WISCONSIN — When Lisa Reneé Pitts’ agent let her know she’d landed an audition for “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” she admitted that she felt hesitant. She had never done a national tour before, and it had been years since she was in a musical.
Then she read it. That changed everything.
“I was so excited to audition …” Pitts said. “I booked it and I am so happy that I read it and just went out there and did my best on my auditions.”
The show chronicles Neil Diamond’s life. In the show, Diamond is in a therapy session, reflecting on his music, career and key moments from his life. Those reflections come to life on stage, using his songs as the show’s backbone.
Of course, the show includes hits like “Sweet Caroline” and “Forever in Blue Jeans” that most people know. Pitts said she was, of course, familiar with “Sweet Caroline” and some of his other hits before she auditioned but didn’t consider herself a fan.
That is until she joined the show. She researched Diamond, his music, and the songs he wrote for other artists.
Now, she said, she’s a big fan.
“His humanity and his openness to tell his story. I’m going to come from that perspective because in the show I play his therapist,” she said. “It’s actually based on his real relationship with his therapist that he had.
“It’s through our sessions in the play that we take a look back on his life, some decisions he made in his personal life as well as in his artistic life as a musician, and how those decisions put him where he is today and how does he move forward based on those things that happened in the past. So really [my favorite things about Neil Diamond are] his humanity, his willingness to share, his vulnerability and then on top of that, you get to experience all of his magic with the music and the dancing and the glitter.”
Pitts said apart from that glitter, the live band, and the big dance numbers, one highlight of the show is how engaged the audience is. Fans of Diamond often come decked out in sparkles, wear his shirts, or bring signs, as if they were going to a concert. And, of course, they’re singing along to a lot of the tunes in the musical.
“When I see one of our seniors just rocking out with their glitter on, just having a great time as if they were teenagers again, it takes everything in me not to cry with joy of just seeing people just so happy by his music,” Pitts said. “Even at the end in our finale when we sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ again, people are just hugging each other and waving their hands. I’ve never been a part of anything like it. No matter what city we’re in … that reaction never changes.”
Pitts said she was young when Diamond was at the height of his career, but seeing these reactions caused her to turn to her parents and ask, “What was it about Neil Diamond?”
“And they just said, ‘He was just electric. And his music came from the heart. And it doesn’t matter your race, ethnicity, whatever. He just touched everybody,” she said.
Pitts said the show combines the glitz and glamour of a big Broadway musical with the intimacy of the quiet moments of his life, making the show feel like a black-box theater at some points, too.
Diamond worked on the show. He contributed not only to the music but had his hand in writing and production, too, Pitts explained. Diamond can tell his own story through his perspective in this way.
“What you’re getting is the real deal truth about his personal life and his rise to the icon that he is to this day,” Pitts said.
Pitts said while she’s never met Diamond in person, she’s met his wife Katie in real life. Still, she said she feels connected to the music star.
“We always put our celebrities on a pedestal, as if they have riches and fame. There couldn’t be anything wrong with your life. Everything is peachy keen and just wonderful,” Pitts said. “But he breaks that wall to say, ‘No. We’re just like everybody else. I have depression. I have anxiety. But I have a family around me who loves me and wants to see me become healthy — mind, body, soul — in every way. Which is the journey that we all go through.”
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” will run at the Overture Center for the Arts from March 18 through March 23. Ticket information can be found, here.
The show then heads to Milwaukee, with a run at the Marcus Performing Arts Center from March 25 through March 30. Ticket information can be found, here.
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” will also head to the Fox Cities Pefrorming Arts Center, running from April 29 through May 4. Ticket information can be found, here.
Aly Prouty - Digital Media Producer
Aly Prouty is a digital producer for Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky. An award-winning, multimedia journalist, she holds an honors B.A. in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in journalism and media studies from The University of Alabama.
