Name drop 1970s-80s singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and someone invariably will start singing the chorus of “Sweet Caroline,” throwing in that iconic “ba, ba, ba” mimicking the toot, toot, toot horn line.
Imagine hearing that amplified by a theater audience of thousands singing along when Broadway In Tucson brings “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” to Centennial Hall next week.
“We start singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ at the end of Act One and people are clapping, people are singing,” said Joe Caskey, who plays the young Neil Diamond; another actor plays the “now” version of the legendary songwriter, who is 84. “I’ve happened to watch the conductor cam just to stay with the band, to just make sure I’m on time because everyone’s so riled up about it and singing along.”
“Sweet Caroline” is one of more than 30 songs you’ll hear in the jukebox musical as the storyline recounts Diamond’s musical life from his Brooklyn boyhood to his global stardom.
“It’s one of the most brilliant jukebox musicals that’s ever been written,” Caskey said. “I really think that ‘A Beautiful Noise’ does an amazing job of listening to Neil, listening to what he said and put into his songs, and putting it to essentially a really dramatic play that tells his life in such a unique way, in the way that only Neil and his material could possibly tell it.”
Joe Caskey will be in the role of young Neil Diamond when “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” comes to Centennial Hall next week.
Diamond’s memoir unfolds through a series of therapy sessions as the singer works through the 2018 Parkinson’s diagnosis that ended his touring career.
While the older folks in Centennial Hall will relate to Diamond’s music, Caskey said his generation might initially summon 1970s-80s adult contemporary when they hear “Song Sung Blue,” “I’m A Believer,” “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “Cracklin’ Rosie.”
But as the show goes on with songs including “I Am, I Said,” “Shilo” and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),” even audience members young enough to be Diamond’s grandchildren will find something relatable in his music, Caskey said.
Nick Fradiani plays Neil Diamond in “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.” His understudy Joe Caskey will be in the role when the show comes to Tucson next week.
“He really laid into rock overtones and ... really is much more electric than his persona typically would dictate from my generation,” said the 26-year-old Keller, Texas, native. “I think for people my age, coming into it with an open mind and experiencing Neil for who he was and who he is continuing to be, I think it’s more relatable than anything else I’ve seen on stage. It’s so vulnerable, it’s so electric in every way that we can relate to.”
Caskey is one of the newest cast members to the show, which has been touring since last fall. He came on six weeks ago as the young Neil understudy and did six shows as lead when the show stopped in Cincinnati. He’s doing the Tucson run to fill in for lead Nick Fradiani.
“It’s been a whirlwind. I’ve never done anything like this,” said Caskey, whose career has included working mostly regional theater. “It’s just been so much fun to actually get to grow with the show for a longer period of time and getting to work with this amazing cast and creative team. Everything has just been a dream come true.”
Caskey will be on the tour through next May.
Performances of “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, June 24-27; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 28; and 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday, June 29, at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd., on the University of Arizona campus. Tickets are $41-$160 through ticketmaster.com.
