DIANA: THE MUSICAL On Netflix - News & Discussion Thread- Page 6

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 3:07pm

Andrea1232 said: "Just saying!"

 

And you said it very well, thank you!  

As I have posted before, I saw "Diana" on stage in La Jolla twice and loved it each time.  Very much looked forward to the Netflix showing, and was not disappointed.  Loved it once again, without apologies or explanations.

 

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 3:13pm

I finished this last night; watched Act II. Listen, if you've got 2 hours to kill and have a Netflix subscription, this is definitely a "so bad it's good" show. I can't imagine turning it off once you've jumped into it...and when it ends you won't feel screwed over like you might have if you'd bought an expensive orchestra seat for it on Broadway.

I agree with some previous posters that the British press and some people on this board were waiting for the opportunity to rip this to shreds...and for the most part, their opinions are fairly dead-on. I guess I just didn't take it too seriously and found it to be a sort of "train wreck" thing from which I could not look away. I'll also go so far as to say it had its moments, but they weren't enough to salvage this thing.

I wonder what critical AND audience reaction would have been had this thing just opened on Broadway without a trial-by-fire on Netflix... The show has been in development and was staged enough that had the reviews and reaction been as scathing as the current Netflix reaction has been, it never would have made it to Broadway. However, the toothpaste is definitely out of the tube.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 3:45pm

morosco said: "Did anyone see any evidence of any body mics? Were they incredibly well hidden or were they eliminated for the taping?"

They were mic’d for camera so they were able to use body mics like what is used on television and films.  It was also filmed in sections and not as one full performance (start to finish), so the mics could be placed in different areas depending on a quick change in the musical numbers about to being filmed. 
 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 6:14pm

Oh. Dear. Lord.

Due to this thread, I decided to watch this. There is absolutely NOTHING redeemable sbout this show. Not the book, not the performances, not the music or lyrics, not the set, not the choreo.

Character after character was unlikable. All conniving, selfish and bitter. Ballad after ballad was boring.. I'm fairly certain Jenna DeWaal CAN do.more other than stand and sing.

It felt like a best of The Enquirer.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 6:17pm

The only thing I knew about this before hearing it was coming to Netflix was that it had had a rocky start in La Jolla and had been through a bunch of revisions, so I went in mostly expecting it to be bland, but by the time Diana was sawing away on a techno-cello I was giggling almost nonstop. It's funny. The queen dumping awful couplets while her assistants gyrate and sing bumbling power chords, the squabbling gaggle of miserable Welsh people who instantly melt for her smile, the lyrics "All right, I'm no intellect, but maybe there's a discotheque where the prince could hear some Prince and we'd all get funkadelic", the papparazzi bouncing around like evil Newsies, it doesn't stop.

What really ties it all together for me is the breakneck pace the show whips through her life, which makes a lot of the lyrics kind of nonsensical. Less than half an hour in, as she's about to get married, Diana wonders how she became "this global fantasy", and so far all that's happened to her is that she went on a (1) date with Prince Charles and then was immediately hounded by the press. Ten minutes later they're carrying a fake baby around the stage singing "after all we've both been through, have we found happiness?", and it's like, what? What did they go through?

It's consistently misguided, shallow, and bonkers.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 6:27pm

Put me in the camp that fell for this hook, line, and sinker. Is the show cheesy and sometimes garish and over the top, yes definitely. But I feel like the show never comes from a place of disrespect towards Diana and her life, which was my biggest concern. I’ve been listening to the album and the music is actually quite catchy the more I hear it.

Far and away the reason to watch/see this show is Jeanna de Waal. I’ve been championing her as a performer for years, and I’m just so happy she got a role that shows off so many of her talents. I was also shocked at what a hard sing this show is, I hope a standby or alternate is ready, because I don’t know how anyone could do this 8 times a week.

All and all, this is fluffy fun, no need to come at it with your knives and pitchforks, if it’s not for you don’t go see it.

Updated On: 10/3/21 at 06:27 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 6:34pm

Wow. This was two messy hours. Diana is someone I have a tenderness for, so to see her life reduced to this bombastic mess was really sad. I think her story would be more sensitively handled by Frankel and Korie writing the music. The score needs some nuance.

I agree with others that there is way too much Camilla. Is she an investor? I adore Davies so happy to see her working. She deserves far better.

Theatre is too expensive for mediocre tripe like this. Jeanna De Waal is very talented and this musical fails her. She’s on a sinking ship. She’s great and fully commits to this terrible show.

Theatre really relies one some distance between audience and performers. Jeanna’s wigs look like heavy yak hair that were cut with a kitchen knife.

This show has some of the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard in my life. So heavy handed and redundant. It’s clear they tried to crib from Evita. It didn’t work.

Judy Kaye is woefully miscast. She looks like Ann Landers.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 10/3/21 at 8:29pm

Every second of watching this, I could not shake this distant feeling like... I had seen this before. What was this feeling? And then it HIT me... I felt like I was watching Smash. Yes, as in the TV show. Maybe it is the way it was filmed but it felt like if Smash had been around the writing of a Diana musical instead of a Marilyn one, THIS would be it.

The musical numbers feel disjointed from one another yet I could picture them fitting scrambled up and spread out over the span of Smash, with the songs and scenes supporting events happening in the making of the musical plotline. Every one of these songs is so overly emotionally charged it never breathes long enough to let my absorb it. And everything is oozing with an edge of camp to it yet it's trying to be serious.

So then after pushing myself past that, I ended up feeling it was okay but unable to get over how it both was trying to make me hate and also kind of feel for Camila and Charlie's love affair at the same? How am I suppose to know how to feel about them and it when the musical can't decide for itself?

Is it a good musical? GOD no. But it has some good moments, they just don't go well together as a completed work from start to finish. And that goes back to that feeling like watching a Smash musical. Watching the songs on their own would I feel be more enjoyable then watching them as a full length musical like I just did.

[Showhopper2]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 1:25am

https://people.com/royals/princess-diana-musical-netflix-fact-vs-fiction/

Interesting read...

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 6:45am

The more I think about this show since watching it on Friday, the less I like it. I had been intrigued and had a ticket to see it that I still planned on using even after watching the Netflix filming on Friday. However, I have since returned that ticket. The show is just plain bad. There's really no other word for it.

The whole thing plays like a cliff notes version of a Wikipedia page. The pace is way too fast. There are so many absolutely cringeworthy moments including every Barbara Cartland and James Hewitt appearance and the confrontation between Diana and Camilla staged in a boxing ring. The final song, while pretty and effective, loses all its meaning by the final moment in the show.

I think there are some genuinely beautiful moments. "I Will" is such a pretty song, and the staging is very effective. However, for every great moment, there are ten bad moments. I think Bettyboy made an excellent point about having the likes of Frankel and Korie helming this. Her story is very fascinating and has potential to make a great musical, but what we have now isn't it.

[bearhorn]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 7:14am

Well, I'm so glad to have Broadway "back" and excited for my November trip (Caroline, Or Change, Six & Lehman Trilogy).  "Diana" really wasn't my radar for this Fall, but was glad to see another show filmed for streaming - though I really questioned the marketing strategy behind this considering the production opens in a month.

Jeanna de Waal is good as Diana. Pretty. Nice voice. But the material given her and the remaining cast [especially for Judy Kaye (who I love) as the Queen] was pretty clunky and pedestrian. Especially the lyrics. Just wow.

IMO, the final song was the best of the bunch, but I predict this debacle closes early next year. At least you can see Broadway without flying to New York… though I’m not sure this show is worth the monthly cost of Netflix.

[Andrea1232]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 9:54am

Miles2Go2 said: "“ I've never said that the book is perfect. Did I?
But the story itself got also critisized in a very harsh way, and you even told by yourself that it's the same shown in "The Crown" where they won Emmys for. So what is the point here?

And it would be interesting to know why most people liked it in the previews, and why they liked the cast-album and why most people here liked it what they saw on Friday.
The lyrics had been the same.

Just saying!”

The lyrics aren’t just not “perfect”. Their horrible. There are no bad ideas for a musical. Just bad execution. This is bad execution.

I don’t know where you’re getting this idea that so many people loved it in previews or love the cast album or liked it here on Friday. I suspect that is demonstrably untrue on all accounts.

I’m glad that you enjoy it. But that doesn’t mean other people have to enjoy it. Just like you’re entitled to believe that the scores of Wiicked & Chicago are not as good as this even though I wholeheartedly disagree.

I suspect that people that attend this either bought their tickets before they knew what they were in for, or bought their tickets because they wanted to see a guilty pleasure, or to a lesser extent, like you, saw the Netflix filming and thought they really liked it."

"I SUSPECT"?
To read what you SUSPECT doesn't mean ANYTHING!
Blaiming me to share untrue facts, because you SUSPECT it to be different  is just rediculous!  

Before I posted my lines I read what's been shared about the previews  and cast album here, MOST of it was positive! 
I also checked what people shared here right after Diana has been released last Friday, - the first reviews have been surprisingly positive (before all the negativity have been around)
And yes, some bought tickets WHILE watching it, no matter if you agree with it and no matter on what you "suspect" 

You can have your opinion, - that's fine, but calling me a liar bec you don't like what I shared is just lame and makes clear what to think about you and your posts. 
 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 9:59am

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 10:29am

I think the refund policy is going to hurt this show. I can see people opting out who already have tickets. We've never had the ability before to see a show on TV first and then be offered the option of a refund. If I had purchased a ticket prior to the broadcast, I'd definitely be getting a refund. 

I noticed puckering on dress seams and things like that. Nothing pulls me out of something like seeing a Royal with a poorly made garment, especially one being touted as couture. HD is an imperfection's worst nightmare. I think theatre is illusion based on some level and isn't designed to be seen in HD. 

De Waal doesn't read soft to me at all. Diana, to me, always had a softness, a vulnerability that people warmed to. It is what made her an icon. I get none of that from Jeanna. I find her very butch and aggressive. 

Updated On: 10/4/21 at 10:29 AM

[Playbill_Trash]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:14am

Very clever marketing to say this was filmed without an audience “on purpose”

After watching this, I would believe it if this was a filming of either:

1) a random preview where people could have showed up, but didn’t

Or 2) a packed house where the audience genuinely reacted to what they saw onstage - with silence

This gave it the awkwardness of the first NBC live musicals

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:39am

This was filmed during COVID and is one of the first projects to go into production when protocols were being implemented. The announcement that it would be filmed came out until August 2020 - a few months into the global shutdown. Filming without an audience was the only way this could be filmed - it wasn’t an optional decision they agreed on. The entire cast and crew had to be quarantined together for 2 weeks just to be able to film this AND they still followed COVID protocols with masks on at all times until filming. This wasn’t filmed as a single performance from start to finish. It was filmed in sections like a film then edited as one single performance.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:45am

FWIW, I had no problems with filming and editing work. I think they did a remarkable job with the capture, and I was not bothered at all by the lack of an audience.

[Playbill_Trash]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:52am

BrodyFosse123 said: "This was filmed during COVID and is one of the first projects to go into production when protocols were being implemented. The announcement that it would be filmed came out until August 2020 - a few months into the global shutdown. Filming without an audience was the only way this could be filmed - it wasn’t an optional decision they agreed on. The entire cast and crew had to be quarantined together for 2 weeks just to be able to film this AND they still followed COVID protocols with masks on at all times until filming. This wasn’t filmed as a single performance from start to finish. It was filmed in sections like a film then edited as one single performance. "

Understood; and excuse my failed attempt at sarcasm as I knew all of those logistics as they were announced.

My point is, I bet once this opens the audience reaction will sound a lot like what’s in this recording. This show is insultingly awful.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 11:59am

You also think that all traces of the show will be gone from the Longacre a week after opening night. We get that you hate the show, but why so hyperbolic? Obviously, there will be applause in the theatre when it's performed in front of an audience.

Updated On: 10/4/21 at 11:59 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 1:07pm

I love the way it plays on film without the applause breaks. I imagine that contributes to the breakneck pace mentioned above. There will be applause in the theatre (even if it’s just polite applause) and it likely won’t feel so frenetic seeing it live.

[Playbill_Trash]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 1:30pm

TaffyDavenport said: "You also think that all traces of the show will be gone from the Longacre a week after opening night. We get that you hate the show, but why sohyperbolic?Obviously, there will be applause in the theatre when it's performed in front of an audience."

You're right, that’s on me. I must be the first person on these message boards to use hyperbole or any type of turn of phrase when expressing their opinions. I didn’t know I was dealing with the logic of Amelia Bedelia here. 

[denali.fire]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 2:14pm

TaffyDavenport said: "You also think that all traces of the show will be gone from the Longacre a week after opening night. We get that you hate the show, but why sohyperbolic?Obviously, there will be applause in the theatre when it's performed in front of an audience."

Yes. There we will be a resounding applause....when it is over .

[denali.fire]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 2:17pm

Playbill_Trash said: "TaffyDavenport said: "You also think that all traces of the show will be gone from the Longacre a week after opening night. We get that you hate the show, but why sohyperbolic?Obviously, there will be applause in the theatre when it's performed in front of an audience."

You're right, that’s on me. I must be the first person on these message boards to use hyperbole or any type of turn of phrase when expressing their opinions. I didn’t know I was dealing with the logic of Amelia Bedelia here."

I'll bet Amelia is a close relative of Karen

 

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 3:18pm

Princeton2 said: 
It's an easy watch on Netflix, but definitely not something I'd want to pay over $100 for to see live"...

 

AGREED 100%...

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/4/21 at 3:56pm

TheaterMania Review