Princess Diana, the Musical
August 24 -- Leave it to the nation that brought us Sturm-und-Drang operas like the Ring cycle and Tristan and Isolde to make a musical out of the life of the late Princess Diana.
That's right, Lady Di, who perished tragically in a Paris car crash in 1997, is now the subject of a German musical.
This November, the curtain goes up on Lady Di — Das Musical (full title: Lady Di — Diana: A Smile That Enchants the World) in the southwestern German city of Saarbrücken.
"There is such a huge interest in Diana and her life in Germany," Peter Thomas, 75, the show's composer, tells Reuters. "We'll see how things go, but I'm confident this musical will be translated into English as well."
The show will cost around $1 million to mount, a bargain compared to the usual $8 million to $10 million fee for most Broadway musicals.
English actress Karen Gillingham, who has appeared in German productions of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, will play Diana.
The wedding and rocky marriage of Charles and Di make up Act I, and Act II follows Diana's work with the poor and her romance with Dodi Al Fayed, who died with her in the same accident.
Since lawyers advised the show's producers not to have actors portray living members of the royal family, Prince Charles will reportedly show up only as a voice and Queen Elizabeth is seen only from the back as she bows to Diana's coffin in the grand finale.
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