‘A Beautiful Noise’ @ Bass Performance Hall (PAFW)
Photo by Jeremy Daniels
—Carol M. Rice
Neil Diamond.
Now there’s someone whose songs have been on the radio since before I was born. Initially, he was more a songwriter than a performer, with his first gold record coming from The Monkees’ rendition of his song “I’m a Believer” in the mid-1960s.
This is one of the fun tidbits I learned from The Neil Diamond Musical, A Beautiful Noise, currently playing as part of Bass Performance Hall’s “Broadway at the Bass” series from Performing Arts Fort Worth. Another is that Neil Diamond is actually his real name. Since these factoids are both discovered towards the beginning of the show, I’m not too concerned about providing spoilers—I’m sure true Neil Diamond fans already know all that and more.
And there were plenty of mega-fans in the opening night audiencee: several around me had to be restrained by people next to them to keep from singing along the entire time, although there are moments when everyone is encouraged to participate. “Sweet Caroline,” anybody?
A Beautiful Noise is essentially a Neil Diamond tribute concert—or better yet, a concert in the middle of singer/songwriter therapy sessions that take us through the humble beginnings of his career to near the end. (I’ll be honest: my companion and I weren’t sure Neil Diamond was still alive, so we looked it up before the show started. He is, and in fact collaborated on the musical.)
We are introduced to Neil-Now (as he is called in the playbill) and his Doctor, played by Robert Westenberg and Lisa Reneé Pitts, during one of those therapy sessions. She introduces a huge book of his music to try to understand her reluctant patient, and the two discuss the lyrics from his past as the scenes unfold around them. They are onstage nearly the whole time as observers, in fact.
DFW native Joe Caskey portrays Neil-Then with the spot-on musical stylings of Neil Diamond. His husky baritone is described by agent Ellie Greenwich as “gravel wrapped in velvet,” which is probably the best way I’ve ever heard of describing such a unique voice. (The role of Neil-Then is normally played by Nick Fradiani.)
As Ellie, Heidi Kettenring has perfected the wise-cracking Jewish-mother-esque agent. Her comic timing is impeccable; I loved her broad facial expressions, and she and Caskey have excellent chemistry together. Kettenring also plays Rose Diamond, Neil’s mother, late in the show.
We get to meet just two of Diamond’s three wives: first wife Jaye is played with sweet innocence by Tiffany Tatreau, while second wife Marcia (portrayed by Hannah Jewel Kohn) is much more of a firecracker. She gets more stage time, too— partly because they were married longer. She’s a fan of Neil’s from their first meeting, and her longing to just be with her husband when he’s constantly away on tour is heartbreaking. Kohn and Caskey’s duet of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” is lovely.
Other than character actors Gene Weygandt as Fred Weintraub, and Tommy O’Rourke and Michael Accardo as Bert Berns and Kieve Diamond, the remainder of the cast is an ensemble called “The Beautiful Noise”—singers and dancers who fill out the stage in tableaux, doing energetic choreography, or playing small roles here and there.
While some of Yasmine Lee’s tour choreography didn’t always seem to match the action, it was always executed beautifully, and Emilio Sosa’s costume design was colorful and consistent. (The sparkly shoes for Neil-Then in Act II were exquisite.) Luc Verschuern’s hair, wig, and makeup design helped us follow the timeline as we moved from the ‘60s to the ‘90s.
Since a large part of A Beautiful Noise is essentially a concert, it was cool to be able to incorporate the band into much of the action onstage. Miles Plant conducts and plays Keyboard 1, with Julius LaFlamme, Gen Thomas Taylor, Aamir Juman, Morgan Parker, Paul Baron, Alex Gabriel Calixto, Siya Charles, and Chaeyoung Son filling out the rest of the band.
With a book by Anthony McCarten and music and lyrics by Neil Diamond, A Beautiful Noise is primarily a fun trip through the Neil Diamond songbook. Some of the therapy scenes felt a little long (and should probably have been set to music), but the show was thoroughly enjoyed by the opening night audience.
WHEN: October 28-November 2, 2025
WHERE: Bass Performance Hall, 525 Commerce St., Fort Worth
WEB: basshall.com
