest from the public. It kind of needs to be unbelievably fantastic...because no one is really talking about this. Otherwise it's going to be in and out in a matter of months.

 

 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 1:38pm

The buzz is that they’re willing to take the loss in New York and hopefully make it up on the road

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 2:09pm

Iirc Christopher Ashley's note in the program mentioned it was to kind of examine the love triangle between Diana, Camilla, and Charles, as well as see how Diana paved the way for people like Kate and Megan by breaking down barriers in the royal family (which is even more interesting in the wake of Megxit)

[Olivia11]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 2:43pm

I saw this in La Jolla and felt similarly the way I felt about Summer the musical: a lot of great talent limited by mediocre material. At least with Summer, the songs were memorable. Here....not so much. There was exactly one song I remembered anything about, right after leaving and it was a comic relief song.

It’s unfortunate that LJ seems to be churning out musicals that need so much work and then they end up transferring “as is”. I can’t recommend this show.

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 2/22/20 at 3:01pm

It was a bit of a mess in La Jolla and nowhere close to ready for transfer.  They're reportedly rewritten the script (several of my female friends in particular left angry) and added seven songs but I'm not sure how much can be accomplished without some casting changes. I took friends twice and no one thought de Waal was at all likable or charismatic as Diana...some including me found Erin Davie as Camilla more appealing.  Personally, I thought Heart of Rock and Roll and Almost Famous were far more Broadway-ready by the end of their San Diego runs

[BdwayLife]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 9:35pm

dexter3 said: "How did the musical come into existence? It feels like the kind of show that seems like a good idea, but in actuality is the kind of piecethe world neither wants nor needs.What does the musical say in the end? What's the perspective? What's the message? Is it worth raising millions of dollars for and charging $150 a ticket?

I don't know anything about it, but from the song they've released, it feels like the kind of generic, sweeping, big musicals from the 90's that have gone out of style ages ago.

This is the kind of show that needs to way over-deliver to an audience in order to get word of mouth as well as ANY kind of interest from the public. It kind of needs to be unbelievablyfantastic...because no one is really talking about this. Otherwise it's going to be in and out in a matter of months.



Thanks Dexter, all good questions. You’re so right—no one is really talking about this show...  So quiet!  

 

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 2/24/20 at 11:55pm

The thing about the show in my opinion from the la jolla production was that I really thought there is something there. I do hope that they’ve really done a bit of reworking and polishing and development. I found the costumes to be superb. Some of the songs to be real earwarms. (Pretty pretty girl for me was one of them. ) but some of the stuff like the paparazzi songs need major work on song and Choreo it just kinda came out of nowhere and just strange.
Being a royalist I thought for the first time the love triangle was depicted publicly in probably the most accurate way.

unforuntely I can’t see this running for years. But I will hope it will last til this coming January and doesn’t close by August.  I can really see this doing well on tour or in regional productions 

Updated On: 2/24/20 at 11:55 PM

[John Adams]

Posted: 2/25/20 at 10:46am

I found 2 songs from this show on YouTube. I don't know if they've been cut for Broadway, or if they might be two of the 7 (seven?! - hmmm... add a couple more and it could be an entirely new score...) added for the Broadway revision.

What I do know is that I they're really awfully written songs. In both cases, the character of Diana has to spout sweeping generalizations that have been said about her (by the public and media) as if they are her own thoughts/feelings about herself.

In the song, "Underestimated", the character sings an "oh, woe is me" list of very trite, generalizations (flashbulbs fill the air, frenzy fills the night, etc.), then sings, "Won't they be surprised when you're underestimated?" ...but never expresses anything specific about her own feelings regarding why she is "underestimated"; what she thinks/feels about herself. It's as if this two-dimensional character has a portal to the future regarding what others will say about her later, but can't articulate anything about herself in the "now".

These are songs written by people with little or no sense of insight into who Diana was, or might have been as a real person - or maybe they just aren't good at articulating beyond sweeping generalizations.

>yuck<

 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 2/25/20 at 2:05pm

Pretty sure these songs are still in the Broadway score and were in La Jolla too. I think "If" is supposed to be Diana's 11 o'clock number. In the show's defense, it's difficult to say what someone thought of herself when she is dead and can't be consulted. Then again, overcoming that challenge is part of the writer's job...

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/25/20 at 4:08pm

John Adams said: "In the song, "Underestimated", the character sings an "oh, woe is me" list of very trite, generalizations (flashbulbs fill the air, frenzy fills the night, etc.), then sings, "Won't they be surprised when you're underestimated?" ...but never expresses anything specific about her own feelings regarding why she is "underestimated"; what she thinks/feels about herself. It's as if this two-dimensional character has a portal to the future regarding what others will say about her later, but can't articulate anything about herself in the "now".

These are songs written by people with little or no sense of insight into who Diana was, or might have been as a real person - or maybe they just aren't good at articulating beyond sweeping generalizations.

>yuck<

I mean, yes. But also, these kinds of trite generalizations and vaguely empowering lyrics remind me of the more generic pop songs. With a few tweaks, Underestimated could be a lesser track on a Pink, Katy Perry, or Kelly Clarkson album. It's not trying to tell a story. It's trying to be as vague as possible to appeal to the most people and it falls back on familiar phrases and ideas. Like, compare the lyrics to Katy Perry's Roar or Kelly Clarkson's Stronger.

[raddersons]

Posted: 2/25/20 at 4:18pm

^^ I agree that's probably what they're going for. I guess the question is: Should they be doing it in the first place? Pop songs are meant to be listened to over and over, so the lyrics can be a little vague and a little cheap so long as the beat is good enough to bear a repeat listen. Songs in musicals need to get their point across on a single listen, and so when they don't say much and aren't emotionally grounded, they feel cheap.

[Michelle chouraqui]

Posted: 2/25/20 at 4:28pm

Any word about a lottery??