Two years after preparing the musical, the Bavarian born, Britain-raised child of a South African father was now just starting previews. Diana at the Longacre Theater when their Broadway run was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (The show had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in California in March 2019.)

“So, this show is about this once-upon-a-time princess called Diana,” De Waal told Theater Mania at a cast event in February 2020, “and she met her fairy-tale prince, who was called Charles. He had an unmarried love, Camilla. The story follows the events that took place in the public eye, and the stories of the people involved.

De Waal reads six inches less than Diana at 5 feet 10 Andrew Morton‘s 1992 biography of the Princess of Wales and spent hours studying YouTube videos to get her voice and mannerisms, including her finishing-school-caliber posture, just right.

De Waal jokingly said, “When trying to portray a difficult moment at home or nursing a child, don’t let people be like, She looks like she is in stripper heels.” New Yorker In 2020. As to what she observed watching the princess in action in old video footage, the actress noted, “She’s fighting, she’s surviving, but she’s doing those things with her shoulders completely relaxed, and smiling for the cameras.”

De Waal was asked why Diana’s story remains worth telling. De Waal called it a dream role and told Broadway Inbound that she believes the reasons people will be interested in seeing her performance. DianaBecause she is still so important in our consciousness and our zeitgeist, We should celebrate her, I believe.

Diana This is being retorted for Broadway or Netflix in 2021.