Underestimated: A Critical Look at Diana The Musical

In my communications course this week, we were asked to post about our experiences with COVID-19 and creative industries, and more specifically, the film and television sector. This is what I wrote.

Hi, I'm Kiara.

My experience with the pandemic has been somewhat unique. I have had a chronic illness for a number of years, which left me unable to participate in many in-person activities. Essentially, I was the only person in isolation. Then the pandemic hit and the whole world opened up to me, including more musical theatre.

Many, many creative industries suffered due to the pandemic, and that was hard to watch. As an avid musical theatre fan, seeing shows unable to sell tickets and have to shorten their seasons was hard. But, it seems the pandemic has aided the musical theatre industry in other ways. For example, theatre has become more accessible, in both a physical and financial sense. With shows like Hamilton and Diana The Musical releasing pro-shots during this time, the price of a theatre ticket has gone down from $80, which is one of the cheapest live theatre ticket prices, to about $12, the approximate price of a Disney+, Netflix, or BroadwayHD monthly subscription. Meaning, these shows can reach a wider audience because more people can afford it. I have even heard of cases where people bought live theatre tickets not in spite of, but because they were able to watch the pro-shot. I would argue that any audience, live or not, is undoubtedly better than none, and the financial accessibility of these shows has increased viewership.

However, the pro-shot can be both a positive and negative asset to a show. Diana The Musical was a critical flop, and some would argue the pro-shot did not help this matter. I can understand both sides of this argument. Because everyone was able to see Diana, everyone was able to critique it. Most shows that go to Broadway and are nominated for a Tony but win none, simply end their run and that is that. However, like Diana herself, the musical was open to so much more scrutiny than other productions. I would argue that Diana The Musical was still a very, very good show, and it got a pro-shot for a reason. I watched it and I loved it. Only when I read that others didn't like it, did I begin to see some areas for improvement within the show. I doubt I would have noticed if I had seen it live though. But, if there wasn't a pro-shot, I, like many others, simply would not have seen it. With a pro-shot, Diana was able to help someone in the creative industries make a profit off of my rewatching and repeated listenings of the show. Honestly, this someone is probably Netflix, but as I mentioned, at this time, I'd still argue that any profit is better than none.

Furthermore, I am able to easily recommend this show to others, and probably rewatch it with them. Simply because I was able to access this show easily the first time. I am able to increase its viewership further. If there was no pro-shot, I wouldn't have seen it, I wouldn't have hosted a virtual movie night to watch it, I wouldn't be rewatching it, and I certainly wouldn't be talking about it now. That has to be better than being a cancelled show.

So, in summary, I like musicals, but I love pro-shot musicals. They have ability to make theatre more accessible. They are financially more accessible, physically more accessible, obviously geographically more accessible because I am not in New York, and they can continue to live outside their homes in The Theatre District for years to come. I hope, in ten, twenty, or even fifty years time, Diana The Musical will be noticed by a wonderful theatre kid and be given a second life, much like what Lin-Manuel Miranda was able to do for Tick, Tick, Boom!

“Sometimes though, it’s best to be underestimated.” Lyrics from Underestimated from Diana The Musical.