Q&A with Jeanna de Waal on Broadway Weekends.

Jeanna de Waal will star in the titular role of Diana, Princess of Wales in “Diana” which will premiere on Netflix in early 2021, followed by a Broadway run at the Longacre Theater. In this unprecedented release plan, it will be the first time Netflix will produce a musical filmed live from the stage, and the first time a filmed version of a Broadway production will air before the show’s Broadway run. Both productions are directed by Tony Award winner, Christopher Ashley.

de Waal originated the role of Princess Diana in the first reading of the musical at The Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar. She was cast in its first staged production at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.

Previous Broadway credits include Lauren in “Kinky Boots” and as Heather in “American Idiot.”

de Waal is a co-founder of Broadway Weekends, a musical theater program for adults of varying ages and levels of experience. Jeanna and her sister Dani, who is a software engineer at Google, founded the company to bring the joy of performing to fellow theater lovers. Classes have been taught by Tony Award winners, performers with 10+ Broadway credits, and dozens of working Broadway actors, dancers and musicians. Amidst the pandemic, de Waal shifted the structure of Broadway Weekends and created Broadway Weekends at Home, which offers a wide variety of classes, seminars and private coaching lessons via video conferencing.