Latest news with #ABeautifulNoise
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Neil Diamond Gives Surprise Performance of 'Sweet Caroline' for 'A Beautiful Noise 'Audience
Neil Diamond surprised the audience of the July 12 matinee performance of A Beautiful Noise by singing "Sweet Caroline" in Los Angeles The musician retired from concert touring in 2018 after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease His impromptu appearances to belt out the 1969 hit through the years has brought fans joyIt's impossible not to sing along to "Sweet Caroline" — especially when Neil Diamond has the mic. During the curtain call of the Saturday, July 12 matinee performance of A Beautiful Noise at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, the 84-year-old singer surprised audiences with an impromptu performance of "Sweet Caroline." Nick Fradiani, who portrays Neil in the musical based on his life, introduced the legendary musician, who was seated in the orchestra section with a microphone in hand, ready to sing the 1969 song. After his performance, Neil greeted the cast and company of A Beautiful Noise backstage and spent time with them. The musical's Instagram account called Neil's appearance, "a moment we'll never forget." Days before, during the curtain call of the Los Angeles opening night of A Beautiful Noise on Wednesday, July 9, actor Fradiani, 39, paused the standing ovation to surprise the audience. "I've been doing this show for a long time now, and it's still an amazing feeling to perform Neil's songs for everybody. And we have a special guest here, a good friend of the show: Katie Diamond," he said, introducing Neil's wife. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'This is really a special day for me, because as I'm sure many of you know, if you're a fan of Neil, that 'The Jazz Singer' was shot in this very venue for the live scenes. So it's really special, actually, for me to stand here on this stage." "It's very exciting. Also, I do have Neil on FaceTime, so please welcome on stage Neil Diamond," Katie, 53, added, showing off her phone screen, which featured Neil. She held her microphone to the phone speaker for him to sing the 1969 hit. Diamond has surprised fans with performances of "Sweet Caroline" through the years, including a massive sing-along in Times Square for New Year's Eve in December 2017. He made an appearance at Fenway Park in June 2022, where the song is played during the middle of the eighth inning at Boston Red Sox Games, and at the Broadway show's opening night in December later that year. The December 2022 performance marked the first time he had performed in his hometown since 2017. In January 2018, Neil announced that he was retiring from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring. I have been so honored to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years," he said in a statement at the time. "My sincerest apologies to everyone who purchased tickets and were planning to come to the upcoming shows. I plan to remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come." "My thanks goes out to my loyal and devoted audiences around the world. You will always have my appreciation for your support and encouragement. This ride has been 'so good, so good, so good' thanks to you." In March 2023, Neil opened up about his Parkinson's disease diagnosis, saying that he had accepted it several years later. "Somehow, a calm has moved in, and the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio," he said during an appearance on CBS Sunday Mornings. "And, I like it. I find that I like myself better. I'm easier on people. I'm easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone." Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Neil Diamond, 84, bravely returns to the stage amid devastating Parkinson's battle
Neil Diamond delivered a deeply moving surprise performance at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles over the weekend. Seven years after retiring from touring following his Parkinson's disease diagnosis, the beloved 84-year-old music legend stunned the audience with an impromptu rendition of his 1969 classic, Sweet Caroline, from his seat in the crowd. The incredible moment happened as the Grammy Award-winning legend attended the musical, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, which tells the story of his life and career through his music. In a touching Instagram video from the show, the musical's lead, Nick Fradiani, introduced Diamond—who didn't miss a beat as he began to sing, his voice ringing out strong and familiar, as the entire room joined in. Despite his health battle, his spirit and voice soared, filling the theatre with joy and nostalgia. By his side stood his wife, Katie McNeil, visibly moved as she watched him sing. As the audience erupted in cheers, he turned to her and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. After leading the crowd in son, Diamond expressed his gratitude to those around him. The comments section was flooded with sweet messages as fans called his performance electric. 'I was lucky enough to be in the room. Great show, wonderful surprise, still have goosebumps. Thank you!!' one shared. Another gushed: 'Story teller, song writer, musician, poet, all put together in a name to live on in music forever, glad to be part of the generation living with Neil Diamond.' 'Omg that was incredible, I'm so glad I got to see this,' a third raved. On Sunday, Fradiani, who stars as Diamond in the Broadway musical, shared his heartwarming reaction to the Forever In Blue Jeans hitmaker attending the show. 'I built up this day in my head for over 2 years. The day where Neil Diamond himself would see this show,' he wrote on Instagram. 'It sounds cliché, but I don't have the exact words to describe how it felt portraying a music icon as he sat and watched from an audience. But mostly I felt honored and fulfilled.' Fradiani concluded: 'He's a great man, a great musician, and he's changed so many of our lives. I was able to tell him how much he's changed mine. Thank you for letting me share your songs and story across the country every night my friend.' The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's numerous hits include Sweet Caroline, America, Love on the Rocks and Hello Again. Diamond has sold well over 125 million records over his 50 year career and is in both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The hitmaker was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941 and previously described his upbringing, with a father in the Army, as 'poor.' He got his first guitar at age 16 for his birthday. However, he did not pursue music immediately. It was only after attending New York University as a pre-med student, on a fencing scholarship, that he discovered his true calling. Finding himself bored in class he began cutting school to write music and less than a semester shy of graduating he dropped out of college for a songwriting gig at Sunbeam Music Publishing for $50 a week. In 2023, Diamond reflected on his Parkinson's disease diagnosis and learning to live with the condition. 'I'm still doing it. And I don't like it,' he explained on CBS Sunday Morning. 'OK, so this is the hand that God's given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am.' The I Am I Said crooner first revealed his condition in 2018, though he was diagnosed more than a decade ago and said of that time that he was 'in denial' and 'not ready to accept it.' 'I was in denial for the first year or two. When the doctor told me what it was, I was just not ready to accept it,' he admitted. 'I said, "Oh, OK. I'll see you, you know, whenever you wanna see me. But I have work to do, so I'll see you later."' The singer explained that it took years for him to truly accept his diagnosis. 'I can't really fight this thing, so I had to accept it, this Parkinson's disease,' he said. 'There's no cure. There's no getting away from it.' Overall, he said he's 'come to accept what limitations' he has and still has 'great days.' Since his acceptance, he said, 'a calm has moved into the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio.' 'I find that I like myself better,' he continued. 'I'm easier on people, I'm easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone.' The Song Sung Blue singer is celebrating the fact that he can still sing and he hasn't totally given up on the idea of touring again someday - even if its in a limited way. 'I just have to take life as it comes to me, enjoy it, be thankful that I've had it, especially having the life that I've had,' he said. Since his acceptance, he said, 'a calm has moved into the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio.' 'I find that I like myself better,' he continued. 'I'm easier on people, I'm easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone.' Parkinson's disease is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world and there is currently no cure. It causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, an impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability. It is a progressive neurological condition that destroys cells in the part of the brain that controls movement. Sufferers are known to have diminished supplies of dopamine because nerve cells that make it have died. Around 18,000 Brits and 90,000 Americans are diagnosed every year, with charities estimating that one in 37 people alive today will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Celebrities who have battled the condition include Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, Billy Connolly, Alan Alda, George H.W. Bush and Ozzy Osbourne.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Neil Diamond surprises fans with rare performance 7 years after announcing retirement
Good times never seemed so good. Neil Diamond made a surprise appearance at Saturday's performance of 'A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical' at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, seven years after he announced his Parkinson's diagnosis and retirement from touring. In an Instagram video, the musical's lead, 'American Idol' winner Nick Fradiani, introduced Diamond, 84, who delivered an impromptu performance of his hit 'Sweet Caroline' from the audience. 11 Neil Diamond visits 'A Beautiful Noise' at the Hollywood Pantages on July 12. Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages 11 Neil Diamond in the audience at 'A Beautiful Noise.' Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages The music icon, dressed in a baseball cap and long-sleeved shirt, was surrounded by fans who joined him and the band in singing the classic 1969 song. At the end of the performance, Diamond thanked the crowd who erupted into cheers and roars for him. 11 Neil Diamond sings 'Sweet Caroline.' Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages 11 Neil Diamond gives an impromptu performance at the musical based on his life. Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages 'A moment we'll never forget. #abeautifulnoise,' the musical's Instagram page captioned the video of Diamond. In the comments section, fans praised the Grammy Award winner for his electric performance. 'A moment in Neil's life, such warmth in ours, thank you Neil,' one fan wrote. 11 Neil Diamond at the July 12 performance of 'A Beautiful Noise.' Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages 11 Neil Diamond with the touring cast of 'A Beautiful Noise.' Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages 'What a treat for this wonderful cast and show! Neil looks great! God bless him,' another fan said. A third person wrote, 'Magic. Neil is a true Hero.' 'I was lucky enough to be in the room. Great show, wonderful surprise, still have goosebumps. Thank you!!' someone else said. 11 Neil Diamond with his wife Katie at 'A Beautiful Noise.' Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages 11 Neil Diamond visits the musical based on his life. Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for Pantages Fradiani, 39, also posted footage from Diamond's visit to the show with pictures of them posing backstage. 'I built up this day in my head for over 2 years. The day where Neil Diamond himself would see this show,' the singer wrote. 'It sounds cliché, but I don't have the exact words to describe how it felt portraying a music icon as he sat and watched from an audience.' 'But mostly I felt honored and fulfilled,' Fradiani continued. 'He's a great man, a great musician, and he's changed so many of our lives. I was able to tell him how much he's changed mine.' 'A Beautiful Noise,' which is currently on tour at the Pantages Theatre through July 27, opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theater in Dec. 2022 and had its curtain call in June 2024. The musical is based on Diamond's life and music. Will Swensen originated the lead role, while Fradiani took over for the tour. Diamond has mostly been out of the spotlight since revealing in 2018 that he has Parkinson's. 11 Neil Diamond performs at the Songwriters Hall of Fame 49th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner in NYC in 2018. Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame 11 Neil Diamond in 1974. Getty Images 'This is me; this is what I have to accept. And I'm willing to do it,' he said during an interview on 'CBS Sunday Morning' in March 2023. 'And, OK, so this is the hand that God's given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am,' he added. 'I am.' 11 Neil Diamond posing for a photo at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. Getty Images for IMDb The 'Song Sung Blue,' who attended the Broadway play's opening night in 2022 and performed a rendition of 'Sweet Caroline,' also admitted that he was 'embarrassed' seeing his life onstage. 'Being found out is the scariest thing you can hope for because we all have a facade,' he shared in the CBS interview. 'And the truth be known to all of 'em. I'm not some big star — I'm just me.'
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘American Idol' winner Nick Fradiani channels the gruff brilliance of Neil Diamond in ‘A Beautiful Noise'
'A Beautiful Noise' is a jukebox musical that understands the assignment. The show, which opened Wednesday at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre on the Broadway musical's North American tour, exists to celebrate the rough magic of Neil Diamond's catalog. If glorious singing of American pop gold is what you're looking for, 'A Beautiful Noise' delivers. Diamond's fans will no doubt feel remunerated by the thrilling vocal performance of Nick Fradiani, the 2015 winner of 'American Idol,' who plays the young iteration of the double-cast Neil, the Brooklyn-born pop sensation who went on a rocket ship to fame and fortune that gave him everything in the world but the peace that had always eluded him. Fradiani vocally captures not just the driving excitement of Diamond's singing but the note of masculine melancholy that gives the songs their grainy, ruminative subtext. Jukebox musicals, inspired perhaps by the commercial success of 'Mamma Mia!,' tend to muscle an artist's hits into flagrantly incongruous dramatic contexts. Anthony McCarten, the book writer of 'A Beautiful Noise,' avoids this trap by setting up a framework that deepens our appreciation of Diamond's music by shining a biographical light on how the songs came into existence. The older version of , now the grizzled Diamond burnt out by tour life and desperate not to duplicate the mistakes he made in his first two marriages, is played by Robert Westenberg. He's been sent by his third wife to a psychotherapist to work on himself. As he shares with the doctor (Lisa Reneé Pitts), he's been told that he's hard to live with — an accusation that his long, stubborn silences in the session make instantly credible. Introspection is as unnatural to Neil as it was for Tony Soprano, but the doctor gently guides Neil past his resistance. Intrigued by his remark that he put everything he had to say into his music, she presents him with a volume of his collected lyrics and asks him to talk her through one of his songs. 'I Am … I Said,' which makes reference to a frog that dreamed of being a king before becoming one, cuts too close to the bone. That single will have to wait for a breakthrough in therapy, but he is lured back into his past when the Jewish boy from Flatbush talked his way into a meeting with Ellie Greenwich (Kate A. Mulligan), the famed songwriter and producer, who convinced him not to change his name and gave him the chance that set him down the road to stardom. The production, directed by Michael Mayer and choreographed by Steven Hoggett, marks this therapy milestone by having backup singers and chorus members emerge from behind Neil's chair. Out of darkness, musical euphoria shines through. The show's approach is largely chronological. 'I'm A Believer,' which became a runaway hit for the Monkees, catapults Diamond into the big leagues. Once he starts singing his own material, he becomes a bona fide rock star — a moody Elvis who straddles rock, country, folk and pop with a hangdog bravura. Neil's first marriage to Jaye Posner (a touching Tiffany Tatreau) is an early casualty after he falls in love with Marcia Murphey (Hannah Jewel Kohn, spinning a seductive spell musically and dramatically). It's Marcia who coaches him into playing the part of front man. The hits come fast and furious after that, but the frenzy of tour life exacts a severe toll. Of course, everyone at the Pantages is waiting impatiently for 'Sweet Caroline,' the anthem that never fails to transform into a sing-along after the first 'bum-bum-bum.' The performance of this ecstatic number is powerfully mood-elevating. Fradiani's character work is most impressive in his singing. That's when the inner trouble Neil has been evading since his Brooklyn childhood hauntingly resounds. 'America,' 'A Beautiful Noise,' 'Song Sung Blue,' 'Love on the Rocks' and 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers,' songs heard countless times, take on more weight as the circumstances of their creation are revealed. The therapy gets a little heavy-handed in the protracted final stretch. But Westenberg, who's a touch too emphatic early on, lends poignancy to the cathartic release that ushers Neil into a new place of self-understanding. By keeping the focus where it should be — on the music — 'A Beautiful Noise' thrives where more ambitious jukebox musicals stumble. This is a show for fans. But as the son of one who remembers the songs from family road trips, even though I have none of them in my music library, I was grooving to the sound of a bygone America, high on its own unlimited possibilities. At the curtain call at Wednesday's opening, Katie Diamond came on stage and video-called her husband as the Pantages audience collectively joined in an encore of 'Sweet Caroline.' It wasn't easy to hear Diamond sing, but it hardly mattered. Fradiani had supplied that dopamine rush for more than two hours with his virtuoso musical portrayal.
Chicago Tribune
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Bri Sudia shines in ‘Always… Patsy Cline' at Drury Lane Theatre
Cowboy hats and Nashville-style dresses proliferated Thursday night in Oakbrook Terrace. Not the first time I've noticed that fans of country music are more common in Chicago's western suburbs than many people think. All had assembled at the Drury Lane Theatre for 'Always … Patsy Cline,' a remarkably resilient revue by Ted Swindley that now has enjoyed a longer life than did the actual Patsy Cline herself. (Cline died in a Tennessee plane crash in 1963 when she was just 30 years old.) Based on the real-life friendship between Cline and one of her fans, Louise Seger, the revue has a long and auspicious history in Chicago. It was a massive, late-1990s hit for Northlight Theatre with folk singer Megon McDonough appearing in the title role, before the late Hollis Resnik took over when the show moved into a commercial run at the Apollo Theatre. I've reviewed this two-person (plus live band) show several other times, too, most recently about five years ago when it was staged in an intimate setting by Firebrand Theatre. Over the years, I've found that its simplicity is its biggest asset. 'Always… Patsy Cline' avoids the usual jukebox tropes of record label suits and managers who don't understand and focuses instead on delivering Cline's greatest hits within the context of a simple female friendship. Louise tells the singer's story from a fan's perspective and Patsy delivers 27(!) of the hits, mostly in honkytonk-style settings. And at less than two hours with an intermission, the show doesn't outstay its welcome. All that said, and despite my familiarity with this material, I really had an uncommonly great time on Thursday night, mostly because of the presence of Bri Sudia in the role of Louise. Sudia, recently back from appearing on Broadway for a year in the Neil Diamond musical 'A Beautiful Noise,' is far and away the best Louise I've seen. She's funny, empathetic and just so very warm; it's easy to condescend to Louise, as to all superfans, but Sudia simply refuses to do anything like that. She honors her character's obsession — at one point, she leans so far and lovingly toward Aja Alcazar's Patsy that Sudia's body occupies a diagonal plane — but also never takes her character too seriously. As a result, she feels both like Cline's great protector and also one of us. I don't exaggerate when I say this is a truly fabulous performance, a piece of acting that wrestles with this little show and makes it seem so much more than it has felt in the past. Clearly, Sudia has learned that even jukebox revues need to have stakes and they have to be able to drive the action forward, too. On the night I was there, the audience simply adored her goofiness. Alcazar is the ideal foil for that: elegant, honest, and rich of voice but also self-protected and slightly unknowable, as is the case with all stars. I suspect the skilled director, Scott Weinstein, had a lot to do with that. He knew who the real star of the piece was, even though her partner is essential to the enterprise. Colette Pollard's set is like an A-frame, a lovely evocation of small-town Tennessee, even if the band (under the lively direction of Ellie Kahn) looks a bit scrunched. And Lee Fiskness knows where to shine the kinds of lights Cline never knew. I suspect lots of my readers already know and have seen this show and, if choosing whether or not to lay down the credit card and go and bathe once again in the pleasures of 'True Love,' 'Crazy' and 'Walkin' After Midnight,' perhaps with a sweetie on hand, will merely want to know that their affection for the piece will be protected (guaranteed) and that they'll have some fresh fun (yup). Aside from admiring the straightforward artistry here and enjoying the pleasure of others, I kept thinking about Taylor Swift's famously close relationships with her fans, turning up at their bridal showers and whatnot; maybe Patsy and Louise were far ahead of their time. Review: 'Always Patsy Cline' (3.5 stars) When: Through Aug. 3 Where: 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes Tickets: $75-$150 at 630-530-0111 and
