A Painstaking Autopsy of Diana the Musical.
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2024
- Diana the musical is unlike any musical you’ve ever seen. With a life as interesting and as complex as Princess Diana, a musical centered on her sounded like a great idea, but things took a turn once the internet got ahold of it. How do we even begin to understand Diana? This video is a good start.
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I mean I'll be honest, making a Broadway musical out of a woman who is famous for dying a horrible, tragic, violent death, something that happened only a little over 20 years, is just kind of bad taste on principle alone. With something like Hamilton, everyone in it has been dead for at least 200 or so years. Granted, boiling down Princess Diana to "the lady who died" is obviously a huge disservice to her legacy, but even if she were alive today, the musical would only really go from "tasteless" to "tacky". To me, trying to tell a Broadway narrative about a real person from, again, not that long ago, just feels a bit strange? I couldn't tell you when the golden time frame for it being okay to make a musical about a real person is, in fact I'm sure I could think of an exception to my own ill-defined rule if I tried, but the whole thing just reads as incredibly strange and off-putting to me. I respect the creative ambition behind it, and I understand that the creators were coming from a genuine place of sincerity, but I'm still ultimately not fond of the idea of a "Princess Diana Musical".
This was a whole point I had in an extended conversation with Bruce. It's the same reason Six works better, because there's distance.
I agree. Especially because her death was due to the Paparazzi. Capitalizing on her life story this way is just gross.
Thank you for articulating all of my thoughts about this musical in a much better way than I ever could - the whole thing just makes me feel icky 😬
Definitely feel the same way, not just for this but for all the fictionalized biographical takes on Diana's life that have been coming up in the last few years. Like yeah, she's gone, but most of the people who were involved are still around. I don't know how I'd feel being in her kids shoes, but I feel like I wouldn't be too fond of all these takes on my dead mom's life, even if they are sympathetic to her.
Yeah I saw the preview on Netflix and was like this is nuts, but being a 90’s kid it felt way too ghoulish to even hate-watch for a goof. Which kinda sucks because it’s up my alley but nahhh it’s too gross for me I really hate the refresh cycle on Diana nostalgia we’re having this year.
I think it's only fair that we get to do a West End musical about Jackie Kennedy on this side of the pond now
Probably be better tbh
I want this So bad. Now.
I want this with my soul lmao, I'll be enjoying the resulting drama from the southern hemisphere
Ooh, fabulous characters in that!
Won't be Nixon in China though
Honestly, I'd be so down to watch that.
Suddenly obsessed with the thought of a mom somewhere collecting Pillsbury dough boy ceramics, crying over a picture of Diana
It's all fun and games until one of them breaks 😂
THIS COMMENT IS GOLD, I'M WHEEZING
Pillsbury doughboy would make more sense
Musical about the mother would make more sense
This is the season of Diana. Between this musical, The Crown, and Spencer it's a little ridiculous that everyone picked now to revisit this story. Let the woman rest.
IIRC there's a documentary coming out too abt her by the BBC or sth. Is it like her death anniversary or sth? Why is everything coming out now
At lesst The Crown and Spencer are objectively good, and Spencer isn’t claiming to be telling a story of actual events that happened (the film opens with a title card that tells you that what you’re about to see is “a fable from a real tragedy”)
Her kids must be feeling awful about all this - doesn't matter if they're royals, she was their mother and everyone around them is discussing their mother's tragic life AGAIN.
I think it’s especially poignant given the tragic manner of her death. She literally lost her life trying to safeguard her privacy and now she’ll never be allowed to fade into the background.
More than the Crown and Spencer, I desperately wanted to see a gritty Ryan Murphy Feud: Charles and Diana. I dislike how sympathetic everything involving Diana becomes...she wasn't a saint. She was deeply problematic in her own ways. She was a bunny boiler, a stalker and someone who called the paparazzi on herself, threw herself down the stairs pregnant and went out of her way to humiliate Charles and the monarchy.
The hatred isn’t coming from the actual quality of the show, it’s coming from disgust over a tragic death being exploited for entertainment. Also the public is going to see a tonal mismatch with the upbeat poppy vibes of the show juxtaposed with the fact that most people’s first thought when considering Diana is her death. The use of Diana’s death seems like a parody of musical theater you’d see in something like 30 Rock or Arrested Development
I'd see this 100% as an Arrested Development plot from Tobias.
There are a lot of Broadway plays focused on real people, like Hamilton, that one can argue exploits tragedy for money. Yet, few people seem angry about those productions. It feels that maybe this one was just made too soon for some people.
@@GenerationNextNextNext Yes, Hamilton also sucks
@@GenerationNextNextNext I mean all of the characters in Hamilton died well over 100 years ago so I don't think it's a sore spot for anyone unlike someone who died only a few decades ago.
@@jessicanewton8051 yeah, but what about Evita? Eva Peron was a real person who died tragically and the musical came out only 20 years later.
I still think the campiness would only work if it was a fictionalised story rather than about Diana. Reframe it like a Princess Diaries ‘common rocker girl marrying a stuffy prince’ and it could work, but having it be about Diana will always have this underlying tinge of ‘this feels wrong’
I truly don’t understand how no one involved in this show didn’t think it was in incredibly poor taste.
I think when you're that close to a production, focused on the mechanics of it, it's easy to forget that you're pouring blood, sweat and tears into a giant "NOPE."
The need the money! It's a job.
My teacher was actually a Diana understudy and said the musical was not factual at all
1. its a job 2. shes been dead long enough for people who dont really know much about her to not care about accuracy
@@julianadams5311 woah, really? Also I figured. It didn’t seem really accurate
Brendon, I usually agree with you but I gotta say, I thought the ending ruined it. I watched the pro-shot with a friend, and we were baffled by the first act but were on board for the second...until the last two minutes. It looked like they were going to end on a bittersweet but triumphant note, with Diana leaving the palace but looking ahead to better things, and yet we all know how it ends, etc., and that would have been enough. But after two hours of jerking around the tone between Mommie Dearest melodrama and high camp, announcing her death in the last 45 seconds is just a last-second, desperate heartstring pull, and showing a resigned Diana LITERALLY WALKING INTO THE TUNNEL WHERE SHE DIES is the definition of bad taste. It’s tantamount to ending an Elvis musical with him entering the restroom.
This is a really good point.
It's like that one Robert Pattinson movie that's been described as like "getting rickrolled by 9/11"
@@morganalabeille5004 NOT REMEMBER ME LMAOO
Lmao they really did that? 🤣 The whole idea is bad taste but this is Great.
Did Elvis crawl to death?
I agree that both Six and Diana The Musical can be pretty tacky. The big difference is that Six is intentionally tacky. That's what it uses to lure you in, only to then get you interested in who these women actually were aside from "wife no. X of Henry the 8th". It's not necessarily 100% accurate history, but it deliberately plays into the misconceptions to get you to actually care about the historical figures. It knows its own style and it knows what it wants to do. Plus, it knows when to get completely serious and doesn't mess around when it does (case in point: Katherine Howard).
Diana The Musical doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Does it want to be camp? Serious? Dramatic? And then there's the fact that the lyrics just aren't good.
also six feels more tasteful when its tacky or camp because these women have been dead for 400-500 years, while diana died 20 years ago and still has two living sons
I think this show was a victim of poor timing. First there was the pandemic and then they released the pro-shot around the same time as Spencer, which was telling a similar story but had a singular tone and focus. I feel like camp would have been the better way to go due to Spencer being the more serious take.
It is kind of uncanny just HOW MUCH Diana content has been coming out this year. I'd like to see Spencer rescored with the music from Diana personally.
OT, your pup is adorable. 🥰
Idk about Spencer because that just came out and not many people saw it yet, but a lot of people did just see that very same story on the Crown, done with a lot more gravitas.
@@alyzu4755 aw, thank you. his name is Milo
@@Phelie315 I forgot that The Crown had gotten to Diana lol
I really hope Proshots don't die.. because how else are we supposed to preserve these shows. It's already a shame that you have to basically go to a lot of strange lengths to get many of these broadway tier performances. What a shame so many are lost to time, both good and bad.
It kind of scares me that people didn’t know that was a dream sequence lol. I’m not a Diana expert but I’m pretty sure she didn’t usually wear tear away gowns to the orchestra lol
My only issue with that number is that it felt like there was no discovery of what she wanted in the moment. I think subtext wise it was saying “I want a husband and father who is free and lives life to the fullest, so maybe i can make charles into that!” but through the lyrical content it just made no sense, and there were no clear beats (maybe from direction) of her making that revelation. Not to mention, we can see how she feels about Camilla before the song and at the verse “All right, Im no intellect” so why go from “I guess its the royal drill, to smile a lot and sit still” to her wanting to hit Camilla? 😂💀 and i guess since the creators knew she didnt know much of their relationship, the lyricists then writes the next lines to be about Charles music taste rather than maybe being concerned about what the two mean to each other. And not saying you can’t write lyrics that inhabit humans random thoughts when daydreaming, but to do it in a short song/dream sequence isn’t going to say much about what the character (and the audience) discovers in those moments. Especially since the song ends without seeing the aftermath of her peaked fantasy.
Which goes to Camilla’s reprisal; again, we don’t get to see how Diana’s attentive attitude (and daydreaming) was perceived by Charles’s Entourage so her reprise just feels like it’s more so out of her own inner insecurities than a reflection of “the people” AND her own justifications… so it all just feels disjointed imo.
Also, who are her people? 💀
@@micahcook2408 yeah I can see how the tone shift maybe wasn’t there. I’ve just been on a similar note in my performances. Like if the audience just doesn’t get it how much of that is the actor’s fault or the writer’s or the director’s. I’m my case they’re all the same person:me. That’s just the way I got sucked into the issue I think. I love how detailed your comment was.
I caught it right away that it was an alternative reality/dream sequence...
Honestly? It's so obvious that's what it is, especially if you know even the slightest bit about Diana.
They should rename this show, “Springtime for Diana”.
Legit changing the title to this and the team starting to embrace how campy this show really is, it could maybe be salvaged
staaahhhppppp
The theatre's so obsessed
With dramas so depressed
It's hard to sell a ticket on Broadway
Shows should be more pretty
Shows should be more witty
Shows should be more...
What's the word?
That was the instant vibe!
The lines in the songs of Starkid's Twisted are way more effective and impactful to the audience, and that was written as a comedy/parody musical. Princess Diana deserves something better and respectful to her legacy.
is it just me or does the actress look more like hillary clinton than diana with that hair?
Nah, I was thinking the same
Yes I hated that wig they made for her
Bro I said that out loud!
I’m glad to hear they cleaned up the ending, my idea would be to use those gorgeous gates that they must have spent so much money on. I would like to have her walk through the gate, for them to close and then starting slowly and building to full on storm, flowers begin gently falling from above and begin to bury the stage to mark the outpouring of grief by those who loved her, mirroring what actually happened.
You need to direct the tour lol
But thats cheesy and not at all representative of her life outside of the palace. She CONTINUED TO LIVE IN THE PALACE BY CHOICE she never left it. She continued to live in Kensington with the rest of the royals until she died. She simply stopped carrying out official functions.
Michael Clark what a lovely idea 💛
@@caligulalonghbottom2629 It's symbolic (she left/was sent outside the fold of the royals), and the visual matches the ending reality -- the gates, completely overwhelmed by bouquets of flowers, mourning her loss.
I think the fact that the pro-shot was done with no audience also worked against it. You can tell that in comparison with the ones we have of Hamilton and Come From Away (aside from the fact that they are both much much better shows) there's just a different energy in the room, and they keep rushing from one number into the next to not create an awkward pause where applause would have been. There's a clinical feeling to it that doesn't work with a filmed live performance.
not to forget Falsettos!
I can’t stand pro shots that don’t have audiences or don’t show much of the audience engagement for this very reason
It is UNBELIEVABLY funny to watch this as a Brit because so much of the culture is wrong. For one, portraying everyone as poor and bitter in Wales is just...deeply funny (Wales is a developed and thriving country with many wonderful creative and vital industries) making out the public all adored Diana (very, very untrue, she was very divisive and even today it's about 50/50 on whether you loathe or love her), making out that Prince Charles desperately wanted to be king (really not true) and that Diana had a great relationship with her staff (many leaked on her and complained about her emotional problems). Making her out to be a ditsy cutesy princess was just bizarre when she was such a cunning, smart, and very PR savvy woman.
Totally agree. I am only half British, but God damn, is this just super wrong. Particularly the Welsh. What was that? That isn't even really a stereotype, is it? Wales is a very prosperous country, wha- what the heck were they thinking?
@@leifhelland6313 They are literally wearing rags talking about how they love to 'bitch and gripe' (??) despite having turned up to wave flags at the royals in a cockney English accent. It's so weird
I’m not from the UK but from what I understand, the only time Diana was truly beloved there was after she tragically died. After that everyone seemed to love the “peoples princess” but 24 hours earlier they were still mad at her for being in a relationship with Dodi Fayed.
Absolutely agree. Culturally there is no understanding.
British people aren't real what are you talking abt??
I mean…Six isn’t perfect, but its reinvention approach works and is a ball of fun and the songs are a straight up BOP.
Diana is…I don’t even know 🤣😂🤣😂 Tacky trash. That’s the only thing I can think of!
the thing about six is that even though the history in the musical is close to inaccuracy, we're still able to gloss over the inaccuracies because one we didn't live through the time so we wouldn't know 100% what happened and two because everything else about it makes it interesting to watch. with diana, this is something that happened years ago but there's still people from that time who saw these things happen and who can actually say what's accurate and not. and music and comedy can't fix that.
@@sams_not_here I can agree with that for sure. Doing bio pieces when many of the actual people are still alive is always a gamble…
It feels a little...weird to be laughing at the campy loose retelling of Diana's story knowing how it will all end. I'm enjoying the weirdness of This Is How Your People Dance and its historical connection, but that doesn't really leave the uneasiness underneath. What's next, a silly musical about that wacky JFK? A charming little arrangement about The Day The Music Died?
Edit: okay actually the finale being handled with absolute gravity after the removal of the Rent-esque message number is a plus, i will give them that
At least jfk was a politician. He went into it willingly. Diana was an abuse victim murdered by her husband's family
I mean, people have tried to do Marilyn Monroe musicals, but they’ve pretty much universally been failures. The most successful version to my knowledge was in the first season of Smash, and that’s a show within a TV show, so I don’t know if it even counts.
Sondheim did pull off a successful rendition of more recent history in Assassins, I think, but that’s because he had a fairly directed focus for the entire show: what makes a person kill, and what makes a person feel like they have to kill someone important?
There is a musical about Buddy Holly called Buddy and it's pretty good, iirc.
Yeah, when you're telling the story of a woman who died for others' voyeuristic entertainment in a Broadway musical, a form of voyeuristic entertainment... that doesn't work well.
I feel like making a musical of her is the after death version of the paparazzi following her around - it is still just exploiting her. I haven't seen it though, to be fair.
I’m curious if her kids were on board with it or not
@@manyagaver1946 Oh there's no way. Harry adored his mother and I think he would be appalled that this musical was created, and especially by Americans
@@manyagaver1946 They * say * they don’t even watch The Crown. And this wasn’t even anything tasteful or respectfully done.
it is…very…American. There is a way to make it tasteful. Embrace the tragedy not the sensation. Be self critical and meta. Be Elisabeth the musical. A goth masterpiece. Especially since both women’s stories are quite similar. Easy to compare the respective productions
@@melz6625 I think the issue is you should never get someone from an outside country to produce the history in another country. Outsiders just wouldn't understand how they can be disrespectful. I think many British filmmakers could easily be disrespectful if writing about American figures, too.
Sounds like they did a ProShot too soon. They still needed to iron out some kinks, but the pro shot locked them in somewhat to the version on Netflix.
I'd love to see you cover the Raggedy Ann musical! It spent 30+ years as lost media until September of this year, when the very dedicated lost media search effort found a full proshot of a performance of the 1984 production! (We were repeatedly told that no such thing existed) The show has a very interesting and rocky history, complete with striking controversy with parents and massive rifts between creatives working on it. The American company even went to Moscow for a short tour as part of a cultural exchange!
I think that the only way Russian kids learn about Raggedy Ann is through the "Rag Dolly" theater productions. I just recently learned that it was a Broadway musical.
@@fANYA_KOPlan yes! The show was a huge hit in Moscow, and it's very often performed in local productions in Russia to this day. Some of them even rival the Broadway show in their design! I find the Russian productions incredibly interesting
Ken Mandelbaum wrote about the musical Raggedy Ann in his book, "Not Since Carrie: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops" (covering a period from roughly 1950 to roughly 1990). There was a chapter called "Don't Let This Happen To You," in which Mandelbaum proposed several "rules" for writing successful Broadway musicals. One of the "rules" was, "Don't write a show for which there is no audience," and that's where the discussion of Raggedy Ann came in. Mandelbaum contended that the problem with Raggedy Ann, the musical, was that it was much too scary for the little ones, aged three to six or so, who are most likely to enjoy the Raggedy Ann books, while at the same time there was nothing much in the show to interest an adult, or even an older child. Thus, no audience--and the show closed on Broadway in less than a week.
Now that I think of it, I believe Diana too falls into the "Don't write a show for which there is no audience" category. As so many of the comments above and below seem to suggest, there just don't seem to be a whole lot of people out there who really wanted to see a musical about Diana. And so it closed on Broadway in--what was it? Four weeks?
I need this group to find a shot of little house on the prairie
@@keikekaze while mandelbaum brings up very valid points, raggedy ann was never actually intended to be for small children. pre-broadway productions were targeted toward "children in fifth grade and above." they were aware that the show and its themes were too mature and scary for small children and warned parents, yet because of the "raggedy ann" name, parents ignored the advisories and brought their toddlers anyway. once the show went to broadway, it was scrubbed clean of anything interesting or thought-provoking, in favor of packing the show with spectacle and fluffy song and dance in an attempt to ensure mass-appeal. an unsuccessful attempt, of course, as the show closed three days after its opening night.
I agree with you! Saying an audience will avoid seeing a show because they watched the pro shot is like saying music lovers will avoid seeing a concert because they bought the album.
Right. More often than not, they’re watching a pro shot because they already were not going to (for one reason or another) see the show.
I want to understand every single word and moment. Filtered through a sound system, no matter how good your hearing is or how good the cast's diction may be, it is still VERY difficult to make out every single word spoken and sung. Watching a pro-shot or listening to the album guarantees I won't miss ANY of the performance when I've paid 100-200 for 2 hours of entertainment.
A buddy of mine is in the show and he’s worked so hard and I’m sure it must be so disappointing to see to vitriolic hate. Thank you for being kind and fair, as you always are.
I don't have a problem with the performers, they're all really good and bring a great energy. My hate is for the continued exploitation of Diana and her life. I hope your buddy is able to weather this storm and have their career grow in leaps and bounds. Your buddy could maybe take the mentality of "if I can survive the fiery hate thrown at this show, I can survive anything", and I hope it never gets worse for your buddy than this. In the entertainment industry, beggars can't be choosers. I feel for your friend, I do. But I can't forgive the writers/creators for this grotesque insult.
@@EveryFairyDies thanks. I’m not meaning to defend the show. I don’t disagree with you. I don’t think it should have been made honestly. It is exploitative and I wish the poor woman could just rest in peace. And I definitely think fair and measured criticism is absolutely warranted. But I think, and I’m sure you’d agree with me based on your comment, that the performers bear an unfair amount of criticism oftentimes when they’re just doing their best with what they’ve been given.
@@alysaurusrex2166 We are 100% on this one, my friend! Do pass my kudos to your buddy, because (one second viewing with a friend) it's not horrible in everything except the story. My friend is neutral when it comes to Diana, and even he thought it disrespectful, but he also commented several time about how well the cast and the chorus is doing. So, break a leg to your buddy from us in full theatre tradition!
He shouldn't have worked on exploitative shit
@@LynnHermione They likely didn’t know how exploitative it was, or maybe even how bad. For theater workers, a job is a job, and you won’t know the details when walking in.
Wow. Once again you've managed to tell the story of a musical that everyone hates in a compassionate, smart way. You basically talked about everything I hate about the show (the inconsistency, dropping of plot lines that have potential etc.) in a way I could never articulate and sang the praises of everything I loved. It's so refreshing to hear a fair, well rounded review of this show
But wow I'm almost tempted to dislike after seeing that video of Prince Charles breakdancing. I'll be scarred forever
Prince Charles MADE this video and you know it lol
The reason why I personally didn't like "This is how your people dance" is that while it is by far the catchiest song from the musical (other than Snap Click, perhaps) it has no purpose and its placement in the show is odd to say the least.
This is the setting: Charles and Diana's first date; a classical concert she finds rather boring.
While the first part makes sense and alligns with Diana's boredom, the chorus doesn't feel allined with the rest of the musical. "This is how your people dance!" is the song's main argument...but so far there has been nothing to suggest that Charles is disconnected from his people. He is passionate about classical music, but that doesn't necessarily make him old-fashioned or out of touch.
Also Diana's "young and free, everything I want to be" just doesn't make sense: she is nineteen here and being courted by the prince of her dreams. Her feelings of being stuck and lonely should develop later, otherwise: why is she here? Why has she so eagerly agreed to date the prince of her own free will if it goes against "everything she wants to be"?
And then there's the awkward mix of modern and contemorary slang. "Funkadelic" followed by "Freddie Mercury would slay it" and the complaint that Charles listens to music by "dead, white men" in a single minute is corny at best, cringy at worst. Diana, on the other hand, loves living white men such as Adam Ant and Freddie Mercury.
And finally there;s "Perhaps this girl could turn him into a rocker". While one could argue that Diana already wants to change Charles as there are bits about him she doesn't like, it is still very VERY early in the story for her to be so determined.
The song almost feels like something that could be sung midway through their marriage, when the glamour of royal life has no appeal to Diana and she regains confidence that her life can turn for the better if she and Charles change with their times. This early in the story...Diana herself isn't a rocker yet, she is a conventional aristocratic girl, who naively falls for the prince. It is only later, after her character development, that she proves her unconvential ways.
Freddy Mercury was white “passing” but not actually white - he came from a Parsi Indian family and was born Zanzibar.
@schrire39
It kind of depends how people define “white”. People in of that ethnicity can sometimes see themselves as white, similar how to Persians do. But he wasn’t certainly white in a sense the poster above mentioned.
I find it weird when people throw someone’s race into the mix like it’s a bad thing unless the topic is specifically about racism.
When I first heard this was a thing; my mind went to “oh god - does seatbelt get a song as well?”
No brits were harmed in the making of this musical. (or even involved...)
1) The Dough Boy Musical is the "I've been in the kitchen" vine
2) This one goes right between Riverdale musical episodes & Dear Evan Hansen in terms of quality
Ugh, i hope this show doesn't deter pro-shots. Because I'm definitely the type of person that would go and see a show live if I loved the pro-shot. Especially because broadway is so expensive. It helps some if you know you'll like something going in.
That choreography: ugh. The bobbing up and down is something I've seen iguanas do. Also, the lyrics _are_ pretty much shit, both mechanically and dramaturgically. Did you notice that when Diana sings about herself, it's never in 1st person? That way, any "I Want" or "I Am" songs become "You Want/She Wants" or "You Are/She Is" songs, and it's impossible to warm up to such a detached character or root for her. In fact, I found myself much more sympathetic to Charles by the end, because he had to put up with this rather dull third wheel in his relationship with Camilla, foisted upon him by his family.
It makes me wonder how _Memphis_ won any Tonys at all. Was there just no other competition that year?
Which is sad considering that her mental health issues weren’t just because of this triangle love affair. It felt almost insulting that they made EVERY choice she/her character made as a response to Charles…. When there were other things at stake that contributed like the dynamics with the Press, Society, the Royals, her Children, Eating Disorders, Daddy Issues, etc.
The choreographer also did the musical Come from Away too.
Now I'm imagining the show with a full cast of iguanas...
okay, thank you. I want to be kind but the choreography was terrible to me. all that head bobbing contributed to the confusion regarding tone and theme. meaning is communicated thru movement too and all that choreo was very bizarre and was sending me in a thousand different directions
Seriously, I have second-hand whiplash watching these clips alone.
Everyone knew it was a fantasy/dream sequence, I don’t think the issue was confusion
Yeah, I was honestly waiting for more explanation after he revealed “it’s a dream sequence!” I was like, yeah. It’s a bad dream sequence.
My only issue with that number is that it felt like there was no discovery of what she wanted in the moment. I think subtext wise it was saying “I want a husband and father who is free and lives life to the fullest, so maybe i can make charles into that!” but through the lyrical content it just made no sense, and there were no clear beats (maybe from direction) of her making that revelation. Not to mention, we can see how she feels about Camilla before the song and at the verse “All right, Im no intellect” so why go from “I guess its the royal drill, to smile a lot and sit still” to her wanting to hit Camilla? 😂💀 and i guess since the creators knew she didnt know much of their relationship, the lyricists then writes the next lines to be about Charles music taste rather than maybe being concerned about what the two mean to each other. And not saying you can’t write lyrics that inhabit humans random thoughts when daydreaming, but to do it in a short song/dream sequence isn’t going to say much about what the character (and the audience) discovers in those moments. Especially since the song ends without seeing the aftermath of her peaked fantasy.
Which goes to Camilla’s reprisal; again, we don’t get to see how Diana’s attentive attitude (and daydreaming) was perceived by Charles’s Entourage so her reprise just feels like it’s more so out of her own inner insecurities than a reflection of “the people” AND her own justifications… so it all just feels disjointed imo.
Also, who are her people? 💀
I saw it the night before the shut down (It was a solid forty minutes longer then). But what I'll never forget is speaking to the bartender in the theatre. I made a comment that I was prepared to brace myself for a devastating evening. He just grinned and said "You'll have a GREAT time." And then poured more booze ( a hero). That set the tone for me
Props to the bartender! The ending was terrible in my opinion. First act was great, hated the second act…
I find it fascinating that the keyboardist for Bon Jovi wrote the songs. It is only logical to imagine Jon Bon Jovi singing these songs in rock anthem form.
RIGHT!!!??
@@WaitintheWings to be fair, ‘Memphis’ is good.
Your comment about Diana and Charles not really seeing much of each other at the beginning, and only talking to their close friends and family about the other, is very much how it really happened! The courtship was awkward and rushed. But The Crown was able to convey how much the rules of royal marriage turned the whole thing into a business transaction while also giving us at least 1-2 early moments that showed WHY they were initially attracted to one another. It seems like the musical could have leaned into Diana and Charles not really understanding each other and showing that that's a big Warning Sign, but they also wanted us to root for them.
I’m so glad to hear they cut that musical tag at the end! When I watched the pro-shot, I thought, “you had such a good ending if you had just done a blackout when she leaves! Why did you have that last 15 seconds?” I haven’t seen the stage version (probably won’t unless it tours), but the pro-shot felt like a show that would work better live.
I do really genuinely appreciate how fair and empathetic your takes are, but in terms of the raw material- lyrics, composition, scripting and dialogue- I honestly can't agree that it was an enjoyable show. The music sounded like half-listening to a classic rock radio station while you space out waiting at an auto repair shop. It so desperately wanted to be Evita by way of Chess with a sprinkling of Hamilton, but I never had a single second to give even the slightest hint of a shit about any of the characters. And for a premise as exploitative as this, I feel the ridicule of the lyrics and music are justified- any human being who's ever lived deserves better, and Diana certainly does too. In a way, I don't even think it would be saved by leaning into the 'camp' aspect as some have argued. Sure, it would have made for a better viewing experience- but what gives these men the right to use an abused woman as fodder for hysterical antics and over-the-top theatrics?
Though all of this, of course, does NOT excuse the disgusting way some folks have treated the cast, or used this as a chance to declare the downfall of musicals as an artform. One of the downsides of critique as entertainment is that more extreme critique is more entertaining. The way they talk about some of the actors is downright disrespectful.
As always though, I really admire how well researched and thought out your videos are, and I'm interested that the in-person experience can have such a different impact.
I absolutely adored Erin Davie as Camilla!
Her longing for Charles, while being in a complex marriage to her then husband, it was nuanced and so good! She made me a hardcore Camilla fan, something I never thought I would be.
She also acted “older”, so it was believable that she was Diana’s senior. Something I unfortunately didn’t get from Charles.
she was the best character definitely
But really it’s just because Erin is especially just a very talented actress. Her performance in Side Show WRECKED ME.
That is super weird to be a fan of an adulterer. Charles and Camila are awful people.
“Mom, can we have Elisabeth?”
“We have Elisabeth at home.”
Elisabeth at home:
omg YES thank you for mentioning it. I actually went and had to watch a full production version of the 2002 Elisabeth on UA-cam afterwards just to get rid of the frustration of such an unsatisfactory production. Elisabeth is sooo good. Especially with Pia Douwes. It is deep, empathetic, yet critical of the character. But it also includes broader topics of societal change and the changing times away from monarchies. This musical was so shallow. A bad simple recounting of her life with no deeper societal meaning.
@@melz6625 I was hoping it wouldn’t be as bad as the regional Princess Diana musical from the early 2000s, but they somehow made it worse!
@@melz6625 100% yes!
I've watched so many videos of Elisabeth (started watching when I was taking German in high school) and that is, hands down, my overall favorite. I really think it's Pia's best performance in the role, too. I show it to people every chance I get.
@@giovannirastrelli9821 Sorry, the WHAT?
@@amandalynn4979 It’s a famous Austrian musical about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, whose life shared some parallels with Diana.
Welp, guess I'll watch the pro-shot now ha. I was going to skip it, but I love your fair and even-handed analysis and now I'm curious (also, generally, love your channel and so glad I found it). Though I spotted right away a glaring issue with the musical--confirming my gut suspicion that had already turned me off it. He used the Andrew Morton book as the inspiration! Given that book was Diana very purposefully punching the royals in the face and it is 100% only from her point of view? Also super dated and skips the last part of her life when she did seem to grow a lot and reflect... I can imagine the musical doesn't exactly reflect reality lol/of course it's tonally uneven. Sounds like they needed a proper dramaturge... they should have called someone from The Crown! (season 4 very clearly drew heavily from Tina Brown's Diana book, which I rather prefer--it's more even handed to both sides.)
in the pro-shot Diana laughs sitting on a throne of copies of the Andrew Morton book
@@lucario719 Sounds accurate lolllll.
@@mrjmrj7646 LOL yes! I'm pretty Basic but I've always loved musicals :)
So great to see you here! I love seeing the crossing of genres/creators on this website.
As someone who just watched it, I say the ending was very rushed and now that I think about it, I didn’t like the ending at all…
I watched the musical in preparation for this musical, I’m American and know a little over the bare minimum of the story and it feels extremely offensive to Diana’s Legacy. Maybe that’s just me though.
Same thoughts I have. Like it might have been fun even if its cringy and cheesy, if only it wasn't based on a true tragic story of already dead women
Can’t wait for the JFK musical.
I thought it was unintentionally hilarious the way they turn her into a commoner and basically say she was a pretty lady who used her looks to get everything
As a Brit, I'm tired of her being lionised as some sort of martyr, take a gander at Christopher Hitchin's documentary if you want a view of Diana that alot people weren't comfortable with admitting at the time
@@BuggingonBeeroids same when you read about her historically as wasn’t perfect. She just knew how to use media better than the rest of them at that point in time. Yes Charles was having an affair but so was she and possibly had multiple affair’s. Yes it’s sad she died but the very members of public who were devastated when she died contributed to her death because they were the ones buying all the papers with her in. It’s a tragic story don’t get me one but from the way some people talk about her you would have thought she was from a council estate who happened to become a princess
Once again, I have to wonder how many people said "Yeah, this is a great idea!"
It's hard to believe this started in La Jolla.
And I certainly feel for the cast & crew. They work their behinds off, regardless of the quality of the material.
Also, I entirely agree with you on Pro Shots. There are a number of shows I've seen online or in a cinema that make me wish I'd been able to see them live. ☺️
Honestly, this pro-shot could benefit a lot from having an audience. A lot of lines that are incredibly cheesy feels weird because of the empty silence that follows it while I know that an live audience would have laughed. It's a small thing, but it would have probably helped with the tonal issues.
Oh, and I could feel the spirit of Dave Malloy grabbing and shaking me by the shoulders saying that rhyming is stupid.
You forgot about the incredible lyric sung by the paparazzi where they say photographing celebrities is "Better than a Guinness / Better than a wank".
SNL really outdid themselves with this musical sketch.
And “Harry my ginger haired son”
@@kristinazubic9669 And “I may be unwell, but I’m handsome as hell”.
I watched the pro shot knowing it wasn't going to be something like Hamilton, but I enjoyed it. I sincerely believe that we need more pro shots to allow those who don't have access to broadway (either for geographical or financial reasons) but like broadway to experience broadway. People think that pro shots are bad for broadway but it allows more people to experience it. And it makes you want to see the shows live if you are able to because watching a pro shot and watching broadway live are two completely different experiences.
Since you've covered Carrie the Musical, I think you'd be interested in covering the lost musical Raggedy Ann!
There's actually people who worked on finding Carrie who are now working on it, and the lost media effort has manged to find full proshot footage from 1984 that they were told repeatedly does not exist. And yet, now it's on youtube.
It went through quite the rocky production, with a creative team including Joe Raposo (Sesame St. composer) and William Gibson (of the Miracle Worker) who refused to see eye to eye on anything. At one point the show even went to Russia as part of a cultural exchange program, and got a much better reception there than on Broadway!
And if you're looking for shows with lots of script revisions... oh boy
I will pay for a ticket to the pro-shot of any musical because I can’t make it to New York and a pro-shot is the only chance I get at seeing a musical. So I hope that this doesn’t discourage future pro-shots of Broadway musicals.
I don't know what hurts more: Knowing that Diana: The Musical didn't go full camp like my heart wanted so bad or knowing that i can't dance as well as Prince Charles in that clip.
It workshopped at NYSAF back in 2017, and all I remember from that reading is "The Dress." I honestly may forget that this had a Broadway run.
I so appreciate how you always take the time to get some background on the behind the scenes, even the worst Trainwreck of musicals (which this isn't) deserves some appreciation for all the talented people involved in it trying their best
Also your mention of Fun Home makes me want to ask, can we expect a video on that gem someday?👀 I would imagine the process of adapting a(n auto)biography where the storyteller is still alive and involved in the project into a musical would be very different from telling a public figure's story, plus the way they use the stage to its full capacity to reflect the state of mind of the characters is something I'd personally never seen done quite so well!
I *love* Diana The Musical....Probably not for the reasons they were going for, but it's gonna be a guilty pleasure of mine for the rest of my life.
Exactly the right way to approach it! I feel the same way about this as I do about Matthew Morrison's Grinch lol
glad you enjoy the exploitation of a murder victim's suffering
@@LynnHermione LOL thank you so much for building me a strawman (:
That woman wouldn’t have wanted this….
@@ShelbyTaylorExists that wasn't a compliment--
I have to say i am extremely surprised by this review, bc this was NOT the experience I had when watching the pro-shot. I am the only theater person amongst my friends but we all love a good campy ironic movie (we had a great time with cats). And this was just not that. We didn't find it offensive or appalling or even bad it was just sooooo boring. Yes, every once in a while there is a completely atrocious rhyme, but you have to be paying close attention to catch it, and most of us just couldn't bare to look at the screen, we ended up talking over it or on our phones. Not to say its bad if people enjoy it ironically i just cant for the life of me see how it could hold someones attention for more than 20 mins.
Also i might be the only person in the world who thought the costume design wasn't great? Like she didnt look classy wearing them like Diana did, she looked like she was drowning in the dresses. Even Camilla who we are supposed to dislike looked better and more poised.
I thought the costumes were fine. I think a thing a lot of people forget is that a lot of '80s and '90s styles were overbearing and hideous and they really only look good on people who are abnormally stunning.
I goddamn hated the set design though.
@@Lilitou you know what? thats probably why. As i said I know im in the minority since the costumes are usually what gets the most praise from this musical. Its not a hill worth dying on. And the sets are the same for me, like everything about this musical is so bleh and unispired, it doesnt hurt my eyes but its not great either.
@@anamariaalonso7645 Agreed. I think the worst thing about this show is just how boring the whole thing is. "Uninspired" is a good word for it. The lyrics and moments that are getting roundly mocked are absolutely laughable, but there's a reason everyone's picking on the same stuff--the rest of it is so flat, there's nothing even there to mock.
It’s also that there are so friggin many of them. Considering how many quick changes there are it’s probably just that she’s not in most of them long enough to be elegant. When I saw it every single costume change got a round of applause and that was a loooooot.
Cats was terrible beyond camp. Trashy and low-budget almost beyond belief.
I feel so sorry for the cast being so excited to be on Netflix and then getting such hate.
I honestly think you're being a bit generous with it. I agree with the points that you made-that it couldn't pick a tone and that it did too much "telling" instead of "showing-but those really were complete dealbreakers for me. In the moments where the absurd lyrics or unaccountable recontextualizations weren't grabbing my attention, the show completely lost my interest. There wasn't really any point at which I felt invested in the story or the characters. I could feel the cast doing a lot of work to prop up the show, and that's a real shame. I wish those talented people could've been working half as hard on a better show.
I agree. I've thought about it so much, whether my own critiques were too harsh, but I keep coming up with issues. Every show will have flaws, but this was truly crushed by them. I agree the super talented people involved deserved better
the dream sequence scene seems like quite a ~choice~ considering that that photo of her asleep in her chair is not because she was just bored but because her life as princess of wales and pregnancy was just too exhausting and totally not what she deserved
agree
A Poppin' Fresh musical is something I didn't know I needed
I would love to see a version of this that really leans into the camp and maybe even pulls some from the British Pantomime tradition.
I also just want Pantos to because a thing in the states because I love them
Oh no you don't!
Sorry, have to do that whenever pantos get mentioned.
@@JorWat25 Oh yes we do!!
Closest we'll get to Pantos in the US will be Peter Pan Goes Wrong on Broadway, saw it first preview night and the actors insistence it was *not* a pantomime while we kept screaming back 'Oh no you're not!' and 'He's behind you!' to him. At one point he said 'You're Americans! You're not supposed to know that reference!'
We need to be more vocal about proshots helping the ticket office rather than hurting it. Proshots of concerts of big name bands don't hurt them, they help.
This review is better than a Guinness, better than a w nk
This comment deserves more thumbs up than I can give it haha
@@WaitintheWings thank you darling
The funny thing is it wasn’t awful as a proshot. The music is forgettable. The quick changes were awesome. The acting was decent. The fact that it was shot without an audience was super awkward. But was it the worst thing ever? Nah.
I think it’s a “you had to be there” musical - not great. But fun with a real audience.
Wanna hear what I believe was underused? Barbara Cartland. Had they stuck to use her as a Che/Burr/Judas character at least they would have held on to something that worked in other musicals. Am I right?
Yeah if she was introduced at the beginning; her Act 2 introduction was just so random
They needed a Lucheni that Elisabeth had. And also not be Americans telling a story of them as “ordinary people” as that completely misses how everything they did was connected to their societal status. If you don’t understand the British class system maybe don’t make a musical about English monarchs.
I had the immense pleasure of working at both the Broadway run of Memphis and am currently working at Diana. To see the contrast between the creation of each and the reception to each has been so interesting and compelling. You absolutely. nailed this one.
Want to compliment you on your editing. You allow yourself to take a breath. So much of youtube is go go go and they edit out pauses. Thank you for not doing that.
I watched it on Netflix and afterwards I was so untouched and confused I had to rewatch the entire production of 2002’ Elisabeth I found on UA-cam just to be able to sleep afterwards and not be too unsatisfied. My take away is. Stories on paper are very similar. Diana was VERY American in its approach of being super bright and chipper and not dark and sad enough. Wth all the song bled into each other and non of them emotionally impacted me. The actress just looked kind all the time. No other emotions aside from that. Her face didn’t move. I suspect the Hollywood standards and botox got to her. Compare that with Pia Douwes as Elisabeth in the absolutely amazingly anti-monarchist and gothic production that leaves you emotional for a week. Diana. Disappointing in its superficiality. Hence me saying it’s very American. Even the death scene was telling and not showing. And to have Charles, Queen and Camilla have the last words??? That was just insulting
I agree. Broadway tends to have a serious aversion to musicals that are remotely dark, Les Misérables being a very rare exception.
I think that's why they absolutely destroyed Tanz der Vampire, too. It's directly taken from an American film, for crying out loud! We even have video of Steinman singing a pseudo-demo of Eine Schöne Tochter ist ein Segen. It wouldn't have been hard to just stay faithful to the show (and cast a freaking baritone as Krolock!). They did Kunze and Steinman dirty. The Broadway version is absolutely nothing like the actual show. Granted, Tanz doesn't really have any business being as good as it is, considering its source material. I'm not sure I would call the Fearless Vampire Killers bad, but I would certainly call it exceptionally silly.
I finally watched it today, and honestly a lot of the reactions from Twitter seem a little over the top. It's certainly not the best show, but there were a couple parts that really got me. Those parts being Charles yelling at Diana about her performance at the Royal Ballet Gala and that the best thing she ever did was marry him (it made me so angry and upset that I cried), when Diana visits the AIDS patients in the hospital, and the very end of the show.
I feel like the ending was extremely rushed, and having her walk through the tunnel where she died…should’ve been executed in a different way
I feel like the reason the Guardian hated it so much is because this musical is completely cringeworthy from a British perspective - imagine someone making a musical about, I don’t know, JFK’s assassination, and it’s really cheery and upbeat and campy? But also like trying to be earnest in an embarrassingly off the mark way. And also it portrays Americans in this weird stereotypical way. But also like only 20 years after it happened?? That’s what it like from our perspective. So weird.
'Indecisive' is a perfect summary for this travesty. It waddled around myriad storylines with no particular focus. That the music/lyrics and book didn't meld is of little surprise because they all seemed to be poling their own punts...
The two creators were HARDLY “still growing up in the 90’s!” First Bonjovi album dropped in early 80’s!
this channel is now my go to for musical news , docs and vlogs
Americans telling a story of them as “ordinary people” as that completely misses how everything they did was connected to their societal status. If you don’t understand the British class system maybe don’t make a musical about English monarchs. Much prefer the genius that is the musical Elisabeth. Very similar life stories of two women trapped in palaces ans hounded by media. But Elisabeth is deeper. Critical. Gothic. Morbid. Tragic. Just overall so much more emotional. And they show her passing also as passing of the times as countries revolted against monarchies.
Drunk aunt here. I loved it on Netflix but your review and insight softened the blow. It was well cast, acted, sung, danced and really moved along. Visually appealing as well. I’ve seen and walked out of way worse (the Randy Newman musical) . Old enough to have lived through the wedding and death of Diana and this bit of fluff musical hit an emotional cord.
Saw the Pro-shot; imo, I think they tried to harbor on the “80s West End Musical” aspect way too hard with this kind of source material. Not saying that you can’t make a serious musical based in pop music and 80s theatre tropes, but the lyrics were rather lacking true meaning and it seemed like the music and lyrics both were trying really hard to be pop songs rather than looking to reflect the characters, their emotions, and their mindsets within pop specific elements. Great pop songs do the latter, even with repetitive choruses… thats why everyone loves Ariana Grande (for example, POV) or the Beatles (Because) or Beyonce (Hold Up) or Adele (Hello). It has a deeper meaning than just a trying to be a catchy lyric and have repetitiveness for repetitiveness sake.
Another issue imo is that there’s no breathing space/the show has bad pacing after certain scenes lol Everything happens abruptly right after the other as they try to cover everything that has happened within Diana’s life. However, ironically, with everything going from one plot to another, they make the main conflict of Diana’s existence about Charles and everything she does is in relation to/because of him… when irl it was also about her feeling insecure and out of place at the Palace and in higher echelon society, with the way the Press and regular society was with/viewed her, Daddy Issues, etc. That’s kind of insulting imo to make her every moment be about that man haha but back to the lack of space/pacing in the show, I wish they didnt go the Rock Opera (with scenes cut in between) route or if they did, cut some songs, blend some songs, shorten it up a bit. There are no beats for the audience (or casts imo) to really grapple with the weight that’s happening in the show. To not only really connect with the character, Diana, on stage but also the real Diana… to reflect on her memory; spark some inspiration to keep her legacy of spreading good and truth alive and out there. And because of that, I think it just lacks direction and tone; again, I’m not saying it has be 100% melodramatic and tragic, but at least give us SPACE/EMOTIONAL BEATS before going straight to the next number. It seems like they wanted this to be the new amalgamation of Six, Evita, and Next To Normal, but even all those shows, including the Rock Opera, Evita, has great dead space for emotional beats, even within the musical numbers themselves, AND ESPECIALLY at the end. The ending of this musical saddens me because it really could’ve ended on a high note but they throw in a epilogue statement from Charles, of all people (why not her Sister?? Why Charles??), and then add one more song to send off their audience… it threw me off guard tbh, and instead of ending in silence with the flashing lights to really encapsulate on her memory and death, they decide to really milk the drama and themes for all its worth… why not throw that statement/thematic element from Charles around throughout the story, instead of at the end, because that was Diana irl! … Why do all of that when your main character is dead and leave us with three characters who are extremely dislikable?? It gives the wrong perception to your audience to see Charles, Camilla, and The Queen as people who cared about her legacy lol and it also gives a clear misconception to the audience that the show is over when she walks off stage lmaoo 💀 however, Im glad they removed that song and the quote at the end in the live version haha
Another issue I have too is with the songs and THEIR pacing. I THOUGHT Act 1 was over at The Wedding/I Will or when Diana broke the Glass Mirror but no it wasnt 😭😂 Blame Covid or the fact that the show cant even decide what its going to be (since there are short scenes here and there) but I didn’t realize that this was sort of a Rock Opera until that point and when the first act actually ended. And honestly? Some of the songs didnt even need to happen. Like for instance: the two fashion dress songs that encapsulate on the same character motive/emotion/theme, or the song that Charles and Camilla sing, or the opening of Act 2 …. not to mention some of these songs go on for too long (*cough* like Him And Her) (because of it wanting to be like Pop-specific Music) and I reiterate again, if you’re going to do that (with acting at its core) there has to be a reason why they repeat certain lines and choruses because audience members (and sometimes actors) are going to have a hard time understanding a character’s motivations and feelings when its one noted with the same (directed) intention. With all of that said, I think this would’ve been better as a standard musical with scenes in between songs (OR if you want to go the Rock Opera route, take out all the scenes you have and make everything sung!) because some of these songs seem like filler and don’t really move the plot nor character motivation nor showcase the inner emotions forward in a play that is about real life complexity, power dynamics, fragility, selfishness, and drama. Like the opening of Act 2 couldve been Diana singing the reprise of the first number but this time melancholy and reflecting on her strained marriage and strained place with society and the royal family and thus seeing James as a means of toxically and unhealthily substituting/coping. But no, we get a song about how sexy he is lol Imagine if we had some dramatic character scenes with Charles and Diana arguing and/or Camilla and the Queen spying in on the couple! Idk lol everything just feels way too campy even for musical theatre 💀 It feels as if this is a show that someone who dislikes musical theatre would create or it would be a fake musical in a Netflix Comedy or in a musical comedy 😂 again, I feel like they’re trying to be Six, Evita, and Next to Normal all in one.
I think those were my only issues with the show... Just the music, lyrics, the show’s teeter-tottering identity, and the way the entire show was written and paced. I know the creative team is doing/ did their best and honestly, not every song nor scene is terrible/horrible imo; like there are some great dramatic ones from Diana and Charles, respectively, and the James Hewitt opener is fun, but it all falls short in relation to a life that is and was highly conflicted and complex like all of our lives. The acting was great from everyone involved and Jeanna deserves a Tony for this imo. She carries the entire show and though I don’t necessarily agree with the way they wrote her motivations, I do admire and praise how well Jeanna utilizes what she’s been given and creates complexity and a thrilling character drama out of the one-noted “every action, good or bad, I take is in relation of Charles,” objective(s).
Also… why did the Paparazzi issue not pop up anymore?? It appeared early but the reason the Paps didn’t “like” her, from what I remember, was because (1) she hated photos and (2) the kindergarten teacher photo, where her legs were seen, had everyone hounding her for it - correct me if I’m wrong though. Besides, the paparazzi and the press were another contributing factor to her mental health and they just… glossed over it with one song in Act 1. Why didn’t they write for them to come back during the failing of their marriage to torture her more, or bring them back post-divorce of post-aids photo, even if it was to “praise” her being the world’s newly appointed starlight?
It would have conveyed the dream sequence and the photo inspiration behind it if the costume had matched her dress in said photo .
That photo is well known enough and it seems like it would have made the total tonal shift between the 2 songs make more sense like oh the doubts, concerns and fears both women have about their relationship.
I only discovered your channel recently - really loving your well-researched insights and entertaining style. Glad to hear they have made some positive changes to the Broadway production of Diana. I never want to see any musical fail. Wouldn't it be a hoot if they turned this thing round and it became a sleeper hit? Unlikely . . . but here's hoping.
Oh please don't tempt me to write a Pop'n Fresh musical.
Thank you for this thoughtful and very balanced review. I particularly like your thoughts on proshots. For us in the Midwest, getting to NYC or some of the bigger theatres isn’t easy. The price alone for tickets is incredibly steep. People forget that and there are so many passionate fans that want to see a show and can’t any other way. I truly hope they continue or that the industry really tries to change how to make it more accessible for more people.
Tacky, in poor taste and entirely unasked for, but STILL somehow less exploitative than whatever the fuck is going on with Dear Evan Hansen, 10/10
The surprise of Bruce Dow’s face popping up was not one I was expecting, but appreciate! I did master classes with Bruce for years in high school, he is the kindest man and really loves the craft and wrote me a glowing letter of recommendation for university. He’s a Canadian Stratford festival legend. He was also in JCS on Broadway, if you can find any clips do yourself a favour and watch!
Okay totally new viewer, caught your video on Carrie and then saw this. I am not musically or theatrically inclined. I love both but have zero sophistication or education that's relevant. So I didnt know this was a thing but immediately watched it after your video. First of all your video, while informative, didn't spoil anything. So that's awesome. Also, as a layman...I loved it. I loved the switching of emotions from humor to empathy and excitement to a profound feeling of womanhood. But also...I'm gonna read her book now haha. I was a teen when she died so American media was what it was, I do know my mom cried. But I will just say, good job and thank you for bringing shows like this to light for us who enjoy musical theater good or bad.
i'm so glad i watched this video! i've only been watching musicals regularly for a few years, so i hardly consider myself worth having an opinion about it. but when i watched diana the musical, i thought "well, that was...something." even when i first heard of the musical i was skeptical. this video was a great explanation that i couldn't have articlated about why it was weird. the best i had was that the songs and story didn't seem like they fit together.
also no please i hope it's not the end of pro shots! it's so very true that seeing a proshot can often make a perosn want to see the show in person when otherwise they wouldn't. I wouldn't have seen a fraction of the art i've seen if not for proshots (and some youtube 'slime tutorials'). the accessibility proshots provide is so so so important if broadway wants people to continue being interested in (and experiencing) what it has to offer.
i love this new form of videos that youre making!!
Great stuff. I don't want to be that typical Brit who corrects someone over the pond. But the butler is Paul Burr-ul
That shot of Diana asleep at a concert was in the early stages of her pregnancy with William. Like many newly pregnant women, Diana slept a bit more and tired a bit more easily. Her pregnancy was announced just after that photo was published. Source: Charles and Diana, a biography about their early marriage.
Was announced the following day
@@sapphire7424 I'd say "the following day" was, in fact, just after the photo was published. Or do you just want to quibble?
@@onemercilessming1342 we can do as you've taken offence to my confirming it. It wasn't just after the photo was published, it was the same day the photo was published, cited as the reason she nodded off briefly, not out of boredom. Don't be so touchy.
I think I might be able to see this next weekend, right before it closes. I’m pumped.
I LOVED this musical and saw it 6x on Broadway. Much better live than on Netflix. That's so interesting what you say about "this is how the people dance" I had no idea it was a dream sequence.
UA-cam is so much better than old school TV.
You can just stumble across random channels with random people who nerd out about completely random topics and learn so much about a particular thing that you didn't even care about that it makes you intrigued to know more.
So wonderful to find someone didn't hate Diana the Musical and amazed as you sound for tthis show costumes which are amazing btw, it makes me wonder what would you have to say about 1970's Coco The Musical Starring Katerine Hepburn. Greeting from Mexico City. Love your videos
Hi Wait in the Wings! I am a new follower and I have binged every video you made. This is exactly what I needed. I would love if you could do a video on Love Never Dies, the sequel to my favorite Phantom of the Opera!
bro these videos are fire!! imma bout to go down a rabbit hole
"Diana The Musical" instantly sounded like a Saturday Night Live skit to me...
Oh hey my diana t-shirt just came in the mail and I'm back to say I would die for this cast
I suffered through the pro shot. I must say the last act song by the queen about the more normal life she had as an “officer’s wife “ was the best part and Camilla stole the show
I agree. Omg. "Officers wife" was the only song I felt emotionally touched by 😂
bruce seems so nice he has so much energy i love it
Glad to say that the first video released on the channel since i subbed
Id seen the spiderman video a year and a half ago buthad forgotten the channel til i saw the video again a few days back
Im not a musical person really, but this quickly became one of my favorite channels
I'm happy you've found your way back! :D
Hmm interseting I liked hearing that the made changes for the stage. I feel like your enjoy of the show does stem from how much you know from movies and the Crown. This emotional dissonance of understand these were people who went through some shit and already having opinions about it, especially how the media(and by extension books & movie) milked the drama and rumours around her life. For many it'll leave a bitter taste, for others they couldn't care less
I watched the pro-shot, and I think, with reflection, what really got me about this is how voyeuristic it is. It's a musical version of a tabloid series of articles. Like, they just searched the Daily Mail archives for anything with the word "Diana" in it, shoved them into a chronology, and wrote songs based on their headlines. The performances were good, the staging was well done, the costumes were great, but the story... was insulting. As a Brit, as a Canadian, as an Aussie, as a teen in the 90's who respected Diana, this was so disrespectful. If it was any other subject than Diana, if it was some made-up persons, or based on Diana's life but all the characters renamed and no obvious illusions to Diana, I would have thought, "meh, it was ok".
Also, as impressive as it is to hear that the actress playing Diana had a costume change every 4 minutes, all those costumes were really distracting. I found myself thinking, "oh yeah, I remember when she wore that", rather than focussing on the story. Which again, is this musical's problem in deciding which Diana they want to show: the People's Princess who broke tradition, helped de-stigmatise AIDS (even though they never actually say these patients have AIDS), worked to promote the suffering of landmine victims and adored her children, or Diana the Clothes Horse Slut who wore the best dresses to spite her husband, had an affair with any hot guy who crossed her path, and used her children to facilitate her infidelity by making her lovers their teachers?
To paraphrase an infamous meme: "Leave Diana alone!" Love her or hate her, just let her family have their memories untainted by all this cruel greed and commercialisation. Let her rest, heaven blessed.
I think she was able to raise her kids in such a way that they will always have memories unsullied by the tabloid crap. But gosh it must suck being them
I couldn't even get through the cast album...such a letdown after the great music David Bryan and Joe DiPietro gave us with MEMPHIS
The missed opportunity? Showing it all as a series of tableaux narrated and framed by Barbara Cartland. The opening of act two was so bonkers (your word) that I wanted them to lean into ALL of that. If it's a love story? Let the romance author tell it!!
This would’ve been a good idea! Missed opportunity right here
WOW! This is HOW a review should be!! Thank you so much! Extraordinary work!
I know this show isn't perfect at all, but I also know that I enjoyed watching it on Netflix and that I can't wait seeing it live.
The cast is doing a fab job, costumes are grrrreat and.. honestly.. I also like this sense of humor in it.
I have to say that I liked that the creatives aren't portraiting Diana being a Saint, they present her being a human-being, with good and bad sides, struggling, loving, bitching... but also helping people in needs.
I've heard that the team changed some of these controversial lines, and the end of the show, and we will see if there are other changes in their previews. It's great to know that the audience in NYC seems to like the love-version, and I hope that this show will have the success it deserves.