A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical review [Melbourne]

Anchored by the extraordinary star turn of visiting Broadway performer Will Swenson, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical provides Diamond’s legion Melbourne fans the chance to revisit and revel in his prolific catalogue of highly personal hits. 2022 Broadway musical A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical makes a relatively prompt appearance in Australia, perhaps boosted by co-producer Paul Dainty’s almost forty year association with the great man himself. Diamond made seven Australian tours (every one of which, I can attest, was enthusiastically attended by my mother in her lifetime). Book writer Anthony McCarten uses a unique framing device for the bio-musical with mostly positive results. We join the cantankerous older Diamond (Neil Diamond – Now) in therapy, his Doctor prompting reminiscences with a hefty tome of Diamond’s complete lyrics. McCarten deftly sidesteps the usual onslaught of wikipedia factoids, beginning with young Diamond (Neil Diamond – Then) as a…