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Meet The Cast and Creatives With Tea and Diana: A True Musical Story

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What with Prince Andrew wanted in connection with Jeffrey Epstein and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry defecting to Canada, the royals have never been more in the news. Now is the perfect time for Diana: A True Musical Story, to opens on Broadway. This March at the Longacre Theatre the tale of the world’s most beloved Princess becomes a new musical.

Yesterday the cast and creatives invited the press to tea at the Madison Room at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, 455 Madison Avenue. Tea, finger sandwiches, macaroons, scones, pastries and champagne greeted the attendees. as a royal performance was given.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana were interviewed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s daughter, Royal Correspondent Imogen Lloyd Webber.

A royal performance of the opening number “Underestimated” was given.

Originating at the La Jolla Playhouse in California and this spring, it will play at the Longacre Theatre to a much larger audience.

Jeanne de Waal

Jeanne de Waal takes on Diana Princess of Wales. She has been with the show since La Jolla Playhouse. 

Roe Hartrampf

Roe Hartrampf inhabits Prince Charles.

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Erin Davie

Erin Davie is Camilla Parker Bowles

Judy Kaye

and two-time Tony winner Judy Kaye is Queen Elizabeth. 

Christopher Ashley

Christopher Ashley, who won a Tony award for his work on Come From Away, directs

Joe DiPetro, David Bryan

The music and book are by David Bryan and Joe DiPetro, who won a Tony together for Memphis in 2010. (Bryan is also the keyboardist for Bon Jovi.)

Kelly Devine

Kelly Devine, the choreographer from Come From Away’s is handling the musical staging and choreographing. 

Christopher Ashley and Kelly Devine

The script gets its inspiration from Diana’s interviews, Tina Brown’s The Diana Chronicle, as well as her life story. The show is centered around her personal life, and the famous love triangle between Diana, Camilla, and Charles.

David Bryan

While the musical, which features plenty of pop-rock numbers will epilogue using Diana’s 1997 death in a Paris car crash.

Diana’s infamous “revenge dress” that plunging black Christina Stambolian gown that she wore to the Serpentine Gallery summer party in 1994, the same night that Prince Charles confessed to his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles in a televised documentary is featured in “A Pretty Girl in a Pretty Dress.” Tony award winning William Ivey Long has created 39 looks for Diana to wear on stage. 

William Ivey Long

Clothing turned out to be her weapon of choice.

Suzanna, co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C. At one point a working actress, she has performed in numerous productions in film, TV, cabaret, opera and theatre. She has performed at The New Orleans Jazz festival, The United Nations and Carnegie Hall. She has a screenplay and a TV show in the works, which she developed with her mentor and friend the late Arthur Herzog. She is a proud member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle and was a nominator. Email: suzanna@t2conline.com

Broadway

Jessica Chastain Strips Down Bare A Doll’s House and is Luminescent

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In watching Jamie Lloyd’s version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, it feels like a scene study class. The set is stripped bare, there are no props, no costumes, no curtain, no children except their voices and no touching. On the wall is written 1879 and what was three acts is now one hour and fifty minutes, no intermission.

Jessica Chastain, is Nora who enters and sits on a wooden chair as the turntable circles about 15 minutes before the play starts. Slowly the other characters enter and sit with their backs to Nora.

Arian Moayed and Jessica Chastain in A Doll’s House. Courtesy of A Doll’s House

The play starts as her husband Torvald (Arian Moayed), has been given a promotion at the bank where he works. At first Nora seems frivolous spending money they do not have yet for Christmas presents, for everyone but herself. She is scolded, then indulged as her husband controls her world, as do all the men around her. When Kristine (Jesmille Darkbouze), an old childhood friend returns needing a job, she makes Nora also feel like her life is trivial, until Nora confesses she secretly borrowed money years ago when Torvald was sick and has been paying it off. Torvald is about to fire Krogstad (Okieriete Onaodowan), but we find out he was who loaned Nora the money and that she forged her father’s name on the promissory note, which is a crime. If this secret gets out it will ruin the whole family.

Nora turns to her her husband’s best friend Dr. Rank (the wonderful Michael Patrick Thornton) for help. Their chemistry is undeniable, but he tells her he loves her breaking the boundries and she can not confess to her indiscretion with the signature. Dr Rank sees Nora for who she is and tells her he is about to die pushing her to the edge.

Trying her best to stop what is inevitable Nora decides to commit suicide. She is sure Torvald will give up everything due to his love for her. Instead she learns and wakes up to the truth. She has and will always be controlled by men. The pattern started with her father and when Torvald learns the truth, instead of being on her side, he berates her with hate. When Krogstad has a change of heart and decides not to blackmail the family, Torvald turns back to wanting his wife, but the truth has opened up her eyes to a world she does not and can not live it.

Chastain starts off low key and like an onion, peels down to the core. She subtly steals your heart and has you cheering for her. She is seriously one fabulous actress, with her face conveying everything. She should win the Tony for this performance. Moayed as Torvald comes off as weak and ineffectual. You never understand why Nora has given everything to this man. Onaodowan gives off villainy vibes until he shows us Krogstad pain and heart. Thornton as Dr Rank, steals nearly every scene.

The language feels too contemporary and Lloyd’s directing choices are not always effective, but Amy Herzog’s adaptation really made me feel the power of the text.

The end made me want to break out and sob. Men, still really do not see us or the small sacrifices we make or the large ones done in secret to better their lives. We love them, but we need to start loving ourselves.

A Doll’s House: Hudson Theatre, 141 West 44th Street until June 10th

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Broadway

Theatre News: Smash, I Need That, Good Night, Oscar, Funny Girl, This Beautiful Lady and In The Trenches: A Parenting Musical

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The NBC television series Smash is coming to Broadway for the 2024-2025 season. Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron and Steven Spielberg will produce. The musical will feature a book co-written by three-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice and Tony winner Bob Martin. Tony and Grammy winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Some Like It Hot). The team earned three Emmy nominations for their songs from the “Smash” series will pen the score, which will feature numbers from the TV show.

Five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman (New York, New York) will direct and Tony nominee and Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse will choreograph.

The series was created by Theresa Rebeck and Spielberg, launch the series. Spielberg is also one of the co-producers of Good Night, Oscar, which begins performances at the Belasco Theatre on April 7.

Official dates, theater, creative team and casting for the “Smash” stage musical will be announced at a later date.

Speaking of the Pulitzer Prize finalist playwright Theresa Rebeck, Danny DeVito and Lucy DeVito are set to star in her new play I Need That at the Roundabout. The new comedy will be directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel which will open at the American Airlines Theatre in October. The cast will also include Ray Anthony Thomas. … Also newly announced for Roundabout’s new Broadway season is a spring 2024 revival of Samm-Art Williams’ 1980 Tony-nominated play “Home.” Tony winner Kenny Leon will direct

Speaking of Good Night, Oscar, Doug Wright’s play was named finalist for 2023 new play award by The American Theatre Critics Association. The other six finalists for the 2023 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award include: Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christina Anderson, Sally & Tom by Suzan-Lori Parks, Spay by Madison Fiedler and
Swing State by Rebecca Gilman.

Paolo Montalban and Anne L. Nathan are joining Lea Michele in  Funny Girl as Florenz Ziegfield and Mrs. Strakosh. Montalban and Nathan will replace original cast members Peter Francis James and Toni DiBuono, who take their final bows on March 26th.

Elizabeth Swados’ This Beautiful Lady will play at La MaMa this May. Previews will begin May 5 for the Off-Broadway run ahead of the May 8 press opening, with performances set through May 28 in the Ellen Stewart Theatre.

In The Trenches: A Parenting Musical, with book, music, and lyrics by Graham & Kristina Fuller, will receive industry readings on Friday, March 24th at 11am & 3pm at Ripley Grier Studios. The readings will be directed by Jen Wineman (Dog Man: The Musical) and will feature music direction by Rebekah Bruce (Mean Girls) and arrangements by Dan Graeber, Graham & Kristina Fuller.

The cast of In The Trenches features Amanda Jane Cooper (Wicked), Jelani Remy (The Lion King, Ain’t Too Proud), Christine Dwyer (Wicked), Caesar Samayoa (Come From Away), Max Crumm (Grease, Disaster!), and Vidushi Goyal.Join two bleary-eyed young parents as they trudge through the trenches and discover their new post-baby identities. In an evening of new-parent greatest hits, a foul-mouthed toddler zeroes in on “the most dangerous thing in the room”, tap dancing towards bleach, knives, and tide pods; a chronically-overlooked younger sibling sings the “second child blues”; a mom trio celebrates yoga pants in an R&B love song to the “official mom uniform”; dad discovers he’s not the “ice-cream and movie-night cool parent” but rather the “do your homework real parent” amid a kiddo sugar-crash; and mom retrieves a sticky, hair-covered pacifier from the floor of a LaGuardia bathroom while her baby screams bloody murder and her flight boards without her. 

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Broadway

Foul Play on Broadway

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Photo by Bruce Glikas/wire image

According to Page Six  a serial pooper has been leaving presents in the aisle of the Shubert Theater. The last incident happened near Hillary and Chelsea Clinton during a performance of Some Like It Hot.

According to a theater staff member other presents have appeared.

I am thrilled to announce that the show has been attracting VIPs including Steven Spielberg, Martin Short, Debbie Allen, Bo Derek, Eddie Izzard, Hank Azaria, Kristin Chenoweth and more.

Some Like It Hot, has some of the best songs, choreography, direction and performances on Broadway, so I am thrilled the audiences are finally noticing.

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