A Beautiful Noise (musical)

A Beautiful Noise is a jukebox musical based on the life and music of Neil Diamond. It opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 4, 2022.[1][2][3] It grossed more than $1 million at the box office in the week leading up to its Broadway premiere.[4]

For the song by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile, see A Beautiful Noise.
A Beautiful Noise
MusicNeil Diamond
LyricsVarious artists
BookAnthony McCarten
BasisThe life and music of Neil Diamond
ProductionsBoston (2022)
Broadway (2022)

Titled for Diamond's 1976 album of the same name, A Beautiful Noise was written by Anthony McCarten and produced by Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio.[5] The musical is structured around a series of therapy sessions during which Diamond reacts to his lyrics as they are read by his psychiatrist from a second-hand copy of The Complete Lyrics of Neil Diamond. In a June 19, 2022 interview with The Boston Globe McCarten said: “She opens the book, and all 60 years of his songwriting and all that exploration pours out into a majestic musical collage, and once unloosed from the book, the songs take on lives of their own."[6]

Prior to its Broadway debut, A Beautiful Noise ran for four weeks at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston.[1][2][7][8][9] Diamond and his wife, Katie McNeil Diamond, attended the opening in Boston. They also attended the Broadway premiere, where Diamond led an unannounced sing-along of "Sweet Caroline." [10]

In Boston, Will Swenson portrayed Diamond (then); Diamond (now) was played by Mark Jacoby.[11] Robyn Hurder played Diamond's second wife, Marcia, and Linda Powell portrays The Doctor.[12] In September 2022 it was announced that Swenson, Jacoby, Hurder and Powell would reprise their roles in the Broadway production and the full Broadway cast was announced. It included Jessie Fisher as Jaye Posner, Tom Alan Robbins as Bert Berns and Kieve Diamond, Bri Sudia as Ellie Greenwich and Rose Diamond, and Michael McCormick as Fred Colby and Tommy O’Rourke.[13]

On December 4, 2022 (Opening Night on Broadway), Neil Diamond surprised the audience, cast, and crew with a performance of "Sweet Caroline".[14]

Cast and characters
Characters Broadway (2022)
Neil Diamond (Then) Will Swenson
Neil Diamond (Now) Mark Jacoby
Marcia Murphey Robyn Hurder
Doctor Linda Powell
Jaye Posner Jessie Fisher
Fred Colby, Tommy O’Rourke Michael McCormick
Bert Berns, Kieve Diamond Tom Alan Robbins
Ellie Greenwich, Rose Diamond Bri Sudia

Reception

In Boston, reviews of A Beautiful Noise were positive, with Swenson earning significant praise. In The Boston Globe he was described as a "shining Diamond";[15] WBUR reported that the musical included "dynamic performances top to bottom" with the "swagger-filled Will Swenson as Diamond" and a "terrific ensemble comprised of more than a dozen talented actors and singers."[16]

Reviews of A Beautiful Noise on Broadway were mixed-to-negative.[17] Elizabeth Vincentelli wrote in the New York Times that the musical was both "timid" and an "ambitious, often rousing, occasionally heavy-handed biographical show". She praised Swenson's performance but criticized the narrative framework and the overall depiction of Diamond as "morose."[18] A positive review in the New York Daily News predicted that the show would be a "box-office hit".[19] In Variety, A.D. Amorosi wrote: "Ultimately, 'A Beautiful Noise' is victorious, but not without a few rough bumps along the way — much like the trajectory of Diamond’s life."[20] The headline of an AP review by Mark Kennedy in the Washington Post read "Broadway's Diamond show isn't so good, so good" while noting that Swenson was "insanely great in every number."[21] The review that appeared in Entertainment Weekly noted that "those going to A Beautiful Noise want to be entertained and entertained they will be."[22]

Awards and nominations

2022 Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2023 Drama Desk Awards[23] Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical Robyn Hurder Pending
Mark Jacoby Pending
Outstanding Wig and Hair Luc Verschueren Pending
Drama League Awards[24] Distinguished Performance Award Will Swenson Pending
Outstanding Production of a Musical Pending
Outer Critics Circle Awards[25] Outstanding New Broadway Musical Pending

References
  1. Evans, Greg (2022-05-18). "Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Sets Fall Broadway Opening". Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  2. Shaffer, Claire (2021-04-06). "Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Announces World Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  3. Aucoin, Don. "Neil Diamond musical will have a pre-Broadway premiere at the Colonial in 2022 - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  4. Evans, Greg (2022-12-06). "Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Scores $1M For Opening Week – Broadway Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  5. Libbey, Peter (2021-04-06). "Neil Diamond Bio-Musical Sets Sights on Broadway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  6. Wallenberg, Christopher. "'A Beautiful Noise' aims to tell Neil Diamond's story, inside and out". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  7. Aucoin, Don. "Neil Diamond musical will have a pre-Broadway premiere at the Colonial in 2022 - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  8. "Watch: Neil Diamond sings 'Sweet Caroline' at Fenway Park". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  9. "Neil Diamond surprises audience at Boston premiere of musical about his life". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  10. Kaufman, Gil (2022-12-07). "Bah-Bah-Bah!: Neil Diamond Surprises Broadway Audience With 'Sweet Caroline' on Opening Night". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  11. Kennedy, Mark (2022-03-05). "Neil Diamond Stage Musical Reveals Its Broadway Veteran Star". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  12. Evans, Greg (2022-04-21). "Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Adds Tony Nominees To Pre-Broadway Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  13. "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical, Starring Will Swenson, Confirms Full Broadway Cast". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  14. Kaufman, Gil (2022-12-07). "Bah-Bah-Bah!: Neil Diamond Surprises Broadway Audience With 'Sweet Caroline' on Opening Night". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  15. Aucoin, Don. "In 'A Beautiful Noise,' Will Swenson is a sparkling Diamond - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  16. "Neil Diamond's 'Beautiful Noise' at the Colonial — We saw his show, now we're a believer". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  17. "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical". Did They Like It?. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  18. Vincentelli, Elisabeth (2022-12-05). "Review: 'A Beautiful Noise' Makes for a Morose Neil Diamond Musical". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  19. "Broadway review: Neil Diamond jukebox musical 'A Beautiful Noise' is nostalgic fun". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  20. Amorosi, A. D. (2022-12-05). "'A Beautiful Noise' Review: Neil Diamond Musical Unpacks Hitmaker's Life in Therapy and Song". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  21. "Review: Broadway's Neil Diamond show isn't so good, so good". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  22. Quinn, Dave (2022-12-06). "Neil Diamond pulls back the curtain on his catalog of hits for 'A Beautiful Noise'". EW.com. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  23. "2022-2023 Drama Desk Awards nominations announced". www.ny1.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  24. Erik Anderson (2023-04-25). "2023 Drama League Awards: 'Into the Woods,' 'Sweeney Todd,' 'A Doll's House' lead nominations; Jessica Chastain, Jodie Comer earn first nods". AwardsWatch. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  25. ""New York, New York," "Some Like It Hot," "Shucked" lead 2023 Outer Critics Circle nominations". Broadway News. 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
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