New York Post

Royal wedding $ets $tage for Lady Di musical

- Richard Johnson rjohnson@nypost.com @HeadlineJo­hnson

THE American public’s fascinatio­n with doomed Princess Diana will fuel a hit Broadway musical, “Diana,” next year, sources say.

Investors are putting up millions of dollars for the show as Diana’s (inset) son Harry is getting ready to wed Meghan Markle in a global television spectacula­r.

“The royal family has never been hotter,” says one Windsor watcher. “The timing is perfect.”

The musical was cowritten by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, who also teamed up for “Memphis,” which won four Tony Awards.

DiPietro was grilled about the show on Monday night by his tablemates at the New York Pops gala at Carnegie Hall, but said it is premature since the show won’t start playing at the La Jolla Playhouse until next February. Since Bryan is the keyboardis­t for and a founding member of Bon Jovi, Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, came to a runthrough of the musical for investors at a Midtown rehearsal studio. “Everyone loved it,” one attendee told me. “There were 23 songs.” The showstoppe­r at the end of Act 1 is “A Pretty Girl in a Pretty Dress,” about the day it was revealed that Prince Charles had been cheating with

Camilla, and Diana emerged for the paparazzi in a sexy, black, off-theshoulde­r dress.

“She was stunning beyond words. It was a f - - kyou dress,” said my source.

The music changes for the main characters, with Charles having a more classical sound, while Diana’s is pure pop.

Her 1997 death in a Paris car wreck is dealt with in a poignant epilogue.

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