‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE
Book by Anthony McCarten
Music & lyrics by Neil Diamond
Directed by Michael Mayer
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200
https://abeautifulnoisethemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

A Beautiful Noise is not exactly a Neil Diamond tribute concert or a solid jukebox musical such as MJ, Tina and Jersey Boys—all these shows had great stories to tell and also showcased the music of the artist portrayed. Instead, this show is akin to attending a Neil Diamond psychotherapy session, hearing him complaining to his therapist about his malaise and unhappiness in his old age. This therapy session takes place throughout the musical. For a man who is a world-renowned musical artist, had endless hit songs, fame and adulation, sold-out arenas, became quite wealthy, married three times and has multiple children, the show mostly focuses on the adage that fame and riches do not buy you happiness.

Neil Diamond is an American icon. He has sold more than 130 million records and had 10 #1 hits in the USA alone. Anyone who grew up in the 1970s and early 1980s knows his music was consistently played on the radio. Some say he has sold more records than Elvis. In addition, he got his break writing songs for other people, most notably “I’m a Believer” for the Monkees.

Despite the fact that all his hits are here—“America,” “Cherry, Cherry,” “Cracklin’ Rose,” “Solitary Man” and, of course “Sweet Caroline,” and tons more—there is no arc to the storyline. Neil Diamond was a multi-talented mega star who was essentially a nice Jewish boy from Flatbush, Brooklyn who made it big. Based on this show, he didn’t have any struggles with drugs or alcohol but he suffered from loneliness and had rocky marriages. A Beautiful Noise opens with a therapy session of older  Neil (Marc Jacoby) recalling his youth and start in show business through his songbook, while confessing everything to his understanding therapist (Linda Powell). Other than his three marriages, there is no insight into the man. It doesn’t leave much room for a buoyant musical. Fortunately, Will Swenson brings young rock star Neil Diamond to vivid life and gives a vibrant interpretation of Mr. Diamond in the late 1960s up to the early ’80s. When Mr. Swenson is onstage, sporting tight clothing and singing Diamond classics like “A Solitary Man” and “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” complete with dancing chorus members, the show is lively and almost campy and will thrill Neil Diamond fans. Unfortunately, there are not enough production numbers of Diamond’s golden oldies, and many of the songs they do perform aren’t always his best.  The narrative of older Neil talking to his therapist about his past really makes the story drag most of the time.

Michael Mayer’s direction is unfocused, and Anthony McCarten’s book has a paper-thin narrative thread. Steven Hoggett’s choreography is frenetic and energetic at times, but not that original. Some of the performances are noteworthy. Bri Suda does a nice job playing Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich (the woman who gave Mr. Diamond his first break), and she doubles in the role of Neil’s mother, Rose. Mark Jacoby is emotional in the right places as older Neil. The biggest redemption to the show and its greatest asset is Will Swenson as the young Neil Diamond, singing each song in a rough, mellifluous, velvety voice without trying to mimic the star. He brings the charisma, looks, energy and the sound needed to anchor and breathe life into this otherwise inert musical. A good jukebox musical about a legend often weaves cherished classic songs into a strong story that actually gives insight and perspective while showcasing the artist’s material. A Beautiful Noise fails to do much justice to the star as it never quite captures the pop-star magic of Neil Diamond in his heyday or reveals anything remarkable about such a legendary, gifted entertainer.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 21, 2023
Reviewed at January 19, 2023 press performance.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: (left to right) Will Swenson, Mark Jacoby & Linda Powell. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Robyn Hurder & Will Swenson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Marc Jacoby. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’ (left to right): Michael McCormick, Tom Alan Robbins, Linda Powell, Marc Jacoby & Will Swenson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Robyn Hurder & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

The post ‘A Beautiful Noise’: Neil Diamond’s jukebox jam appeared first on StageZine.

‘RIVERDANCE’ REDUX? : Sally Ann Triplett & cast of ‘The Last Ship’ party it up at the pub. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE LAST SHIP
Music & lyrics by Sting
Book by John Logan & Bryan Yorkey
Choreography by John Hoggett
Directed by Joe Mantello
Neil Simon Theatre
250 West 52nd Street
(212-757-8646), www.thelastship.com 

By Scott Harrah

Anyone who grew up in the 1980s knows the work of pop-rock legend Sting, from his early years with the Police and classics like “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle” to his mega-hit “Every Breath You Take” and more.  You couldn’t go anywhere back in the day without hearing 16-time Grammy Award winner Sting on the radio or seeing his electrifying videos on MTV.  Unfortunately, pop pedigree doesn’t always translate to the winning ingredients for great musical theater (as Bono and other members of rock royalty with ill-fated recent shows can attest). Sting’s soaring, haunting music and lyrics are not even the problem with the misguided, torpedoed vanity project that is The Last Ship.  In fact, Sting’s melodic, cerebral mid-tempo ballads are one of the best things here, but they aren’t enough to keep this lugubrious musical afloat, and the score, although endearing, seems wasted.

The show has good intentions, but everything about this serious saga is bogged down with clichés, much like that old expression “taking coals to Newcastle,” or in this case, Wallsend, a working-class shipping town in northeast England.  Sober subject matter is tricky stuff in musical theater.  To make a bleak, depressing story work as a Broadway musical, the audience must be offered something that forges an emotional connection.  Beyond that, many want to see at least some spectacle (as in Phantom of the Opera) or lavish costumes and historical significance in addition to infectious songs that propel the story forward (such as  Les Miserables).  What we have here is a barren tale in a non-descript time period, with many well-crafted songs woven into a predictable narrative.

We never see the actual ship being built, not even a part of it, and that is problematic in a show called The Last Ship. There are dreary, dark sets and lighting by David Zinn and Christopher Akerlind (a dimly lit pub, a rusty shipyard and industrial-looking fences), and paper-thin stereotypes for characters, namely out-of-work “blokes,” all hanging out at the local pub, ready to get into fistfights when they aren’t singing about their troubles. There is also the perfunctory curmudgeonly, foul-mouthed, dying Irish priest, Father O’Brien (Fred Applegate), a man who chain-smokes all the time, even in the confession booth.

Although the setting is England, the mood and most of the songs reek of every pandering, “woe-is-me, life-bloody-sucks-let’s-get-drunk” Irish platitude imaginable.  In addition, choreographer Steven Hoggett (of Once fame) pours on the ersatz Gaelic footwork with a sledgehammer.  In nearly half the production numbers, the cast members start stomping their feet, like some lame attempt to recreate every step from each incarnation of Riverdance. This sort of hokey folk dancing was annoying in the overrated Tony winner Once, and is preposterous here.

Michael Esper plays Gideon, the lost lad of about 30 who has returned to his hometown after 15 years.  The father he never got along with has just passed away, and his dad’s profession, shipbuilding, has died as well in the town. Now Gideon wants to get back together with his long-lost love Meg (Rachel Tucker). She has a teenage son, Tom (Collin Kelley-Sordelet) and is wooed to marry Arthur (Aaron Lazar), a man who encourages the unemployed shipbuilders of the town to take jobs he is offering in scrap metal. The shipyard has been closed down, but Father O’Brien convinces the men to try and build one last ship.

It is this clash between the men of hanging on to the past of shipbuilding or selling out to jobs in scrap metal work that creates the tension in the storyline.  However, there is no tangible conflict here, certainly not the type that kept the working-class British shoe-factory heroes of the 2013 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical, Kinky Boots, consistently compelling and colorful, thanks to pop icon Cyndi Lauper’s upbeat, Tony-winning pop score and a multitude of outrageous costumes, served up with a sense of whimsy and fun amidst the harsh themes.

Other than the show’s title song, “The Last Ship,” which has two parts and a reprise in Act I and is the finale in Act II, there are no memorable songs. Gideon’s solo “All This Time” and his duet with son Tom, “Ghost Story,” would sound nice on a Sting album, but seem out of place in a musical.

The biggest flaws here are the leaden book by John Logan (I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers and Red) and Brian Yorkey (If/Then and Next to Normal) and Joe Mantello’s surprisingly shoddy direction. When the show opened in Chicago earlier this year, some critics noted that the story and specifically the character of Gideon (loosely based on young Sting) needed work because he didn’t have enough of a backstory. As is now, he still doesn’t. All we know is he’s been around the world. Why? To find himself? As a result, we feel little sympathy or much of anything for him.

There are some good performances and great voices regardless. As competent an actor as Michael Esper is, he isn’t charismatic enough to carry a show that badly needs to show us its vital signs to keep audiences interested. Rachel Tucker adds the right amount of sincerity and pathos to Meg, and has a pleasant voice. Also worth noting is Aaron Lazar as Arthur, the responsible man who wants to marry Meg and pleads to her to do just that in the song “What Say You, Meg?”

Collin Kelly-Sordelet is one of the show’s only scene-stealers as Tom. His final scene with his father is truly heartwarming. Finally, Fred Applegate adds as much depth as he can to the cartoonish Father O’Brien. The rest of the cast, a testosterone-and-lager-addled motley crew of tough guys and prosaic portrayals of loud, squawky working-class women, are mostly forgettable because they are so poorly written.

Even worse, there are 25 songs in the final version (three of which are variations of the title track), and several of them should have been cut because they go nowhere and don’t move the action forward. One wonders why Sting didn’t do The Last Ship as a concept album. All his fans would have bought it on iTunes and loved it, and millions of dollars would have been saved, but what we have here is something that lacks the requisite heft for a meaningful stage saga.

FATHER & SON: Michael Esper & Collin Kelly-Sordelet Photo: Joan Marcus

BLESS ME, FATHER: Michael Esper & Fred Applegate. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SHIP’ BUILDERS: Fred Applegate, Jimmy Nail, Sally Ann Triplett & cast of ‘The Last Ship.’ Photo: Joan Marucs

PUB FIXTURES: Rachel Tucker, Shawna M Hamic, Sally Ann Triplett &, Leah Hawking in ‘The Last Ship.’ Photo: Matthew Murphy

LONG-LOST LOVE MEETS LOST LAD: Rachel Tucker & Michael Esper in ‘The Last Ship.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

I’LL SING TO THAT: The cast of ‘The Last Ship.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 26, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on October 25, 2014

The post Sting’s Score Can’t Keep ‘The Last Ship’ Afloat appeared first on StageZine.