First Look! Princess Diana Musical Releases Poster Art Before Broadway Opening
Princess Diana‘s story will soon open on Broadway.
Diana: A True Musical Story released a first look at the key art for the highly-anticipated musical, using the late princess’s recognizable eyes to draw people in. The art features the outline of the upper half of Diana’s face, with a side-eye pose giving it a more mysterious look.
Set in 1981, the musical follows Diana as she prepares to marry into the royal family. The show also explores the aftermath of that marriage, from her husband’s highly publicized affair with Camilla Parker Bowles to her relationship with the press.
The upcoming new musical begins previews on March 2 and opens on March 31 at the Longacre Theatre.
Jeanna de Wall, who played Princess Diana during the show’s La Jolla Playhouse run in San Diego, will continue to lead the cast after its transfer. She will be joined by Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Parker Bowles (later Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall) and two-time Tony Award-winner Judy Kaye at Queen Elizabeth II.
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The rest of the cast features Tessa Alves, Zach Adkins, Ashley Andrews, Austen Danielle Bohmer, Holly Ann Butler, Stephen Carrasco, Bruce Dow, Richard Gatta, Lauren E.J. Hamilton, Emma Hearn, Shaye Hopkins, Andre Jordan, Gareth Keegan, Nathan Lucrezio, Tomas Matos, Chris Medlin, Laura Stracko, and Bethany Ann Tesarck.
Diana was brought to life by the Tony award-winning pair behind the 2009 Broadway musical Memphis, Joe DiPietro and David Bryan. Bryan is also the keyboard player for Bon Jovi.
DiPietro previously opened up about how he and his writing partner decided to turn Diana’s life into a musical.
“I was reading a book about her and I thought, ‘This is an amazing story about an amazing woman.’ She has this aspirational aspect to her where she really wanted to do good. I thought it was a great idea for a musical,” he said during an interview with LondonTheatre.co.uk. “I asked around to see if anyone was doing it — no one was — so David and I just jumped into it.”
“It’s very much about marriage,” he continued, adding that “the four main characters are [Diana], Charles, Camilla and the Queen.”
Fittingly, the musical’s original score features both classical melodies and pop and rock songs reminiscent of the 1980s.
