Hi readers. Sorry for the delay (again none of you probably noticed). This week has been an absolute nightmare and I simply don’t have the ability to get into everything that’s been sad/scary/anxiety-inducing (and I don’t want to! Save that for therapy), so instead I’ll share a bright spot from this week: Diana the musical.
Diana. The. MUSICAL! I told my grandparents I was going to see this last Saturday and they said, “Goodness, how could anyone make a musical out of her life?” to which I responded: “badly.” I hadn’t really kept up with the Diana: The Musical discourse, but thankfully my dear friend and matinee companion Ryan told me the backstory: the musical was canceled right before the pandemic started, then a filmed version went up on Netflix and was ripped apart by viewers. When broadway opened up again, the show came back, to terrible acclaim, and on December 11th, news broke that it was getting canceled. Ryan and I were supposed to get brunch on December 12th, but with so little time left to see the show, we naturally changed our plans and fled to the theater.
The show was: bad. That is simply all I can say because the critics’ reviews said everything perfectly and I am not nearly well-versed enough to have anything insightful to add. Some highlights:
“Musicals, like laws, are often compared to sausages: You don’t want to know what goes into them. In this case, you don’t want to know what comes out, either”
“What a genuinely bizarre work of art this is.”
“Indeed, there is something seriously wrong with a Diana story whose most believable and sympathetic character is Camilla Parker Bowles.” !!!!!
“This ends with something so trite that may very well have been cribbed from a Live Laugh Love website. I’d tell you what it is, but I don’t want to ruin the ending. But if I can’t ruin the ending, that means you have to go and watch all of Diana: The Musical instead. I’m sorry. I can’t win.”
I love these bitchy reviews, I love them!!! As bad as it was (and it was bad, Act 1 ended with a song whose chorus was just the line “A pretty, pretty girl in a pretty, pretty dress”), the whole experience, for me, was so delicious and fun. I loved the spontaneity of buying tickets the night before. I loved that the show made me audibly cackle with lines from Charles like “Diana, I’m holding our son now” and Diana’s butler Paul, calling the revenge dress “The fuckity, fuckity, fuckity, fuckity, fuck you dress.” I loved that we dressed up fancy and acted like tourists (I was told by many ushers that I, too, was a pretty pretty girl in a pretty pretty dress — see pictures below). It was so silly and stupid and brought me such joy.
I’ll spare you the sadness I feel about potentially losing moments like this with an impending lockdown #2 (though nothing is forever!!!). Instead, I’ll say that part of the reason this made me so happy is because it had the perfect combination of big commitment and sheer delight. It was yes and as a moment!!!! (sorry I love improv!!!) I was with some friends a few weeks ago and we each picked a word/phrase that we want for 2022 and I said “seek joy,” which I know sounds like something you’d see on a throw pillow, but whatever, I’m basic and that is how I feel. I want to choose things in 2022 that make me feel the way seeing Diana: The Musical felt. I want to chase the things that make me excited even if they are a lot harder to do. I want to be a pretty pretty girl in a pretty pretty dress!!!!!!!!!!
This may sound simple and silly, and that’s because it is. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from my improv timez, accepting that fact is part of the joy itself. Yes and honey!!!!!
There’s a chance I may take next week off, we’ll really see how things shake out. Regardless, have a happy new year, sweet readers, I hope you all take care of yourselves <3 <3
Enjoy this photo of me and Ryan as fancy theatRE(spelled correctly)-goers
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