Broadway’s ‘Diana’ Musical Will Stream On Netflix First Before Debut On Stage
Broadway’s Diana musical will stream on Netflix first before debuting on stage.
This isn’t all surprising since the COVID-19 pandemic is presently affecting our lives including businesses and corporations, and the theatre community is no exception. The broadway world is currently shut down for the rest of the year, and selected shows will start to return at the beginning of 2021. With the broadway world on hold, streaming services were offering to release broadway content that can be available to the public during these difficult times. For example, the critically acclaimed Broadway musical Hamilton was released on Disney+ earlier last month. The film version of Hamilton was a huge success, and it’s easy to see why other broadway shows are looking to imitate the same success.
According to The New York Times, the Los Gatos-based company announced that a film version of Diana will be streamed on Netflix before its debut on Broadway. Back in early March, Diana began previews, and its original schedule was supposed to begin on March 31 at the Longacre Theater, but it was shut down due to the pandemic.
The news is out! @DianaOnBroadway is coming to @Netflix. The new musical will premiere on Netflix next year ahead of its 2021 Broadway opening. ✨ https://t.co/91LHl7ikCw
— DIANA: A New Musical (@DianaOnBroadway) August 12, 2020
To prepare for its Netflix debut instead, Diana will be recorded with the original cast at the Longacre Theater without an audience. The lead producers, Beth Williams, Frank Marshall, and the Araca Group released a statement and said, “We speak for the entire company when we say that we couldn’t be more excited to finally be able to share our show with theater lovers everywhere.” They later added, “Though there is no substitute for the live theater, we are honored to be a part of the quality entertainment that Netflix provides its subscribers worldwide.”
Diana is coming to Netflix early 2021, and the musical is still planning to open on Broadway in May of 2021.