“At 84, His Voice Trembled — But So Did the Stadium.” Neil Diamond, battling Parkinson’s, made a rare surprise appearance at Fenway Park — joining the cast of A Beautiful Noise to sing “Sweet Caroline” one more time. The crowd rose, the city held its breath, and for a few sacred minutes, Boston wasn’t just singing along — it was witnessing living history.
“Sweet Caroline” has become an anthem to Red Sox fans where at every home game an eighth-inning singalong takes place at Fenway Park. Diamond last appeared at Fenway in 2013 in the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing leading fans in an emotional rendition of his 1969 hit.
A Beautiful Noise will begin its world premiere six-week engagement at Boston’s Emerson Colonial (106 Boylston Street) on Tuesday, June 21. The production will then open on Broadway this fall at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street) with preview performances beginning Wednesday, November 2 ahead of an official opening night set for Sunday, December 4.
Including a score of Diamond’s most beloved songs, A Beautiful Noise features a book by four-time Academy Award®-nominee Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything), direction by Tony Award® winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot), and choreography by Olivier Award® winner and four-time Tony Award nominee Steven Hoggett (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Once, Black Watch).
About the Cast
The Boston cast is led by Tony Award® nominee Will Swenson as Neil Diamond – Then, Tony Award nominee Mark Jacoby as Neil Diamond – Now, Tony Award nominee Robyn Hurder as Marcia, and Linda Powell as Doctor.
They are joined by Jessie Fisher as Jaye Posner; Michael McCormick as Fred Colby, Tommy O’Rourke; Tom Alan Robbins as Bert Berns, Kieve Diamond; and Bri Sudia as Ellie Greenwich, Rose Diamond.
The ensemble, swings, and standbys includes Jessie Austrian (standby for Ellie Greenwich, Jaye Posner, Marcia, and Rose Diamond), Neal Benari (standby Neil Diamond – Now), Jordan Dobson (ensemble), Ninako Donville (swing), Paige Faure (ensemble), Nick Fradiani (standby Neil Diamond – Then), Kalonjee Gallimore (ensemble), Samantha Gershman (swing), Alex Hairston (ensemble), Makai Hernandez (swing), Jess LeProtto (ensemble), Tatiana Lofton (ensemble), Aaron James McKenzie (ensemble), Mary Page Nance (ensemble), Robert Pendilla (swing), Max Sangerman (ensemble), and MiMi Scardulla (ensemble).
With his first break into songwriting in the 1960s and his meteoric rise in the 1970s, and plenty of crushing disappointments and heart-stopping triumphs along the way, Neil Diamond has maintained an almost unthinkable level of superstardom for five straight decades. How did a poor Jewish kid from Brooklyn become one of the most universally adored showmen of all time? There’s only one way to tell it: a musical set to his era-defining smash hits that entranced the world.
Photo credit: Matthew Murphy
