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Im old enough that I dont just remember when Diana Spencer died, I remember when she wasmarried.

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A costume parade disguised as a terrible Broadway musical rings that gong as well.

It doesnt come as a surprise that the pop-rockDiana: The Musicalis (deliberately?)

Perhaps this girl can turn him into a rocker!

Diana cries, bored at a cello concert, as the ensemble does aggressive shrug-dancing all around her.

Its hard to know whether it was wise of the producers to release the film.

On the bleak side, it means that savage reviews predate their Broadway opening night.

And, look, cheesy is fine; goofy fake accents are no problem.

There are a dozen quick changes for Diana that even add a little merriment.

(William Ivey Long did the costumes, though he has sinceparted wayswith the production.)

The trouble lies in the shows faltering execution.

Certainly its late to work.

What prevents the show from ascending into joyous camp, though, are its dullness and repetition.

Its hard to watch this square rotate for more than two hours.

The music, though, is what really saws at you.

Metrically, the songs seem to have only one idea.

Nearly every line is five or six syllables long; the melodies are interchangeable.

This sameness proves, over time, to be difficult to bear.

This was repeated many many times, till I was a total total mess.

Okay, okay, so its bad.

But unfortunately, in the second act, it turns sort of gross, too.

It can be jolly to indulge in tastelessness, dont you know?

At least right up until the moment that its not.

Diana: The Musicalis at the Longacre Theatre.