Princess Diana musical to premiere on Netflix before Broadway
After the roaring success ofHamilton on Disney Plus, Netflix is the latest streaming service to jump on the stage musical recording bandwagon, and has announced that Diana: A New Musical will be available to stream on the service before its planned Broadway opening date of 25 May 2021 – the date of its Netflix release has yet to be announced.
Diana: A New Musical is a brand new show which retells the life and story of Princess Diana, and had started previews on 2 March 2020 – with the aim to open later on in the month. In between that time, Broadway shut down entirely due to the pandemic, and Diana’s premiere was put on hold.
However, the cast and crew have decided not to wait for theatre’s to reopen, and have struck a deal with the biggest streaming platform to premiere for audiences digitally. To ensure that safety precautions are met for filming, the producers have met with the Actor’s Equity Association to put together a plan.
The musical is directed by Christopher Ashley, the story is written by Joe DiPietro and the music is from David Bryan. The original cast will take part in the Netflix special, which includes:
This decision will make it the first time ever that a Broadway musical has made a television debut before a stage one. This – and the wild success of Hamilton on Disney+ – could also be an indication for the future of theatre in the age of COVID-19. Perhaps we will see more musicals making deals with streaming companies – or even TV stations – to help keep their businesses flowing whilst theatres stand empty.
If you want to be the first to stream Diana: A New Musical, you cansign up for Netflixfrom as little as £5.99/US$8.99 per month, and you can check out some of thenew series and movies on the platform this month. Alternatively, if you’ve not yet watched Hamilton, you can tune in bysigning up for Disney Plusfor £5.99/US$6.99 per month.
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
