Latest news with #Cracklin'Rosie
Scotsman
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Cash & Diamond: Legendary tribute returns to the Edinburgh Fringe
The Cash & Diamond tribute show is returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for its fourth year at the Frankenstein Pub, and is set to raise the roof once again with its powerhouse celebration of two of America's greatest music icons. Award-winning performer Pete Storm and Pete Sinclair join forces to deliver a show packed with heart, energy, and hit after hit – from Ring of Fire and I Walk the Line to Cracklin' Rosie and Sweet Caroline. With standout vocals, a magnetic stage presence, and a whole lot of crowd-pleasing charm, this hour of music is a must-see for all true fans. Cash & Diamond promises a feel-good, foot-stomping Fringe experience that'll have the whole room singing along. Show Details: Venue 304: Bier Keller (Frankenstein Pub), George IV Bridge Dates: 1-4, 6-10 , 13-17, 20-23 August 2025 Time: 1.30pm(60 minutes) Tickets: £15 / Concessions £12.50 Box Office: 0131 226 0000 or
San Francisco Chronicle
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: Just because you're a pop star doesn't mean you deserve a musical
If 'A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical' were instead a Neil Diamond cover band, this review would be a qualified rave. And if all you care about in your jukebox musicals is persuasive covers of your favorite hits, sparkly costumes and bright lights, you can stop reading right now and go and have a wonderful time. Star Nick Fradiani sounds frighteningly like the pop genius who gave us 'Sweet Caroline,' 'Solitary Man' and 'Cracklin' Rosie.' In the show, which opened Thursday, June 5, at BroadwaySF's Golden Gate Theatre, record producer Ellie Greenwich (Kate A. Mulligan) describes Diamond's voice as 'gravel wrapped in velvet,' or 'like you just woke up and tripped over an ashtray.' Fradiani has that. His timbre is like an open range studded with tumbleweeds and barbed wire, cowboy ruggedness crossed with Flatbush grit, schmaltz with singed edges. And he knows just how to deploy it: when to purr, when to rawr, when to strum those vocal cords. But 'A Beautiful Noise' attempts to be more than just a concert, and in so doing, it creates the clunkiest framing device and the least likeable protagonist possibly in the history of jukebox musicals. The show has two Neils. Fradiani is Neil — Then, and Robert Westenberg is Neil — Now, who opens the musical seated silently across from his therapist (Lisa Reneé Pitts), who has purchased a Diamond songbook from which she can conveniently ask her aging client leading questions about what his lyrics really mean. It's as exactly as indulgent and obvious as it sounds. Neil — Then is too stoic to open up, but then the appearance of the book magically snuffs out that flicker of tension. The therapist's questions — 'When did you start writing songs?' — lead to cliches that ChatGPT could write: 'I had music running through my head.' Both Neils come across as sourpusses, leading other characters to pick on the younger version, with one nicknaming him Hamlet. The therapy setup, with Neil — Now and the shrink watching the flashbacks like bumps on a log, teases the possibility that eventually we'll get a deep, dark or at least dramatically interesting reason for all the gloom. Neil — Now's refusal to talk about his childhood for most of the show suggests it might have something to do with his parents. But then when we finally meet them, all they have to say for themselves is 'We're Jews; of course we're anxious.' Childhood Neil has an imaginary friend to cope with the garden-variety angst. That's it. That's his whole reason for being morose and surly to everyone his whole life. But by the way, that's not why he's in therapy; it's that his health is failing and he can't perform any more. It's not a spoiler to reveal that, because the show's book, by Anthony McCarten, throws it in like an afterthought when it could have made for a much more effective mainspring. So let's use this whole creaky contraption to ask what we, the theatergoing public and fans of the oldies station back when it still played '60s hits, get out of touring jukebox musicals. Sure, there are the high production values, the communion with fellow fans as we sing along to old favorites and the chance to measure the distance between our idols and their theatrical substitutes. But a high-quality tribute band could offer all those pleasures without the baggage of a predictable narrative. So it must be something else that keeps us buying tickets. Maybe it's those Wikipedia factoids sprinkled in, like that the opening chords in 'Sweet Caroline' were a new progression in Diamond's oeuvre. Maybe we've worn out all our albums from repeat playing and crave hearing cherished tunes in new arrangements and narrative contexts. Or maybe we hope that theater will be able to work its tools as an art form — just as Diamond fought for his right to write and record serious songs, not merely formulaic ones. But imagine if a supposedly new pop album could use only material that was preexisting, but that wasn't originally intended to be pop music. Or if all its words had to get approved by rich, powerful rights-holders whose heyday was decades ago before anyone could hear them. Maybe you could still make great art under those constraints. But such shackles are heavy for creators in both the Billboard Hot 100 and musical theater.
Daily Record
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Neil Diamond tribute show 'It's a Beautiful Noise with Fisher Stevens' coming to Airdrie Town Hall
There's a beautiful noise, comin' up from the streets, got a beautiful sound, it's got a beautiful beat... at Airdrie Town Hall. Paraphrasing the lyrics to Neil Diamond's million-selling 1976 single, hit stage show It's a Beautiful Noise with Fisher Stevens - a joyful celebration of the music and a tribute to the legendary singer will arrive in town on Friday, May 2. Starring Fisher Stevens, it is a "joyous homage to the music of, and a tribute to, Neil Diamond". 'It has been over half a century since the release of the first hit single from an artist who has sold over 130 million albums,' says Fisher. 'While Neil Diamond may have declared the end of his touring days, his star will continue to shine eternally.' It's a Beautiful Noise with Fisher Stevens brings to life Diamond's iconic songs, including Sweet Caroline , Song Sung Blue , Cracklin' Rosie , Forever in Blue Jeans and many more. Fisher added: "These songs have woven the soundtrack of our lives. 'It's the teenage dream, and these dreams of youth remain constant fixtures on personal and radio playlists worldwide.' Fisher promises the Airdrie audience heartfelt renditions of all the biggest hits, including those featuring appearances from Lula and Barbra Streisand. ' It's a Beautiful Noise with Fisher Stevens has been awesome; the reviews have been fantastic,' he said. "And performing the show at the Lyric Theatre, in London's West End was a dream come true - an amazing experience.' A lifelong lover of Diamond, Fisher has toured the world as a performer and is supported by an experienced band and backing singers who are all as passionate about the icon. Assisting the tribute show to achieve the high standards of Diamond's songbook has been the responsibility of musical director (MD) David Mackay, who has created hits for some of the biggest names in the music, including Cliff Richard, Dusty Springfield, The Bee Gees and Eric Clapton. David has been the MD for many West End successes, including 125th Street and Jailhouse Rock . Fisher added: "It is my privilege to celebrate Neil Diamond's talent and take the audience on a musical journey. " It's a Beautiful Noise with Fisher Stevens is packed with all the classic hits and aims to do just that, and in some style." Tickets, priced £28.50, for the Airdrie Town Hall show, which starts at 7.30pm, are available from the box office online . *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here . And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here .
