‘A Beautiful Noise’ is a Gem of a Production Portraying Neil Diamond

By Douglas Friedman

SAN DIEGO — Growing up in a home where Theadore Bikel, Jan Peerce and Herb Alpert were music at dinner and many other times of the day, as a teen I was not a fan or rock music and unable to converse with friends about the hard rock classics that were the big hits of the 60s and early 70s. Then came this man whose music touched me…not the hard rock that turned me off nor the elevator music I actually enjoyed (Mantovani, anyone?), but something universal that could touch everyone. Neil Diamond‘s music crossed a barrier for me that I welcomed.

To see him perform live in 1993 at the Forum in Inglewood was more than just an acknowledgment of my feelings for his music. It was a fall in love moment because it wasn’t just on the radio or records. There he was, singing his heart out and mesmerizing the crowd in the process.

By the time I saw him in concert again 20 years later, it was more than just nostalgia. It brought me back to the glory days of my young adulthood of course, but also the recognition that this man’s music was destined to be timeless.

Much of our popular music from the late 20th century will be long forgotten in 100 years. But a few artists, from Sinatra and the Beatles to Elvis and the Beach Boys will likely, as Mozart’s has, live on for centuries. Neil Diamond is one who is worthy of such cross-generational acknowledgment.

I was hoping to see an audience full of people young and old at Broadway San Diego’s production of A Beautiful Noise at the Civic Theater this week, though it was mostly those, like me, who grew up with him.  Those who had never seen Neil Diamond perform live must have felt for the first time the excitement of actor Nick Fradiani’s charm and vocal skills doing a dead-on characterization.  This wasn’t an interpretation…you closed your eyes and could swear it was Neil Diamond.

The conceit of A Beautiful Noise is that the older Neil Diamond of today (excellently portrayed by Robert Westenberg) is in a therapy session with a psychologist (Lisa Renee Pitts) as he tries to make sense of his life (including two failed marriages).  This sets up all the flashbacks allowing Fradiani to perform Diamond’s biggest hits.  A good choice by author Anthony McCarten was to let some of the women and others in his life to perform his songs as well.

It was a clever way to stage the show following so many other productions featuring the music of my generation.  I didn’t need to see a Neil Diamond impersonator do a full concert in a theater not designed for concerts (though the sound on this night was spot on).  Seeing the orchestra for the first time in the second act brought an additional burst of energy to the audience.

The songs were woven seamlessly into the narrative, unlike the much darker “Jersey Boys’” upbeat music contrasting with its much darker emotional back story.  By comparison, Diamond’s one brush with a mafioso seems more contrived for dramatic purpose.

What I saw between both worlds, Diamond of then and now, was a heartfelt tribute to the man, now 84 years old, who inspired tens of millions with his music.

We got to see the singer’s metamorphosis from introverted youth to music idol peppered with a generous dose of production numbers worthy of the price of admission alone.

Hints of Diamond’s Jewish background abound, references to his roots in Brooklyn (a flashback to his parents during his childhood was a wonderfully emotional moment), and when he tells an early mentor that he thinks he should change his professional name to Kaminsky (his real name IS Diamond), it becomes a running joke.  The nightclub owner giving him his first gig is introduced to Neil Diamond and assuming it’s just a stage name, says “Jews got the best names now!”

In an interview decades ago, Diamond did talk about how his Jewishness expressed itself in his work.

“I think a certain pain is reflected in the songs: if you listen to traditional Jewish music, you will hear it in the voice – that sort of breaking of the voice – and there is a cry in my work, a reflection of that pain, but how much of it is on a sub-conscious level, I don’t know.” (2002, The Irish Times)

A Beautiful Noise is a beautiful show, with never a full break between scenes…everything woven together with actors on stage while the clever use of lighting and a few moving pieces in the background set up a new location.  Part of what helps make the Beautiful Noise beautiful is an energetic and incredibly talented group of singers/dancers who back up almost every scene.

A highlight for me was the Act I finale “Sweet Caroline,” while the much simpler staged Act II finale arrived after a rather drawn-out realization by Diamond that he needs to accept who he is (“I Am…I Said”) to be happy.  As with most of the recent biographical musicals (in my memory, “Mamma Mia” was the first), an energetic closing after bows sends the audience out on a high note.

A Beautiful Noise is full of high notes, and I hope that a new generation of Neil Diamond fans will emerge having seen it.  Broadway San Diego’s production runs through Sunday, June 1.

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Douglas Friedman is a television writer and marketing executive.  He writes weekly at dougfriedman.substack.com