Genre: Musical
Written by: Scott Sublett and Jef Labes
Directed by: Kelly McAllister
Performed by: Ashley Wren Collins, Bob D'Haene, Jack Halpin, R. Paul Hamilton, Jackie Kamm, Aida Lembo, Beth Ann Leone, Heather McAllister, Dan O'Neill, Vinnie Penna, Matthew Rankin
Running time: Two hours
Web site: hopetheatre.org

Die, Die Diana, which re-imagines the events leading up to Princess Di's tragic car crash, is one of those self-aware musicals in which characters proclaim that "everyone who goes to the theater is a homosexual," then stare accusingly at the audience. The show's strength is in its behind-the-scenes look at the royals: Charles and Di's venomous fights as they wave to the public, the Queen Mum berating a drunken Elizabeth, and especially Charles' romps with Camilla, which culminate in a hilarious S&M marriage proposal. Bonus points go to Vinnie Penna as Dodi Fayed, who woos the princess with lines like, "Behold my peninsula of love. You long for it to enter your Suez Canal," and Jackie Kamm, a girl of indeterminate age, whose performances as both William and Harry (a hand puppet) are oddly touching. But this is a musical, not a play, and since the microphones didn't work, every bit of funny dialogue was followed by five minutes of inaudible singing over wedding band accompaniment. And when the mikes did sporadically turn on, the actors had such limited vocal ability, one wished they had remained off. Perhaps if all the music had been cut, along with gratuitous meta touches like Aristotle Onassis and Marilyn Monroe visiting from beyond, Diana would have ended up a powerful satire on the perils of celebrity. Instead, it's just a royal mess. —Jada Yuan

• Where: The Michael Schimmel Center
• When: Sat, Aug 14 at 4 p.m.; Sun, Aug 15 at noon; Thu, Aug 19 at 7:15 p.m.; Sat, Aug 21 at 10:45 p.m.; Fri, Aug 27 at 10:45 p.m.