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Will Swanson has been preparing to play Neil Diamond almost his entire life. “I listened to it a lot as a kid and played Neil Diamond songs on guitar when I was in eighth grade,” he says.
So, playing young Neil in Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical is a Broadway star’s dream. The show, which opens early next month, will trace the path of a shy Jewish boy from Brooklyn to becoming a hit-making machine with sold-out concerts around the world and 140 million album sales to his name.
Will Swanson as young Neil Diamond with some of the cast of the musical Beautiful Noise – Neil Diamond.
Justin McManus
Like Diamond, Swenson is a baritone, so he made a great impression of the artist who has scored countless hits by singing the anthem. Sweet Caroline to number one hit Cracklin Rosie.
“I would do Neil’s stuff from time to time, just as a party trick, and so when this musical came out, I just thought, ‘This is for me.’
According to him, the way the show is designed is really artful. “The structure of the film is really thoughtful and brings out the depth of who he is and the struggles he has gone through and continues to go through.”
An elderly Diamond, played by Terence Crawford, provides insight into the mind of the famous musician in therapy sessions with his counselor. According to Swenson, audiences are genuinely surprised when they walk away having had a truly emotional experience as well as a great musical experience.
The cast of “A Beautiful Noise” performs “Sweet Caroline,” a true anthem.Justin McManus
One of the most surreal moments for Swanson was the day the team pitched the idea for the show to the man himself. “We were in this little room and I was singing 20 Neil Diamond songs with Neil Diamond’s voice in front of him… 10 feet away. It was the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” Swanson says.
“Once he gave the go-ahead, he couldn’t have been more supportive and helpful; he just nudged me a little along the way: “Maybe do it this way instead of that way.”
“But it was exciting. To have his input and have him in the room and know that he was behind it. He was incredibly kind to me and the actors.”
TEG Dainty executive producer Susie Parks says Australians have a special connection with the legendary singer-songwriter, who toured here seven times between 1976 and 2015. His 1972 live album Hot August night spent 29 weeks at number one and 65 weeks on the charts.
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Diamond, now 85, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2018 and stopped performing live. That same year he was due to visit Australia and New Zealand as part of a 50th anniversary tour.
The show completed its US tour on Sunday night. Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (chess, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and choreography by Olivier Award winner Stephen Hoggett (Once, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), it was written by four-time Academy Award nominee Anthony McCarten, famous Bohemian Rhapsody And Two Popes.
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