Somehow, The Princess Diaries is turning 25.
And if that fact hasn’t already sent you into a slight existential crisis, Disney is celebrating the anniversary by bringing Mia Thermopolis back to the big screen – this time with a live orchestra.
The Princess Diaries In Concert will make its world premiere at London’s Eventim Apollo, giving fans the chance to watch the 2001 film while John Debney’s score is performed live by all-women orchestra The Sinfonietta.
Macy Schmidt, founder and music director of The Sinfonietta, will conduct the London premiere, which will be the first performance ahead of planned North American, UK and European tours in 2027.
Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday, 25 September.
“There is so much joy and nostalgia surrounding The Princess Diaries, and I’m incredibly proud and excited for The Sinfonietta to be part of bringing this beloved film to the concert stage for the first time,” Macy says.
“John Debney’s music in this film scored the hearts of an entire generation, and we can’t wait to bring that magic to life, for audiences in London and around the world.”
And she isn’t wrong about the nostalgia.
Released in 2001, The Princess Diaries gave us Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis, the wonderfully awkward San Francisco teenager who discovers that she’s actually heir to the throne of Genovia.
It was Anne’s big-screen debut and put her alongside Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, with Héctor Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Mandy Moore, Caroline Goodall and Robert Schwartzman completing a cast that became a pretty significant part of many childhoods.
There was the makeover. The Genovian pear juggling. Mia setting fire to someone’s arm at dinner. And, of course, the mattress surfing.
Twenty-five years later, it remains one of those films we can happily watch whenever it appears on TV.
Directed by Garry Marshall and based on Meg Cabot’s novel, the film went on to launch a franchise with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement following in 2004, while Anne’s relationship with Disney has now come full circle with her recently being named a Disney Legend.
The new live-to-film production has been created by Overture Global Entertainment in partnership with Disney Concerts, with The Sinfonietta bringing John Debney’s original music to life alongside the film.
Founded by Macy, The Sinfonietta is a global network of all-women and majority women-of-colour orchestras, with their performances bringing orchestral arrangements to everything from film and theatre to popular music.
And honestly, The Princess Diaries feels like a particularly lovely addition.
There are certain films where revisiting them immediately takes you back to the first time you watched them, and for a lot of us, Mia discovering that she was Princess Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi is definitely one of them.
Now we get to do it all over again – just with an orchestra this time.
Additional dates for The Princess Diaries In Concert across the UK, Europe and North America will be announced for 2027.
Get tickets and be the first to hear about upcoming dates here!
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