Tiffany Tatreau, Nick Fradiani, Kate A. Mulligan and ensemble (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Hollywood Pantages Theatre
Thru July 27
RECOMMENDED
Singer/songwriter Neil Diamond had an unprecedented run of hits, most of which will be instantly recognizable to individuals of a certain generation. But it takes an occasion like A Beautiful Noise, in town for a three-week run at the Pantages, to remind us of the sheer aggregate of his genius.
The team behind the musical reads like a Broadway Who’s Who, with Tony Awards thick on the ground. Tony-winner Michael Mayer directs, along with two-time Tony-winner Ken Davenport as producer. Also listed as producer is legendary singer/songwriter Bob Gaudio, an original member of the Four Seasons, who collaborated with Diamond on several albums. Gaudio was also a driving force behind Jersey Boys, the celebrated musical about the group. A hit-maker in his own right (“Sherry,” “Oh, What a Night”), he clearly knows his way around a jukebox musical if anyone does.
In many ways, Noise, which Gaudio brainstormed with Diamond himself, replicates much of Four Seasons’ star Franki Valli’s story, including Diamond’s multiple marriages, his unfortunate early association with the Mob, and the realization that fame, after all, has its downside. (Who knew?)
The evening opens with “Neil – Now” (Robert Westenberg), the older Diamond, sitting silently across from a doctor (Lisa Reneé Pitts), the psychotherapist whom he is consulting at the behest of his third wife, Katie. The Doctor unsuccessfully tries to get the emotionally reticent Diamond to open up about his problems. Trying a new approach, she references a songbook of his previous hits, quoting familiar lyrics to trigger Diamond’s memories and surmount his psychological barriers.
It’s a clever enough framing device, but its execution wears thin. Utilized throughout the show, it’s a serviceable excuse for launching into a sequence of boffo production numbers — the chart-toppers that made Diamond the biggest box office draw in musical history. Unfortunately, the book by four-time Academy Award nominee Anthony McCarten soon cloys into cliché. Creatively, it’s a committee effort, and McCarten, Gaudio et al do their best, but blatant exposition and clunky lines (“I put everything I have into my songs”) never quite elevate Diamond’s first-world problems into something deeper. Steven Hoggett’s annoyingly on-the-nose, jazz-hands choreography doesn’t help.
Still, what do you say about a legend who got an early ticket out of Flatbush and never looked back? The answer? Fall back on plenty of glitz and talent. The glitz, exemplified in David Rockwell’s scenic design, Kevin Adams’s lighting, and Emilio Sosa’s almost-too sparkly costumes, is so dazzling it largely blinds us to the show’s shortcomings.
As for talent, the voices in the show, under the musical direction of James Olmstead, are heavenly, and Hannah Jewel Kohn, who plays Diamond’s second wife Marcia, delivers a standout turn.
However, the production rises and falls with the performer playing Diamond at the peak of his fame. American Idol winner Nick Fradiani, who took over from Will Swenson on Broadway and has been touring with the show since 2024, is a gruff, growly, sexy powerhouse whose voice and physicality spookily approximate that of Diamond himself. He is the engine of the show, whose dynamic performance caused Diamond fans in the audience (and it seemed the audience was almost entirely comprised of Diamond fans) to react with screaming approbation. And when Neil’s wife, Katie, came onstage during the opening night curtain call and pulled up her husband on FaceTime, the crowd’s loud and rapturous response was yet another reminder of just how beloved Diamond is, was, and remains.
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Tues.-Thur., 7:30 p.m.; Fri., 8 p.m. Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m., thru July 27. www.BroadwayInHollywood.com or www.Ticketmaster.com or in person at the Pantages. Running time: two hours and 20 minutes with an intermission.
