‘A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical‘ debuts at Philadelphia’s Forrest Theatre on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The production chronicles the true story of the legendary singer’s rise to stardom, brought to life with authenticity, thanks to Neil Diamond’s pivotal role in shaping the show’s structure and content.
Nick Fradiani brings youthful energy and charisma to the role of Neil Diamond: Then, capturing the shaggy-haired, hip-shaking essence of the star’s early years. With a blend of vigor, vulnerability, and magnetic stage presence, Fradiani portrays a singer-songwriter not only defining his artistry, but also shaping the sound of a generation.
The performance is underscored by iconic hits such as ‘Cracklin’ Rosie,’ ‘Song Sung Blue,’ ‘Solitary Man,’ ‘Love on the Rocks,’ ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,’ and the timeless anthem ‘Sweet Caroline.’
Then there’s the Neil: Now, as portrayed by Robert Westenberg, an older, accomplished superstar with nothing to prove in the twilight of his life, and in therapy, questioning who he is, how he got here, and how can he better himself. Not quite known to Neil: Now at the time of ‘A Beautiful Noise‘, but in the offing, is the fact that Parkinson’s is right around the corner with further questions to follow.
Westenberg, a longtime veteran of the Broadway stage, a Tony Award nominee, and the actor-vocalist who originated the role of ‘The Wolf / Cinderella’s Prince’ in Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 musical ‘Into the Woods‘ looks at the audaciousness of his Neil’s younger self – Neil: Then – and draws parallels between who he is and his Neil: Now.
“Like Diamond, now, I’m not young, so I know the challenges of growing older,” says Westenberg. “My Neil is not a character stretch in regards to the vicissitudes of aging. This Neil is lost, caught between the old ways and the new world that he’s not ready or willing to accept, and that is cleverly and beautifully integrated into his music, and how this show is structured.”
It’s important to note that Diamond himself was crucial to the structure and content of ‘ Beautiful Noise’ and its book from Anthony McCarten. “With that, in my humble opinion, this show transcends what we know as the usual “jukebox musical” in that it’s very personal, intimate and moving.”
Westenberg’s Neil: Now, though not exactly this musical’s narrator, does manage to, in his words, “drive the bus. He’s the mode of force that guides the story and reveals Diamond’s psychological growth. My character takes us on a journey through Neil’s life from its start, and hopefully gets us back home again when the show is over.”
Are Westenberg and Fradiani, the two Neils, mirror images of the other? Do they even try to be?
“I love the guy, and we connected personally, very well and immediately,” says Westenberg. “We didn’t formalize any joint research of Diamond into any sort of merge in regard to rhythm, posture and diction. But Nick and I did study each other and how the other creates their own role. Nick is my North Star…. I’m finding his essence, and tempering that with the weight of growing older.”
For every unforgettable Diamond classic that Fradiani gets to sing, the epically autobiographical ‘I Am…I Said,’ is all Westenberg, the penultimate song of ‘A Beautiful Noise’ which stops the show every time it rings out through any theater space.
“Talk about a song that’s all about identity,” says Westenberg of Diamond’s 1971 smash. “Without getting too academic, identity is one of the core issues within drama, the question of who am I. That question bubbles under throughout the whole of this play — who am I when I can’t sing, who am I when I’m not on front of 20,000 screaming adoring fans, what happens when all of this that made me who I am is stripped away – and its raw existence comes alive with ‘I Am… I Said.’
“This song was brutally painful for him to write, and every theme displayed throughout ‘A Beautiful Noise’ is wrapped up in the moment of that song. That’s when he comes to grip with that eternal question. It’s not an easy song to sing, but with age and all of its limitation imposed upon me, and the probing and brilliance of the scene itself, the poignancy of how it is dramatized, the confrontation with his younger self… I know what that song’s about.”
‘A Beautiful Noise’ is on stage at Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut Street, from Dec. 10 to 22. For information and tickets, visit ensembleartsphilly.org
