The most anticipated musical of the year is finally on the La Jolla Playhouse stage.
"Diana" takes a look at the life of Princess Diana, focusing on her 1981 royal wedding to Prince Charles and the factors that ultimately made their marriage fall apart.
It's a world-premiere project with an all-star creative team that includes Tony-winning director Christopher Ashley; Tony-winning music and lyrics duo Joe DiPietro and David Bryan; and Tony-nominated choreographer Kelly Devine.
"I think the interest in Diana has really not faded," Ashley said. "She's been gone for a couple of decades and she's still front-page news every day."
Jeanna De Waal plays Diana, taking the character on a journey from shy kindergarten teacher to beloved global philanthropist. Roe Hartrampf is Prince Charles and Erin Davie plays Camilla Parker Bowles.
That love triangle is a major focus of the show.
"Charles was very much in love with Camilla Parker Bowles while he was dating and married to Diana," Ashley said. "Our goal is not to find villains, but see how these three people figured out a route through this incredibly difficult marriage in the midst of a white, hot media spotlight."
Another spotlight of the show is Princess Diana's charity and philanthropic work, especially how she was one of the first to publicly speak about the AIDS crisis.
But Ashley thinks a big reason this play is so highly anticipated is because everyone has their own memory and relationship to Princess Di.
"The wedding seared itself into my imagination," he said. "I think everybody shares that picture in their head."
In a KPBS interview, Ashley and choreographer Kelly Devine explain what it takes to get this world-premiere musical ready for its official debut on Sunday, March 3.
