London Studio Cast Album of DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL now streaming on all platforms
The London studio cast recording of Diva: Live From Hell, featuring West End star Luke Bayer, is now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms.
The one-person-musical, which riffs on classic films about show business like All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, sees Bayer performing a full company of roles, set against a contemporary musical theatre score dripping in references to some of Broadway’s most iconic shows.
Book writer Nora Brigid Monahan said: “After our original New York run in 2017, Diva: Live From Hell was slated to premiere in London in a brand new production in March 2020. Director Joe McNeice was already in tech when COVID shut everything down, and we were just heartbroken that his vision for the show was thwarted at the time. So, it was incredibly exciting when Joe took another swing at it in 2022 with the fabulous Luke Bayer as the star. We couldn’t have been happier when the London run turned out to be such a big hit — in an award-winning, critically acclaimed, extended run at London’s Turbine Theatre. And now it’s even more thrilling to have Luke’s performance preserved in this album. The show’s darkly comedic look at a high school theater kid gone mad is perfectly captured on the new recording."
This new recording features a larger band (with new orchestrations by Jonnie Grant), under the musical direction of Debbi Clarke, and production by Oyen and McNeice.
Diva: Live From Hell made its London debut at the Turbine Theatre in Battersea in 2022, with Bayer receiving critical acclaim for his performance. That production was nominated for Best Off-West End Show at the 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards, and Bayer won the 2023 Off-West End Theatre Award for Lead Performance in a Musical for his portrayal of Desmond Channing.
As President of the high school drama club and the star of every school play, Desmond Channing has spent most of his short life in the spotlight. But when Evan Harris, a hotshot transfer from New York, challenges his throne, Desmond responds as any diva would… with lethal force. Now, stuck in the Seventh Circle, Hell’s most squalid cabaret venue, Desmond is forced to relive the outrageous events that led him there. As he presents his one-millionth consecutive show, Desmond performs with a desperate vigor in the hope that he can prove he’s repented and be finally freed from his eternal, campy torment.