When Will Swenson was young, there was a poster of Neil Diamond in the family garage. The singer was a centrepiece in the Swenson home.
“His songs were just in my DNA growing up,” Swenson told The AJN. “He’s my dad’s favourite singer of all time.”
That kid from Utah is now the Tony-nominated Broadway star embodying Diamond on stage in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.
So how does a kid who picked up a guitar in eighth grade to impress girls end up performing as his hero on Broadway?
“I always had his voice in my ear. And I think when I realised I had a similar baritone timbre to my voice … It was a gradual thing, but I completely place the blame on my dad,” Swenson told Broadway Direct.
His father was such a big fan that when Swenson was first approached to develop the show, he kept it from his dad.
“If it fell apart, it would have broken his heart. So I waited until the last possible minute to tell him.” The payoff was worth the secrecy. “I actually got to introduce my dad to Neil on opening night, which was amazing.”
“But I think the way that the creators of the show have framed it allows for a deeper introspection, revealing Neil’s challenges throughout his life…”
The musical is structured as something deeper than a greatest-hits concert, though the hits are very much present. It opens with an older Diamond in therapy, looking back on his life, then flashes back to Swenson as the younger Neil, performing the songs and living through the triumphs and turbulence.
The two Neils share the stage throughout but never quite connect, until the show’s emotional climax, when Diamond finally reckons with the question at its heart. Is he still enough if he can no longer perform?
“Neil being a singer, because he has Parkinson’s, can no longer perform,” Swenson told The AJN. “And so he keeps asking this question, ‘Am I still enough? Am I still valuable?’ And I think that’s something that every person goes through. It’s like, ‘I am this’. And if you were to take that away, are you still enough?”
Swenson visibly wells up talking about the moment the two Neils finally lock eyes.
“It’s moving to me every night,” he said, showing just how emotional the show actually gets.
Getting Diamond’s blessing was its own kind of theatre. During development, Swenson and about 10 actors performed the fledgling show in a tiny New York rehearsal room, with Diamond sitting roughly three metres away.
“There I was with a guitar, emulating Neil’s sound and pretending to be him in front of him, and it was the most surreal experience that I’ve ever had in my life. I don’t remember a lot of it. I think I just blanked out,” he laughed.
For Swenson, the privilege of telling Diamond’s story goes beyond the music.
“A lot of people don’t know who he is and where he came from, and his challenges and his origins are interesting and deep,” he said. “It’s a night of not just great music, it’s also a moving story about someone overcoming and coming to terms with the future.”
The show also doesn’t shy away from Diamond’s Jewish identity either and according to Swenson, Diamond was adamant at having those details included.
“We deal with and address his Jewishness in the show quite a bit, and how this sort of meek, introverted Jewish kid from Brooklyn turned into this huge showman,” he said.
Asked whether performing a living legend’s songs for audiences who know every lyric creates extra pressure, Swenson laughed. The team had to figure out how much sing-along to accommodate, particularly during Sweet Caroline, knowing they had to shape the show in a way to allow for audiences to get involved.
But the flip side is an audience that arrives already on side.
“I come out for the first number and the crowd is thrilled to see me. As an actor, it’s like, I didn’t earn this yet. I know you’re clapping for Neil and I will happily receive this applause,” he chuckled, saying it’s definitely tricky playing someone who is so popular and who is still alive. “Everyone knows his mannerisms, his sound, and every lyric to every song.”
If he had to pick a favourite number, Swenson nominates Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show, a gospel-fuelled opener to the second act.
“Neil has kind of come into his power and the whole band is finally on stage and he’s wearing his sparkles. It’s Neil at his prime.”
As for what audiences can expect, Swenson confirms it will be so much more than anyone expects.
“I think when audiences come to see the show, they will be anticipating a great night of music. We all know and love Neil Diamond’s music and they get that in spades. But I think the way that the creators of the show have framed it allows for a deeper introspection, revealing Neil’s challenges throughout his life,” Swenson explained.
“And I think they will walk away having undergone the catharsis that Neil goes through and went through in his life and they’ll have a much more emotionally fulfilling night of theatre than they expect.”
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical opens in Melbourne in August before heading to Sydney in November. For more and tickets, visit theneildiamondmusical.com.au/
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