Will Swenson (‘A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’) lives out his ‘wildest dreams’ by embodying the iconic singer [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“I’m not exaggerating when I say that I grew up on Neil Diamond,” reveals Will Swenson. “He’s my Dad’s favorite singer of all time. So it was just fed to us with our breakfast, practically.” It’s appropriate then, that the Tony-nominated actor is bringing the iconic musician to life in the new bio-musical “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.” The actor was even able to enlist the help of Diamond himself in order to bring the true essence of the star to his physical and vocal transformation. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
Part of Swenson’s job is adopting Diamond’s signature look and stage presence. He admits that there is an enormous change in him when he gears up in the flamboyant, sequined costumes and flowing hair. Suddenly the character clicks into place. “As an actor, you do all this research, and all this rehearsal, but the moment when you take the biggest leap out of all of it is when you put that costume on and you see yourself in the mirror,” admits Swenson.
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But the actor digs deeper than just surface level looks in his performance. Swenson acknowledges that when it comes to Diamond, he’s “been absorbing his music my entire life.” But the actor never knew about the intricacies of the singer’s life story. YouTube clips of Diamond became his best friend, and Swenson reveals that he still tries to find a new clip on his way to the theater everyday in order to continue to make new character discoveries.
Diamond has also been involved with the development of the musical, so in addition to sourcing YouTube, plenty of Swenson’s discoveries come directly from the man himself. “The biggest surprise to me is that Neil is an introvert,” exclaims the actor, “He’s really chill. You see him on stage, and he’s flashy and flamboyant…but that’s very much just the way he plugs into his art.”
As it turns out, Diamond has also become a keen observer of Swenson, especially when it comes to voice preservation. “I knew I could do the sounds,” explains the actor, having long ago found a method for mimicking Diamond’s signature gritty tone. But doing those vocals as a one-off party trick on occasion is much different than singing through Diamond’s entire catalog of hits seven times a week. He reports that Diamond has become something of “a caretaker” of Swenson’s voice, constantly checking in to make sure the actor is hydrated and maintaining his stamina.
The pair have even sung together, most notably leading Fenway Park in a performance of “Sweet Caroline” during the show’s out-of-town tryout in Boston. “That night was something I would never have dreamed up in my wildest dreams,” reveals Swenson. Diamond generally doesn’t sing in public anymore, so the actor feels thankful to have been alongside the music legend on this rare instance when he picked up a mic. “I have a huge framed picture of that moment in my dressing room,” beams Swenson.
Broadway audiences at the Broadhurst Theatre also sing-along to “Sweet Caroline” in one of the show’s most rousing moments, but it’s a quieter, introspective song that truly steals the show. “A Beautiful Noise” is structured as a therapy session, with an older, present-day Diamond (played by Mark Jacoby) looking back at his younger self. The younger version, “is looking forward, with all this anxiety,” describes Swenson. The pair of Neil’s have a series of near misses on stage, never meeting until the older version “finally opens up and sings,” explains Swenson. The song is ‘I Am…I Said,’ a number about self discovery. He joins Jacoby on stage for a powerful duet, no bells and whistles, just that infamous gritty voice. “There’s this reconciliation of past and present,” says Swenson, “and recognizing that he’s enough.”
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