The Fox Theatre was filled with audiences “ba ba ba”-ing to “Sweet Caroline” and exploring the personal life of Neil Diamond during the limited one-week run of “A Beautiful Noise” from March 11–16. Neil Diamond may be most known for his hit song “Sweet Caroline,” but the musical memoir, created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, reminds the audience that his legacy extends beyond the classic tune.
In “A Beautiful Noise,” a therapy session frames the narrative, using prompts from Neil’s therapist based on a book of Diamond’s lyrics. Each prompt invites a young Neil to take the stage and leaves the present Neil and his therapist to watch and reflect on his life. The musical excelled most in its smooth implementation of Neil Diamond’s hit songs throughout the production. Each song, before seen only as a hit, was placed in a context that developed the characters and showcased the nuances of Neil Diamond’s life. While his rise to fame was told mostly chronologically within the framing, the plot of both present-day and past narratives centered around Neil Diamond coming to terms with the changes in his life as he first rose in popularity.
“A Beautiful Noise” ties its central messages to production elements such as costuming, set and lighting design. Unique lighting fixtures spread a warm, welcoming yellow that is replaced with cold stage lights as Neil rises in fame and begins to lose the truth of his lyrics that he sought to spread as a young artist. When he confronts himself both in the past and present, the lighting fixture types start to blur, finding a place for authenticity in his famous lifestyle.
The costuming replicated the style of each decade of the narrative, with its strength lying in the small details. For example, as Neil’s attraction to Marsha grows, she is seen increasingly in red, culminating in an all-red dress with thigh-high boots during the song “Cherry, Cherry.” However, as their connection fades, she is seen in less red, with her last appearance wearing the color being a red belt in “Forever in Blue Jeans” as she holds onto their relationship with lyrics such as “I’d like to say we’d do okay, forever in blue jeans.” Her next appearance sets the fate of their relationship as she enters the scene in a green dress.
“Forever in Blue Jeans” also showcases another subtle connection, as Neil Diamond’s ex-wife makes a brief appearance in the jean-wearing ensemble wearing a denim skirt, reminding the audience of how their relationship ended: it was not okay, they were not “forever in blue jeans.” These small variances added layers to the meanings behind the songs and supplemented the emotional development of the characters.
The therapy session framing was essential to communicating the point of the musical to the audience. A chronological narrative would have been devoid of the authenticity allowed by connecting the plot’s forward movement to Neil Diamond confronting his past self. The intentional biases of this subjective narrative are on display in moments like when Neil minimizes a conversation from his past before replaying the scene and accepting the more difficult, but true version of events. At many points, present-day Neil Diamond deflects from his therapist’s difficult questions onto other subjects, moving away from problems that are too difficult for him to face until he’s presented with other events from his past.
“A Beautiful Noise” reminds the audience of Diamond’s impact on the music industry while offering an inside look at his personal life. Those unfamiliar with the singer’s work can still enjoy the masterful blend of creative art direction, well-developed narrative, and of course, Neil Diamond’s iconic hits.