La Jolla Playhouse Announces Another Extension For DIANA

Due to incredible popular demand, La Jolla Playhouse announces a second week-long extension for its world premiere musical Diana, from the Tony Award-winning Memphis creative team of Joe DiPietro (librettist/lyricist), David Bryan (composer/ lyricist) and Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley (director), along with Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine (choreographer) and Ian Eisendrath (music supervisor).

Diana will now run February 19 - April 14, 2019 in the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre. Tickets for the added week go on sale Thursday, February 21 and are available online at LaJollaPlayhouse.org or by calling (858) 550-1010.

"Performances have only just begun, but the enthusiasm around Diana has been overwhelming. The additional week allows us to offer even more patrons the opportunity to experience this brand new piece about one of the most fascinating women of our time," said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley.

In 1981, an assistant kindergarten teacher married the Prince of Wales and, overnight, became the most famous woman in the world. But behind the fairytale, there was a troubled marriage and a young woman struggling to find her voice. Facing an entrenched monarchy and unprecedented media scrutiny, Princess Diana surprises everyone - including herself - as she grows into a global phenomenon and manages to change the world. Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and the writers behind the Tony Award-winning musical

Memphis create this highly-anticipated musical, featuring an epic and sweeping contemporary score.

As previously announced, Jeanna de Waal (Broadway's Kinky Boots, American Idiot) will portray the role of "Diana." Joining her will be Erin Davie (Playhouse/Broadway's Side Show) as "Camilla Parker Bowles," Roe Hartrampf (Off-Broadway's Bad Guys) as "Prince Charles" and Tony Award winner Judy Kaye (Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera) as "Queen Elizabeth," along with ensemble members Holly Ann Butler, Taylor Coleman, Eric Coles, Bruce Dow, Evan Duff, Madison Noelle Hall, Shaye Hopkins, Nicole Javier, Justin Keats, Gareth Keegan, Nathan Lucrezio, Tomas Matos, Allyn Moriyon, Lauren Livia Muehl, Jamen Nanthakumar, Enrico Nassi, Katheryne Penny, Lindsay Roberts, Tara Shoemaker and Bethany Ann Tesarck.

The creative team features Tony Award winner David Zinn (Broadway's SpongeBob SquarePants, Playhouse's A Dram of Drummhicit, Peer Gynt), Scenic Designer; Tony Award winner William Ivey Long (Broadway's Cinderella, Grey Gardens; Playhouse's Herringbone), Costume Designer; Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (Broadway's An American in Paris, Frozen), Lighting Designer; Tony Award nominee Gareth Owen (Playhouse/Broadway's Come From Away), Sound Designer; John Clancy, Orchestrations; Telsey + Company - Rachel Hoffman, CSA, Casting; Gabriel Greene, Dramaturg; and Martha Donaldson, Stage Manager.

La Jolla Playhouse is a place where artists and audiences come together to create what's new and next in the American theatre, from Tony Award-winning productions, to imaginative programs for young audiences, to interactive experiences outside our theatre walls. Currently led by 2017 Tony Award-winning Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Debby Buchholz, the Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer. Renowned for its development of new plays and musicals, the Playhouse has mounted 100 world premieres, commissioned 52 new works, and sent 32 productions to Broadway - among them the currently-running hit musical Come From Away - garnering a total of 38 Tony Awards, plus the 1993 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.