'Diana,' 'Six,' and more shows will bring history to life on Broadway

There are plenty of familiar names on Broadway this spring, and not just lit up on theater marquees.

Princess Diana, Cary Grant, Henry VIII’s six wives, plus those infamous Lehman Brothers — yes, the cast of characters striding on stages in musicals and straight plays is like a Who’s Who of real-life headline makers.

Of those, “the people’s princess” is clearly the most beloved, and her eagerly anticipated “Diana: A True Musical Story,” begins previews Monday.

“We have to tell this story very carefully, because so many of these figures are still alive,” said the show's costume designer William Ivey Long after a recent panel discussion at the new Nordstrom flagship store on West 57th Street in Manhattan.

The musical, which stars Jeanna de Waal as Diana, follows the young princess from naive newlywed through the messy love triangle with Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. It promises to dazzle, with de Waal quick-changing through 38 costumes, inspired by Diana’s actual wardrobe.

 “You have to wait till act two for the ‘revenge dress,’” Long told the Nordstrom crowd, referring to the nickname given the sexy black cocktail dress she wore to an event in 1994 — breaking palace protocol — on the same night Prince Charles admitted on TV to being unfaithful.

If Broadway creators seem particularly attuned to history these days, producers are also feeling nostalgic, which may explain the slew of revivals, including Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite,” David Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” and Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Of the 10 non-revivals opening before the April 23 cutoff for Tony Award consideration, six are musicals, including two based on films: “Mrs. Doubtfire” adapted from Robin Williams’ 1993 tour-de-force and “Sing Street,” a 2016 coming-of-age cult hit about an Irish boy band in the 1980s.

With Tony-winning director (and Port Jefferson native) Rebecca Taichman at the helm, “Sing Street” enjoyed a successful run Off-Broadway in December and January.

“We are excited to bring this story and a new score to Broadway this season,” Taichman shared in a recent email exchange. “We’re a restless bunch,” she added, noting the show is currently in rehearsals, undergoing some rewrites.

“’Sing Street’ celebrates our humanity and how — despite the collapsing world that surrounds us — young people, innocent and naive, still fall in love,” she says.

These days, that seems as good a reason as any to buy a ticket.

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY (Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St., in previews, opens March 5)

More than a Bob Dylan jukebox musical, this inventive show earned raves Off-Broadway at the Public Theater last year. It's part drama (about life in a Depression-era Minnesota boardinghouse), part concert (with exuberant renditions of “Like a Rolling Stone” and more Dylan gems) sung by a stellar cast, including Mare Winningham.

SIX (Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 W. 47th St., in previews, opens March 12)

Pre-pre-nups and paparazzi, kings could dispose of spouses with ease. Now King Henry VIII’s six wives (who wound up dying, divorced or beheaded — save for one) get their belty #MeToo moment, in this pop musical retelling of life among the Tudors.

THE MINUTES (Cort Theatre, 138 W. 48th St., in previews, opens March 15)

Small-town secrets get a hilarious and powerful sendup in this tale of a provincial city council meeting, written by and starring Tony- and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, with Blair Brown, Armie Hammer and members of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

HANGMEN (Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St., in previews, opens March 19)

After success in Hollywood, critically hailed British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh returns to Broadway with this drama set in a Northern English pub in 1965, when a famous executioner finds himself downsized out of a job after Britain abolishes hanging. “Legion’s” Dan Stevens co-stars.

COMPANY (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St., previews begin Monday, opens March 22)

Stephen Sondheim’s musical about the search for love and (maybe) marriage gets a gender flip, with the lead bachelor now a bachelorette (Katrina Lenk). For an extra jolt, the show also stars Northport-raised, two-time Tony winner Patti LuPone, who won an Olivier Award last year for the London production.

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY (Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St., previews begin March 7, opens March 26)

Oscar- and Tony-winning director Sam Mendes brings his epic family drama of the infamous Lehman Brothers (plus their sons and grandsons) to Broadway after successful runs on the West End and at the Park Avenue Armory.

DIANA (Longacre Theatre, 220 W. 48th St., opens March 31)

Here’s beloved Princess Di, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II and, yes, Camilla Parker-Bowles, like you’ve never seen them (unless you’ve caught them singing power ballads around the palace). The bio-musical comes from the creators of “Memphis.”

MRS. DOUBTFIRE (Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St., previews begin March 9, opens April 5)

The hit film is now “a new musical, poppets,” as the subtitle explains. Rob McClure plays the divorced, out-of-work actor who loses custody of his kids, then slips into the wig, support hose and accent of a Scottish nanny to be near them.

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE (Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St., previews begin March 13, opens April 7)

This musical revival comes straight from a successful run on London’s West End, where British star Sharon D. Clarke won an Olivier award for her portrayal of an African-American maid in Civil Rights-era Louisiana.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St., previews begin Tuesday, opens April 9)

Direct from ABC’s “The Conners,” Laurie Metcalf goes toe to toe with Rupert Everett in Edward Albee’s titanic thrasher about a bitter, boozy married couple and the hapless guests they invite for a drink.

PLAZA SUITE (Hudson Theatre, 141 W. 44th St., previews begin March 13, opens April 13)

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick play three different couples in Neil Simon’s comedy about the crazy goings-on in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. This marks the first revival of a Simon play since the legend’s death in 2018.

AMERICAN BUFFALO (Circle in the Square Theatre, 235 W. 50th St., previews begin March 24, opens April 14)

David Mamet’s explosive take on greed, crime and American business still reverberates in this revival starring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss as a trio of two-bit hustlers.

FLYING OVER SUNSET (Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 W. 65th St., previews begin March 12, opens April 16)

This new musical is about three historical figures — film legend Cary Grant, writer Aldous Huxley and conservative diplomat (and Sands Point resident) Clare Boothe Luce — all of whom tried LSD. (Who knew?) The show features music by Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal”), lyrics by Michael Korie (“Grey Gardens”) and book by James Lapine (“Into the Woods”).

SING STREET (Lyceum Theatre, 149 W. 45th St., previews begin March 26, opens April 19)

Based on writer-director John Carney's movie (whose 2007 film “Once” became a Tony-winning musical smash), this coming-of-age tale centers on schoolmates in 1980s Dublin who form a New Wave band to (why else?) impress a girl.

BIRTHDAY CANDLES (American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., previews begin April 2, opens April 21)

In this Roundabout Theatre Company production, Debra Messing ponders the meaning of life and the universe — and how that changes over time — as she celebrates birthdays from age 17 to 101.

HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., previews begin March 27, opens April 22)

Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse, who starred in Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winner when it debuted Off-Broadway in 1997, reunite in this Manhattan Theatre Club production, which brings the story (more relevant than ever in today’s #MeToo era) to Broadway for the first time.

TAKE ME OUT (Hayes Theatre, 240 W. 44th St., previews begin April 2, opens April 23)

This revival of Tony-winning playwright (and East Meadow native) Richard Greenberg’s landmark play about a gay baseball player who comes out, will star Jesse Williams (“Grey’s Anatomy”) in his Broadway debut and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.