Some Thoughts on "A Beautiful Noise," the musical, based on the life of the Singer-Songwriter Neil Diamond

The morning after I saw the scintillating musical on Broadway, A Beautiful Noise, I found myself asking the question: what is the relationship of the artist’s work to understanding himself? This query has occupied thousands of writers’ minds and resulted in almost as many books that explore the intriguing question. 

I applaud this production, an interpretation of the life of a star, in which the therapist’s office serves as a backdrop for Diamond’s music. Admirable too is the depiction of Diamond as less than an ideal client. He is resistant: He doesn’t want to be in this space undergoing an exploration of his deeper self. He is here because his wife Katie sent him. He reluctantly reveals that she finds him “difficult to live with.” After the failure of his past two marriages, he is receptive to heeding her advice.

 

We psychotherapists prefer a client who is open, willing, and eager to undergo the therapeutic journey. But in this production, the clever therapist hooks Mr. Diamond as he’s about to walk out the office door. She opens a thick volume of his lyrics and asks about a specific song. She has captured his interest. Now he can’t escape the task ahead of recognizing the aspects of himself that he has buried and that now create some inner conflict and express themselves in his relationship with his wife.

 

Although Diamond’s songs are an expression of himself and document his journey, they do not accomplish the task of psychoanalysis. The relationship of the artist to his work embodies a deep and personal connection that emanates from his experiences. It is a form of self-expression and communication with the world but doesn’t substitute for a psychotherapeutic exploration. 

 

The therapist accomplishes the task to help the client discover his inner conflict, the thoughts and feelings that veer in opposite directions. She accepts her client and mirrors or reflects to him what she hears in his words and adds an occasional comment of interpretation. As he participates in the therapeutic relationship, the client comes to recognize and accept aspects of himself that he hadn’t recognized, avoided or denied. In Diamond’s case, it is the failure to acknowledge a part of his identity: his early years as the lonely little boy, a nobody from Brooklyn. Through the psychotherapeutic experience, he recognizes and accepts this aspect of himself. The joyous, uplifting song I Am…I Said expresses the delight in acknowledging his full identity. The lonely boy from Brooklyn joins hands with the world-traveled singing star. He doesn’t have to perform on stage for the rest of his life to be Ok. 

 

Conclusion: The goal for a celebrity and for each one of us is the same: coming to terms with who we are, our deepest self in the past and present that helps to guide us on an authentic path. 

 

Dear Readers, I welcome your comments. Jsimon145@gmail.com