Diana: The Musical
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Musical tells familiar story; language, sexual innuendo.

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Diana: The Musical
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What's the Story?
DIANA THE MUSICAL tells the story of the 19-year-old woman (Jeanna de Waal) who marries a prince only to find herself in a unique but painful position personally and publicly. Her marriage has a third person in it -- her husband, Prince Charles' (Roe Hartrampf) mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles (Erin Davie). Diana, too, eventually takes a lover in James Hewitt (Gareth Keegan), and the marriage falls further apart. Meanwhile, despite suffering from depression and eating disorders, Diana becomes the "princess of the people," able to connect with everyday citizens in a way the rest of the royal family can't, nor cares to. This enrages her husband, and the pair continue to spar until the Queen (Judy Kaye) finally grants them a divorce, setting Diana free.
Is It Any Good?
The royals continue to have a moment, and Netflix's streaming of this Broadway musical about Lady Di adds to the zeitgeist without breaking new territory. In Diana: The Musical, the star is portrayed as a pawn -- sweet, naïve, well-intentioned, and ultimately underestimated. It's not a new vision, fawning as it is, but setting it to song and dance is novel. However, this recording shows how difficult it is to offer a fresh or deeper take on such a familiar subject, especially while rhyming and hitting marks.
The power of a live performance is hard to capture on film, and theater settings look static in a movie no matter how cleverly they're staged, so the entertainment value of this film relies on fascination for the subject as well as the performances on display (film can offer close-ups you won't get from an auditorium seat), which are fine but not groundbreaking. The quick pacing from number to number helps avoid too many lulls in the two hours. But two humorous numbers -- the introduction of sexy James Hewitt and Diana's butler's recommendation that she don an "eff you" dress to spite her husband -- are the definite highlights of the affair, suggesting that this work would've benefited overall from more self aware and, well, more entertaining pieces like these.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the format (a Broadway musical) of Diana: The Musical adds to the body of films and series about the royal family. How does setting the drama to music change the telling of a now-familiar story?
What aspects of the mise-en-scène caught your attention -- props, lighting, set pieces, costume changes, and so on?
What responsibility do filmmakers and theater directors have to the subjects of nonfiction tales like this one? Diana stars here as both victim and selfless hero. Do you think this is a realistic portrayal of her and those around her? Why or why not?
Diana is said to suffer from postpartum depression. What do you know about this condition? Where could you go for more information?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: October 1, 2021
- Cast: Jeanna de Waal, Roe Hartrampf, Erin Davie
- Director: Christopher Ashley
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Musical
- Topics: Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More, Music and Sing-Along
- Run time: 117 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: Strong language, suggestive and thematic material
- Last updated: April 5, 2023
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