Broadway in Orlando review: ‘A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’

After selling over 130 million albums — including 38 Top 10 hits — during a career that spanned over a half -century, superstar singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has certainly earned the right to sit around and navel-gaze all he wants during his Parkinson’s-prompted retirement from touring. But upon seeing his contemporaries like Carole King and Cher have their life stories immortalized as jukebox musicals, the “Jewish Elvis” evidently decided that his end-of-life introspections belonged on Broadway, which turned out to be an act of artistic hubris on par with his starring role in 1980’s remake of The Jazz Singer. That ambitiously awkward movie misfire at least birthed the banger “America,” which bookends A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, a by-the-numbers biography whose sparking score is dulled by shallow self-indulgence.

To produce Beautiful Noise, Diamond turned to his old pal Bob Gaudio — whose Jersey Boys set the still-unrivaled standard for such shows 20 years ago — and recruited a creative dream team including director Michel Mayer and choreographer Steven Hoggett, who previously collaborated on American Idiot. The pair’s propulsive pedestrian-based stage movement gives early scenes charting the rise of young Neil (American Idol winner Nick Fradiani) during the swinging 1960s an effervescent energy that sustains most of the first act, while designer David Rockwell’s antique chandeliers and Emilio Sosa’s sparkling period costumes provide plenty of eye candy to look at … when the audience isn’t being blinded by Kevin Adams’ in-your-face lighting design.

However, the joyful ebullience of sing-along classics like “Cherry Cherry” and “I’m a Believer” is repeatedly interrupted by framing scenes of an elderly Diamond (Robert Westenberg) dourly reflecting on his past under the prodding of his psychoanalyst (Lisa Renee Pitts). Although potentially an intriguing premise, Anthony McCarten’s book doesn’t delve much deeper into Diamond’s biography beyond his Wikipedia entry, and its 11th-hour exploration of his foundational generational trauma is given shockingly short shrift.

Perhaps the problem is that Neil’s life has been too charmed to make compelling drama. The only antagonists are his own insecurities, and a cartoonish mobster who makes an inconsequential cameo, while even the ex-wives (Tiffany Tatreau and Hannah Jewel Kohn, both excellent in underwritten roles) he cheated on remained supportive. Despite the energetic ensemble’s best efforts, all momentum dissipates during the morose second act, and an off-key finale leaves audiences in a meh mood that is only moderated by the mandatory “Sweet Caroline” curtain call.

Anyone under age 25 is probably unfamiliar with Diamond’s music, and although Beautiful Noise‘s story alone is unlikely to convert fans, Fradiani’s phenomenally charismatic incarnation of vintage Neil should send youngsters scurrying to their parents’ vinyl collections. His eerily accurate vocal interpretation and magnetic stage presence are by far the best reasons to see this production; I’d love to see a slimmed-down concert-style version focused on Fradiani’s talents, without all the superficial head-shrinking.

This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2025.