Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Nick Fradiani in A Beautiful Noise
Nick Fradiani as Neil Then (center) in 'A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical' at Marcus Performing Arts Center.
“A Solitary Man.” “Song Sung Blue.” “I Am I Said.” All hit songs written and sung by one of the greatest performers of our time: Neil Diamond. But they also describe the man behind that music who grew up a quiet, introspective child into the music legend he remains today.
And that musical legacy is showcased in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical onstage at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The jukebox musical depicts the life of Diamond and his personal and professional tribulations through his many hits.
Named for the title of his 1976 album, A Beautiful Noise is told through a series of sessions between Diamond and his therapist. As they examine the lyrics to his songs, the past comes to life front and center as we watch is career—and life—unfold. A prolific songwriter (he began at age 15), Diamond started out writing hits for other performers given his initial quiet, behind the scenes demeanor. “I’m A Believer,” one of his early successes, was recorded by The Monkees.
But once he got onstage performing his own music, everything changed, including his persona. Diamond became a worldwide phenomenon even surpassing Elvis Presley in record sales. But there always remained a shadowed side to the man—“the clouds”—which carried through into his songwriting, very successfully.
Amazing Music
The sheer entertainment of A Beautiful Noise lies in hearing all the amazing music that Diamond composed. But it also lies the incredible performance of the younger performer Neil, played to great effect by Nick Fradiani. His vocals are similar to Diamond’s gravelly baritone and also possess the singer’s emotional range and depth, be it the high-energy gospel back and forth of “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” to the gentle yearnings of love in the gorgeous ballad, “Play Me.”
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While Diamond’s character can come off as sad, Fradiani manages to distinguish the subtle layers of Diamond’s emotional reserve and make them wholly three-dimensional. The evaluation, personally and professionally, makes an already terrific performance all that more realistic.
As the elder Diamond reliving his life through the session,, veteran Broadway actor Robert Westenberg gives Diamond a restrained yet deftly nuanced approach to this complex man.
Jukebox musicals take songs and then work the story around the music. That approach works, for the most part, in A Beautiful Noise. But the show detours when other performers sing and dance to numbers best heard the main man himself. Fortunately, those are few and far between.
Neil Diamond remains a consummate showman in all ways for all time—singer, songwriter, performer, entertainer. A Beautiful Noise celebrates his legend and his legacy by doing exactly what Diamond set out to do an accomplished— entertaining his audiences and loving every minute of it.
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical runs through March 30 in Uihlein Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including one intermission. Recommended for ages four and up. For more information, call: 414-273-7121, or visit: www.marcuscenter.org
