Princess Diana’s life is about to get the musical treatment.
According to Broadway.com, the world premiere of Diana — an original musical set in 1981, as Diana prepared to marry Prince Charles — will take place during the 2018-2019 season of California’s La Jolla Playhouse. The musical will also explore the aftermath of that marriage, from her husband’s highly publicized affair with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to her relationship with the press.
While there’s been no word so far on who will take on the titular role, Diana’s story is in good hands. Diana is being brought to life by the Tony-award winning pair behind the 2009 Broadway musical Memphis, Joe DiPietro and David Bryan. Bryan is also the keyboard player for Bon Jovi.
Fittingly, the musical’s original score will feature both classical melodies and pop and rock songs reminiscent of the 1980s.
RELATED VIDEO: How Princess Diana Shared Her Shocking Secrets With The World
While not much else is known about what Diana will look — or sound — like, DiPietro previously opened up about how he and his writing partner decided to turn Diana’s life into a musical.
“I was reading a book about her and I thought, ‘This is an amazing story about an amazing woman.’ She has this aspirational aspect to her where she really wanted to do good. I thought it was a great idea for a musical,” he said during an interview with LondonTheatre.co.uk. “I asked around to see if anyone was doing it — no one was — so David and I just jumped into it.”
“It’s very much about marriage,” he continued, adding that “the four main characters are , Charles, Camilla and the Queen.”
The musical’s director Christopher Ashley — who also happens to be the artistic director at La Jolla — told Broadway.com that the “new musical brings to the stage one of the greatest cultural icons in modern history, and I can’t wait to share it with Playhouse audiences next season.”
