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A Beautiful Noise (musical)

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For the song by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile, see A Beautiful Noise.

A Beautiful Noise
Broadway Promotional Poster
MusicNeil Diamond
LyricsVarious artists
BookAnthony McCarten
BasisThe life and music of Neil Diamond
PremiereJune 21, 2022: Emerson Colonial Theatre
ProductionsBoston (2022)
Broadway (2022)
US Tour (2024)

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]

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]

Production history

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Boston (2022)

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The show had its world premiere at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston in June 2022.[1][2][7][8][9] Diamond and his wife, Katie McNeil Diamond, attended the opening in Boston. Will Swenson portrayed Diamond (then); Diamond (now) was played by Mark Jacoby.[10] Robyn Hurder played Diamond's second wife, Marcia, and Linda Powell portrayed The Doctor.[11]

Broadway (2022–2024)

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In late 2022, A Beautiful Noise opened on Broadway with Swenson, Jacoby, Hurder and Powell reprising their Boston roles. The full Broadway cast 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.[12] The show began previews on November 2, 2022 at the Broadhurst Theatre and formally opened on December 4, 2022.[13] Diamond led an unannounced sing-along of "Sweet Caroline" on opening night.[14]

With ticket sales "up and down" during the preceding months, the show's producers announced in February 2024 that A Beautiful Noise would end its Broadway run on 30 June 2024. It had grossed more than $63 million when the announcement was made. [15]

North American tour (2024)

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A North American tour began at the Providence Performing Arts Center on September 21, 2024. The touring cast includes Nick Fradiani (returning as Neil Diamond - Then), Robert Westenberg (Neil Diamond - Now), Hannah Jewel Kohn (Marcia Murphey), and Lisa Renee Pitts (Doctor).[16][17]

Reception

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Reviews of A Beautiful Noise on Broadway were mixed.[18] 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."[19] A positive review in the New York Daily News predicted that the show would be a "box-office hit".[20] 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."[21] 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."[22] The review that appeared in Entertainment Weekly noted that "those going to A Beautiful Noise want to be entertained and entertained they will be."[23]

Songs

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Cast and characters

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Characters Broadway North American Tour
2022 2024
Neil Diamond (Then) Will Swenson Nick Fradiani
Neil Diamond (Now) Mark Jacoby Robert Westenberg
Marcia Murphey Robyn Hurder Hannah Jewel Kohn
Doctor Linda Powell Lisa Reneé Pitts
Jaye Posner Jessie Fisher Tiffany Tatreau
Fred Colby, Tommy O’Rourke Michael McCormick Tuck Milligan
Bert Berns, Kieve Diamond Tom Alan Robbins Michael Accardo
Ellie Greenwich, Rose Diamond Bri Sudia Kate A. Mulligan

Notable cast replacements

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Broadway (2022–2024)

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Awards and nominations

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2022 Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2023 Drama Desk Awards[25] Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical Robyn Hurder Nominated
Mark Jacoby Nominated
Outstanding Wig and Hair Luc Verschueren Nominated
Drama League Awards[26] Distinguished Performance Award Will Swenson Nominated
Outstanding Production of a Musical Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards[27] Outstanding New Broadway Musical Nominated
Chita Rivera Awards[28] Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show Steven Hoggett Won
Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show Robyn Hurder Won
Jess LeProtto Won
Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Greg (2022-05-18). "Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Sets Fall Broadway Opening". Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  2. ^ a b 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. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Mark (2022-03-05). "Neil Diamond Stage Musical Reveals Its Broadway Veteran Star". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  11. ^ Evans, Greg (2022-04-21). "Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Adds Tony Nominees To Pre-Broadway Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  12. ^ "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical, Starring Will Swenson, Confirms Full Broadway Cast". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  13. ^ Paulson, Michael (May 18, 2022). "A Neil Diamond Musical Is Coming to Broadway, After a Stop in Boston". The New York Times.
  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. ^ Evans, Greg (22 February 2024). "Broadway's Neil Diamond Musical 'A Beautiful Noise' Sets June Closing". Deadline. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical to Launch North American Tour". Broadway.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  17. ^ "Cast Complete for National Tour of A Beautiful Noise, Starring Nick Fradiani". Playbill.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  18. ^ "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical". Did They Like It?. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Broadway review: Neil Diamond jukebox musical 'A Beautiful Noise' is nostalgic fun". New York Daily News. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Review: Broadway's Neil Diamond show isn't so good, so good". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Evans, Greg (2023-10-05). "'American Idol' Winner Nick Fradiani Joins Broadway's 'A Beautiful Noise' As Neil Diamond". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  25. ^ "2022-2023 Drama Desk Awards nominations announced". www.ny1.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  26. ^ Eckmann, Sam (2023-05-20). "2023 Drama League Awards winners: Annaleigh Ashford ('Sweeney Todd') takes Distinguished Performance". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  27. ^ Rosky, Nicole. "SOME LIKE IT HOT, LEOPOLDSTADT & More Win 2023 Outer Critics Circle Awards". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  28. ^ "A Beautiful Noise Wins Big at 2023 Chita Rivera Awards". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
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