Guide to 'A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical' on Broadway

The career highlights of the award-winning musician behind "Sweet Caroline," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," and more come to life in this celebratory show.

Good musicals never seemed so good! A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical is the latest Broadway show to celebrate an iconic singer/songwriter, borrowing its title from his hit 1976 album. But this musical showcases more than 25 hits from every stage of his career, from the romantic "Play Me" to the mournful "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" to the crowd-pleaser "Sweet Caroline."

All these tunes and more tell the story of Diamond's life, tracing how he went from an unknown Brooklyn kid to an internationally successful performer. As the real Diamond can no longer perform due to Parkinson's disease — which the musical acknowledges — this show keeps his music alive and reminds audiences of his unmatched talent as a showman.

Read on to learn more about what hardcore Diamond fans and newcomers alike can expect from A Beautiful Noise on Broadway, including performance information, songs featured, and fun facts about this solitary musical.

What is A Beautiful Noise about?

A Beautiful Noise celebrates the singular life and career of Neil Diamond. The show begins with a present-day Diamond sitting in a therapy session, coping with the fact that he can no longer perform. As he looks back through his catalog of hits, memories of key milestones in his life come back, and he and the audience relive them together as they're portrayed on stage.

The show traces Diamond's career from his beginnings as a poor Brooklyn kid with musical talent to a breakout star to one of the bestselling and most beloved artists in the world.

Where is A Beautiful Noise playing?

A Beautiful Noise is at the Broadhurst Theatre, located at 235 West 44th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The Broadhurst opened in 1917 and has operated continually since. The venue is named for playwright George Howells Broadhurst, who put up many of his own plays at the theatre in its early years.

How long is A Beautiful Noise?

A Beautiful Noise on Broadway runs approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, with an intermission. This is an average length for a Broadway musical; they typically run between 2 and 3 hours.

What days is A Beautiful Noise playing?

A Beautiful Noise plays eight performances a week Tuesday through Sunday, with no performances on Mondays. There are matinee and evening performances on Wednesday and Saturday, and only a matinee on Sunday. For the most up-to-date weekly performance schedule, visit the Beautiful Noise page.

When did A Beautiful Noise premiere?

A Beautiful Noise premiered in summer 2022 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, and opened on Broadway later that year. These are the only two major productions of the new musical thus far. In a way, however, the show is decades in the making, as Diamond's career began in the 1960s.

Who wrote A Beautiful Noise?

Neil Diamond wrote all the songs that appear in A Beautiful Noise on Broadway. Diamond is a New York native who first found success in the mid-1960s with the songs "Cherry, Cherry" and "Solitary Man." He has released more than 30 albums' worth of songs since, becoming the only artist to have a top 20 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in every decade since its creation. Some of his best-known tunes remain "Sweet Caroline" and "I'm a Believer." In addition to performing his own music, Diamond has also written songs for film soundtracks and other musicians.

The script for the Beautiful Noise musical is by Anthony McCarten, the four-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Two Popes, The Theory of Everything, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Darkest Hour. He made his Broadway debut with A Beautiful Noise in November 2022, and he also premiered his play The Collaboration on Broadway later that month.

A Beautiful Noise characters

All the characters in A Beautiful Noise are key people in Diamond's life. Diamond himself is such a storied man that two different actors play him. Learn more about the major characters in A Beautiful Noise on Broadway.

• Neil Diamond - Now: This is Diamond at his current age, at which he cannot perform anymore due to health issues. In the musical, he's seen working through his memories and sadness in a therapy session.
• Neil Diamond - Then: A younger version of Diamond, back when he was performing. The actor playing this character portrays Diamond from his days as a young, struggling songwriter to a celebrated musician at the peak of his career.
• Doctor: The therapist an older Diamond is seeing, at his wife's request, to cope with his inability to perform.
• Jaye Posner: Diamond's first wife, who he met in high school and who encourages his music career. Diamond eventually leaves her for Marcia.
• Marcia Murphey: Diamond's second wife, who he meets while performing at the Bitter End music club in New York. Their marriage lasts 25 years, but she dislikes how often he is on the road and away from their family.
• Ellie Greenwich: The record producer who discovered Diamond and produced many of his major hits.
• Bert Berns: A record producer who signed Diamond to his label, BANG Records, in 1965, kickstarting his career.

A Beautiful Noise songs

Dozens of Neil Diamond hits make up the Beautiful Noise musical's score. Some are performed in full, while others appear in snippets and as part of medleys, but they're all carefully ordered to tell the story of Diamond's life. Here are all the musical numbers in A Beautiful Noise on Broadway.

• "Opening Montage"
• "A Beautiful Noise"
• "Neil Pitches Songs: I’ll Come Running / I Got The Feelin’ (Oh No, No) / I’m A Believer"
• "I’m A Believer"
• "Demo Medley: The Boat That I Row / Red Red Wine / Kentucky Woman (Medley)
• "Kentucky Woman"
• "Into The Bitter End"
• "Solitary Man"
• "Cracklin’ Rosie"
• "Song Sung Blue"
• "Cherry, Cherry / September Morn'" (Medley)
• "Love On The Rocks"
• "Hello Again"
• "A Heavenly Progression"
• "Sweet Caroline"
• "Entr’acte"
• "Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show"
• "Play Me"
• "Forever In Blue Jeans"
• "Stadium Medley: Soolaimon / Thank The Lord for the Night Time / Crunchy Granola Suite"
• "You Don’t Bring Me Flowers"
• "Brooklyn Roads / America"
• "Shilo"
• "I Am… I Said"
• "Holly Holy"

What awards has A Beautiful Noise won?

A Beautiful Noise has not won any awards yet, as the Broadway production is the show's first. A Beautiful Noise on Broadway is eligible for prizes at the 2023 Tony Awards ceremony on June 11.

Though A Beautiful Noise has yet to win awards, the man at the center of the musical has won multiple. Diamond's decades of success earned him inductions into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. He has also received a Kennedy Center Honors and two lifetime achievement prizes: the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Major productions of A Beautiful Noise

A Beautiful Noise has only had two major productions thus far. The first was its world premiere at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, in summer 2022. The whole cast from that production transferred over for the Broadway premiere, which debuted at the Broadhurst Theatre in November 2022. The lasting appeal of Diamond and his music, though, make the Beautiful Noise musical ripe for many future productions.

Fun facts about A Beautiful Noise

Can't get enough of the beautiful noise? Learn more fun facts about the musical, Diamond, and his greatest hit songs.

• Diamond wanted to adopt a new name when he began his music career, but music producer Ellie Greenwich convinced him to use his given name.
• Diamond is a New Yorker through and through, but ironically, "Sweet Caroline" has become a Boston anthem. Fans sing the song during the eighth inning of every Red Sox home game.
• Diamond wrote "Sweet Caroline" for his second wife, Marcia Murphey, but "Sweet Marcia" didn't fit the tune. He was then inspired by the name of former President Kennedy's daughter, Caroline. Even though the song wasn't about her, Diamond later performed it for her 50th birthday in 2007.
• Will Swenson, who stars as the younger Diamond, was a huge fan of the singer growing up. He would often impersonate Diamond and play his songs for others. As an adult, he's sung Diamond songs alongside his wife, Audra McDonald, during her concerts.
• Swenson plays eight different guitars during each performance of A Beautiful Noise.
• The premiere of A Beautiful Noise at the Broadhurst coincided with the 50th anniversary of a concert series Diamond performed at a different Broadway theatre, the Winter Garden.

How to get A Beautiful Noise tickets

Hear the beautiful noise for yourself, and get an exclusive peek into Neil Diamond's life while grooving to all his hit songs. If you're a believer in Diamond's star power, see A Beautiful Noise on Broadway.

Photo credit: A Beautiful Noise on Broadway. (Photos by Julieta Cervantes)