DIANA Reviews — Page 5

Saw Friday night's performance.

Quite honestly, Diana was the type of show I needed after news of Sondheim's death broke late this afternoon. I walked into the Longacre with a heavy heart, but was then treated with a musical that didn't take itself so seriously, was high camp, and had some pretty good singers on display. Even with its sophomoric lyrics and iffy book (plus a miscast Judy Kaye, unexpectedly), it felt like a nice temporary escape. I liked this more than I thought I would given the circumstances... and yes, it does play out MUCH better in front of an audience. That element is obviously missing from the Netflix capture. The audience was mainly polite (thank God), with some of the costume changes and Hewitt's shirtless entrance getting some nice applause. There are three main stars of the show IMO: 1) Jeanna de Waal's performance, 2) William Ivey Long's costumes, and 3) Ian Eisendrath's underrated vocal arrangements. The ensemble sounds great in each of their numbers. 

Some tidbits / changes made since Netflix + Broadway previews:

I don't recall hearing the opening guitar fanfare from the cast album. The first people we see on stage are now the paparazzi, who, cameras in hand, sing "Was there ever a greater tabloid tale?" That leads into a short musical intro, and Diana enters and sings "Underestimated."

There are some slight lyric changes / additions to "The Worst Job in England."

"Happiness": We already know about the changing of "So let me say, jolly well done" to "Suddenly our lives have begun", but "Harry, my ginger-haired son..." has also now become "Harry, my sweet little one / You'll always be second to none". Better.

The title song got some applause today - Roe Hartrampf really lashed out at Jeanna at my performance. No unruly audience behavior this time.

The applause for Diana's final costume change at the end of "Pretty, Pretty Girl" was pretty loud and I could barely hear her final "... in a dress" before blackout. "Let It Go" 2.0.

Act Two was mostly the same. "I'm sick, but not blind" (in "Secrets and Lies" and "Actually, it's 'Your Royal Highness'" (in "The Main Event" were better-received than "Serves me right for marrying a Scorpio."

The audience ate up "The Dress" from that first little tirade of f-bombs, and the applause built up again when Diana stepped out in that black chiffon top.

That new conclusion post-death: BETTER. I know it's only 30 seconds or so, but it's a noticeable improvement (and the key remains C major like before). Female ensemble echoes quietly: "My future's my design / My story finally mine / As I light the world..." Those last five words gets an ensemble overlap with the men as it builds to a crescendo... then, all in unison, "I'LL LIGHT THE WOOOOORLD." Ensemble comes forward (no Charles, Queen, or Camilla), music ends emphatically, end of show. 

 

The house was well-sold tonight; very encouraging to see especially on the heels of such brutal reviews last week. No understudies or swings were on. I spoke with Ted after the show and was delighted to see me again. He really is killing it down in that pit and it sounds like such a fun 80s rock pastiche score to play every day. I was waiting in line to get in the theatre before the show and I saw / met Kristen Faith Oei, who was about to walk through the stage door. She's so sweet.

I never thought I would say this given the show's reviews and overall reception on these boards, but I enjoyed myself tonight. I'm glad I saw this one. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 11/27/21 at 12:42 AM

I feel that many people (at least on this board) think they need to defend the fact that they loved the show. No need to make excuses for loving it because the musical is a real treat even if you aren't high. I enjoyed it immensely as well as people around me. 

gibsons2 said: "I feel that many people (at least on this board) think they need to defend the fact that they loved the show. No need to make excuses for loving it because the musical is a real treat even if you aren't high. I enjoyed it immensely as well as people around me."

Not surprising that people feel that they have to defend themselves after reading what's going on on this board. 

I loved it  and I will go there again!
I'm glad to find more and more positive reviews and opinions. online now.  This cast deserves it! 

everythingtaboo said: "I'll admit, every time I want to put in on Netflix...I end up watching something else.

But my question is: they've always seemed to portray this musical as anything but campy. Is the campiness intentional at the start, or are they just leaning into it now because it's easier to be laughed with than laughed at?"

I can’t believe that people are still discussing this, after watching scenes like J.Hewitt’s appearance?
Is there someone out there who ever thought that this was meant to be serious?

 It’s a musical about her real life, yes, but where is it said that life can’t be campy or fun at times?
 

They didn’t change anything, besides they call themselves being the „peoples musical“ now, after they realized that the audience seems to like it.

If you have the chance, - plz quit watching it on Netflix and go there to see it live. You can't compare the experience. 

Updated On: 11/29/21 at 12:00 PM

Kad said: "Showhopper2 said: "everythingtaboo said: "I'll admit, every time I want to put in on Netflix...I end up watching something else.

But my question is: they've always seemed to portray this musical as anything but campy. Is the campiness intentional at the start, or are they just leaning into it now because it's easier to be laughed with than laughed at?"

I can’t believe that people are still discussing this, after watching scenes like J.Hewitt’s appearance?
Is there someone out there who ever thought that this was meant to be serious?"

"I never approached this as a campy show" "That to me is cheap and cheesy, which is something we've worked hard not to make this musical."- Joe DiPietro


To paraphrase Sontag... the best camp is made earnestly, not intentionally."

so what? This guy wrote shows like Toxic Avenger, and you really thought that he will make a musical being all serious??  
And you still think that scenes like the one mentioned above was meant to be serious??

Come on......   
Too funny, that you are STILL quoting this I can't believe that you are still sticking on it!
You forgot to mention how the interview continued and  that he laughed talking about different quotes in his musical. Seen it on video somewhere. 

For sure DiPietro and Bryan tried to tell her story in the most enertaining way from the beginning on, fun but also touching at the right times. 

This is entertainment! And people who are watching musicals want to be entertained! 

It seems to bother you much, that some people don't share your opinion and dare to voice this finally here. 




 

 

Updated On: 11/29/21 at 12:58 PM

It seems to me, that Flying Over Sunset is the bigger disappointment and book/score flop than DIANA.  I think most expected DIANA to be exactly what it delivered and there are still people (myself included) that still enjoyed it.  Flying Over Sunset was one of the most anticipated musicals this season, and  reading comments on this board, most have not liked it,  found it overlong and worst of all....BORING.  I see it on Wednesday so I will make my own opinion.  However, in terms of  "success" (define that anyway you want) at this point, DIANA is winning.

TaffyDavenport said: "Showhopper, I love the show, too, but I totally disagree with you. The James Hewitt scene is intentionally light and silly, not camp at all. Same thing with the "f*ck you dress" song. When people are talking about the camp value of this show, they're not talking about the scenes when the audience is supposed to laugh; they're talking about the ones that are supposed to be serious, but end up being funny because of bad lyrics or dialogue. For example, the song where Diana starts singing in Spanish isn't supposed to be humorous, but it is (to me, at least) because it's ridiculous that she starts speaking another language for no good reason, and there's no way the creative team intended it that way.

"

Honestly.. I  don't think this is funny at all     <-- just my opinion on it. 
Many people express their love  with "I LOVE YOU" even though english is a foreign language to them, so I don't think that they meant it to be funny, - I think they wanted to express that D. was still in love with Charles and that she tried to tell him in every way possible... 

 

 

My husband and I watched it on Netflix over the weekend. He thought it was okay, a bit better than expected.

To me, it felt like an Evita knockoff without ALW's gift for melody (I found the music largely one-note and unmemorable). I thought the best numbers were the nursery/broken mirror scene and the "F You" dress. Sets, costumes, and lighting were serviceable, but I thought the choreography was uninspired and very much disliked everything (music, lyrics, and choreo) about the "Snap! Click!" scene.

As someone else noted above, I was disappointed that someone felt compelled to have an AIDS patient lament his loss of eyeliner. Also, the sudden intrusion of the author as a comedic narrator at the top of act two seemed to come out of nowhere and broke the continuity for me.

I harbor no ill will towards the cast and creatives and wish them the best.

Updated On: 11/29/21 at 02:28 PM

I love this show so much, I figured I'd go see it one more time before I leave NYC, and I was expecting to get a rush ticket easily and to my surprise, the theater was almost completely sold out on a Wednesday night, which is the slowest night, right? I was in the mezzanine and there were barely any empty seats and went to the bathroom and the balcony was also sold out. (they were out of rush tickets and balcony tickets)

what’s the cheapest way to see this? Is rush easy to snag last minute/ anyone know of any comps?

Ok. The marketing people are embracing the fun, even if it may kill you: https://twitter.com/DianaOnBroadway/status/1467606579176476678?s=20

 

Updated On: 12/5/21 at 06:02 PM

Muscle23ftl,

 

Just a reminder (in case you weren’t aware though I think you are) that asses in seats do not always equate money in pockets. When I was working there, there were an extremely large amount of ticket that I saw that said comp on them. And, within the past few weeks we’ve had shows where the balcony was closed which is not really a good sign. I wish this show, like I do all other shows well. But, honestly, I am not sure how this will survive past the holiday times. Hell, for a decent amount of time there were no pull quotes etc outside the theatre after it opened. And, they generally are there outside theatres as soon as humanly possible post opening night performance. 

 

And, Showstoppe I do get what you’re saying as it relates to camp and this show. However, a majority of scenes/songs were meant to not be funny were. And, the creators did a total 180 for PR reasons nothing more. 

Islander_fan, Curious...nothing more.  As a paid usher, do you have to watch what you state about a show?  When I was at Flying Over Sunset, I asked the usher at intermission, if he had seen the show.  He stated, "No, but I heard it was dreadful"  Not sure if he was paid or volunteer.  I was shocked that he would say that to a customer while INSIDE the theater he was working.  I used to be a volunteer usher until I got sick of dealing with people.  (for free) I would have never given a negative opinion about anything I was working while inside the theater.  Just not cool, in my opinion.   Now outside of working was fair game.   I also wouldn't have posted anything negative on social media in the event that Management  could possibly figure out it was me.  Again, I wasn't paid.  But they could easily tell me not to come back.

Updated On: 12/6/21 at 10:59 PM