It must be a good sign that, almost 24 hours later, I’m still singing, “Song Sung Blue.”
“The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise,” here for a brief run at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, is full of song, dance, drama, and emotion. It is very lively, and occasionally heavy. For that reason, while I wholeheartedly endorse it for any Neil Diamond fan or music lover of a certain age, I can’t really say it’s a good fit for kids.
Some teens will certainly recognize “Sweet Caroline,” which has become popular to play at sports events. In addition, “I’m a Believer,” which Diamond wrote for the Monkees in 1966, got a second wind in 1999 when Smash Mouth recorded it for the “Shrek” soundtrack.
Beyond this, I think most kids would prefer to do something else for 2 1/2 hours in the evening.
Leave the fun, and the emotion, of “A Beautiful Noise” to the distinctly middle-aged crowd that loved every minute of it earlier this week.
As our seatmates settled in, one enthusiastically predicted, “I’m going to sing and cry; just letting you know.”
She did both of those things, plus lively swaying and chair-dancing. She was not alone.
(Image: Jeremy Daniel)
About the ‘Neil Diamond Musical’
When I go to the theater with my daughter, I get on her case for being on her phone as we await the opening curtain. “Read the program!” I insist. “You’ll learn things.” And to her credit, she has often enjoyed reading the actor bios and finding their Instagram accounts.
In this case, the program contained a “Letter from Neil,” which explained so much. He reveals that, were it not for a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, he would still be touring in his mid-80s. He talks about the process of turning his life into a Broadway musical and the reason for its unique framing: the story is told in the context of a therapy session. “I loved the idea and never shied away from talking about my years of psychoanalysis,” Diamond writes. He goes on to thank his wives, children and grandchildren — and his longtime therapist — and to say that seeing his life told on stage has been “therapeutic.”
Reading the program also yields the tidbit that Nick Fradiani, who plays Diamond, saw him in concert when he was 3. Fradiani is also a past “American Idol” winner (2015). The program does not reveal how or why Fradiani’s voice is so uncannily similar to Diamond’s.
“The Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise” is at the Paramount through Sunday, Jan. 18. Tickets information here.
