The smash-hit Broadway show A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical will make its Australian premiere in Melbourne next month before heading to Sydney in November. Acclaimed Broadway star Will Swenson, who originated the role of Neil Diamond on Broadway, will lead the cast.
Rehearsals are well underway, and Will took time out to chat to The Scoop ahead of the premiere season. Will talks all things Neil Diamond, including the shy man behind the superstar, the emotional question at the heart of A Beautiful Noise, and why Australians remain some of Diamond’s most passionate fans. Read the full interview below:
Neil Diamond was closely involved in the development of A Beautiful Noise. What surprised you most about him once you got to know him?
I would say that in person, he is quite an introvert. You see Neil Diamond on stage with his flamboyant costumes and his huge persona and his amazing voice, and he’s just the ultimate showman. And then in real life, he’s very quiet. You come to learn that his music is the way that he expresses himself. In real life, he’s really shy and soft-spoken. That was a big surprise to me.
You originated the role of Neil Diamond (then) in this musical. How has your understanding of him, and your performance, changed over that time? Are you still discovering new moments, or has the role become second nature?
I mean, hopefully, as an actor, you try to find new things every night. One thing that I try to do is continue my research. The nice thing about playing Neil Diamond is that there’s endless hours of footage of him either performing or being interviewed. So I find it quite fun to try to unearth and dig up old interviews, or old biographies and read everything that I can about his life and history.
Those things tend to give me a little bit of insight about what he might have been thinking back then. That’s been a fun thing to try to alter my take on it, and not just do the same robot show every night.
The songs may be familiar, but the emotional journey often takes audiences by surprise. Why do you think Neil Diamond’s story, particularly its themes of identity, loneliness and finding purpose, continues to strike such a chord today?
You know, I think everyone wants to feel validated. That’s the thing that I’ve learned with this show. And the main central question this show asks is: Am I enough? If that one thing that makes me feel whole and makes me feel important gets taken away, am I still enough?
It’s a deep question that I think to some extent everyone goes through. Who am I? There are questions about what our contribution is to this world. Neil’s gone through challenges, in particular, he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and he can no longer perform.
The show asks those questions through the storytelling lens that we’ve devised, and I think it’s something that everybody can relate to. On top of that, a lot of his lyrics deal with those same questions, and I think it’s just a great synergy of depth of emotion. Then his songs are interwoven with that, and it just ends up being a really fulfilling night, as well as a great time with some great songs.
Everyone seems to have their Neil Diamond song. They’re not just hearing you perform. They’re reliving weddings, road trips, first loves and family memories. Does carrying those memories with you each night add a different kind of responsibility?
Oh, it does on a personal level. And for Neil, as I’ve come to learn what these songs mean to him, it’s been a different thing to have that duty or weight on my shoulders.
My dad’s favourite singer of all time was Neil Diamond. It’s half the reason that I had those songs in my bones before this was even a musical. They mean a lot to me. There are certain lyrics that I’ve shared with my mom or my dad over the years. When I sing them in the course of the show each night, I just have a moment of them being with me. And it makes it very, very personal and beautiful for me.
What are you most looking forward to about performing for Australian theatre audiences?
Well, I’ll tell you what. I’ve stayed friends with Neil and his wife, Katie, and when I let them know that I was going to do the Australian production, they said, “Oh, that’s fantastic. Australia is the most amazing fan base. They are so full of energy, and we’ve always loved every second we’ve spent down there.” So, just knowing that the Australian folks down here are ready and hungry for all things Neil Diamond is very, very exciting to me.
Your wife and daughter are joining you in Australia. Does having your family with you change what could otherwise feel like a long tour?
Yes, 100%. I probably wouldn’t have been able to take this tour had we not decided to do it as a family. My wife is in the business as well, and we try to tag team so that someone is actually home to raise our daughter. Someone is there to put her to bed. But a long-term commitment out of the country, away from home, would just be too hard on our family dynamic. So we all decided to come down for a family adventure and enjoy this incredible country and do this fun show at the same time.
Australia’s musical theatre industry has been having some important conversations about how large-scale productions can remain financially sustainable. Having worked internationally, have you noticed different approaches to supporting commercial theatre? Are there any lessons the industries can learn from each other?
I wish I were more well-versed in how the structures and history of theatre in Australia have functioned previously. Speaking from my experience on Broadway, which is likely a different scenario, all Broadway productions are just commercial ventures without help from the government. I think to a certain extent, all shows are chosen based on their commercial viability, and not necessarily just what artistic merit they may have.
I do feel like there’s been an evolution in the casting and the show choices on Broadway. There’s a certain sense that we have to have a star in this role, or it won’t sell. Or the title has to be recognisable, or it won’t sell. I think people are a lot more reticent to buy a ticket to something that they’re not as familiar with, and I imagine that’s part of the equation here as well.
Perhaps folks aren’t as willing to take a risk on something that they’re not feeling is a guaranteed good night at the theatre, because they just don’t know it as well. So, in that sense, I think we’re lucky with the Neil Diamond show that he’s a known entity that people already love.
If it’s the case that a show that people don’t know is not going to sell as well, that’s heartbreaking. One of my favourite things in the world is to discover something unknown to me and see a beautiful piece of theatre or art that is waiting to be discovered, but perhaps isn’t well known.
Art can be risky, and the artists take a risk to put it up. Hopefully, people will be brave enough to risk a little bit and support theatre, even though it’s not as recognisable as they may be used to.
Despite the challenges facing live theatre around the world, audiences continue to turn out for stories that connect with them. What gives you confidence about the future of musical theatre?
Oh, selfishly, I just think it’s the greatest art form. It’s the most collaborative art form. There’s something about a musical where we suspend our disbelief that someone launches into song because the drama, the emotion can no longer be contained in words, and it has to transform itself into something grander.
I think that idea is so universal. And that’s why people have latched onto musicals and why we listen to the soundtracks over and over again. Because our emotions are so intrinsically tied to these songs that heighten the emotion on stage.
The stories, when they’re good ones, just inspire us to be better people. They ask questions about our existence and how we fit in this world. I just love the theatre. I love musical theatre. There’s nothing better than when a musical is done well. I sure hope it continues to find its footing and have a successful life in all our theatre cultures.
Do you have any advice for anyone who is studying and hoping to pursue a career in this industry?
Sure. If I could tell myself anything when I was a student from the future, it would be to trust that you’re enough. I know that sounds cliché. But I think coming out of school, I was so hungry to meet everyone else’s expectations of what I thought they wanted. So I was trying to be an Anthony Warlow, a Tom Hanks, a Tom Cruise.
I was pretending to be pieces of other people, and not trusting that the uniqueness of who I am was enough. I just tell every kid that ever asks me: your weirdness is your superpower. Don’t be afraid of that. Lean into that, because when you’re unique, that’s when we lean forward. Trust that you’re enough and be loud and proud.
The final question that we love to ask everyone is: are there any roles or shows left on your bucket list?
If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said Sweeney Todd. I’ve always wanted to play Sweeney Todd, but I finally played it last year. I always said I want to play Javert and Sweeney Todd, and now I’ve done them both. It was thrilling.
But if I had to answer it now, and this is cheesy, but it would honestly be something that hasn’t been written yet. My favourite, favourite, favourite thing to do is to work up a new show, because it just feels like real creation. There’s no preconceived ideas of what it has to be. Someone hasn’t done it before, so there’s no comparison going on. I just love creating something from scratch. That’s just my absolute favourite.
Will Swenson performs in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical from 5 August at The Princess Theatre. It then runs in Sydney from 14 November at the Lyric Theatre.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://theneildiamondmusical.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/theneildiamondmusicalau/
Hero image: Will Swenson, supplied.
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