Music legend Neil Diamond, who announced in 2018 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, says he’s just coming to terms with the diagnosis in a revealing, emotional interview with Anthony Mason for CBS SUNDAY MORNING.
Watch the full interview below:
In the wide-ranging interview, Diamond talks with Mason about his career, the current Broadway show based on his life, “A Beautiful Noise,” stepping back from touring and adjusting to his new life with Parkinson’s. The 82-year-old Diamond also tells Mason he was in denial for the first year or two after being diagnosed, and he wasn’t ready to accept what the doctor told him.
“I’m still doing it. And I don’t like it. But the … this is me; this is what I have to accept. And I'(M) Willing to do it,” Diamond says. “And, OK, so this is the hand that God gave me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am. I am.”
CBS SUNDAY MORNING has been the #1 Sunday morning news program for 22 consecutive broadcast seasons. It is broadcast Sundays (9:00-10:30 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.
A new block of tickets are on sale now for A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical on Broadway. Tickets are now available through Sunday, January 7, 2024 online, by calling 800 447 7400, or at the Broadhurst Theater (235 West 44th Street) box office.
The cast of A Beautiful Noise is led by Tony Award® nominee Will Swenson as Neil Diamond – Then, Mark Jacoby as Neil Diamond – Now, Robyn Hurder as Marcia, and Linda Powell as Doctor. They are joined by Jessie Fisher as Jaye Posner; Michael McCormick as Paul Colby, Tommy O’Rourke; Tom Alan Robbins as Bert Berns, Kieve Diamond; and Bri Sudia as Ellie Greenwich, Rose Diamond.
The ensemble, swings, and standbys include Neal Benari (standby Neil Diamond – Now), Ninako Donville (swing), Paige Faure (ensemble), Nick Fradiani (Alternate Neil Diamond – Then), Kalonjee Gallimore (ensemble), Samantha Gershman (swing ), Becky Gulsvig (standby for Ellie Greenwich, Jaye Posner, Marcia, and Rose Diamond), Alex Hairston (ensemble), Makai Hernandez (swing), Jess LeProtto (ensemble), Tatiana Lofton (ensemble), Aaron James McKenzie (ensemble) , Mary Page Nance (ensemble), Robert Pendilla (swing), Max Sangerman (ensemble), MiMi Scardulla (ensemble) and Deandre Sevon (ensemble).
Will Swenson currently plays a schedule of seven performances per week with Nick Fradiani playing Neil Diamond – Then during the Wednesday evening performances.
Including a score of Diamond’s most beloved songs, A Beautiful Noise features a book by four-time Academy Award®-nominee Anthony McCarten (I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Theory of Everything), direction by Tony Award® winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot), and choreography by Olivier Award® winner and four-time Tony Award nominee Steven Hoggett (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Once, Black Watch).
The design team for A Beautiful Noise features Tony Award winner David Rockwell (scenic design), Tony Award nominee Emilio Sosa (costume design), four-time Tony Award winner Kevin Adams (lighting design), Tony Award winner Jessica Paz (sound design) , and Luc Verschueren (hair and wig design). The production has music supervision and arrangements by Sonny Paladino, incidental music and dance music arrangements by Brian Usifer, vocal design by AnnMarie Milazzo, and orchestrations by Bob Gaudio, Sonny Paladino, and Brian Usifer. The team also includes Bonnie Panson (production stage manager), Jamie Harrison (illusion consultant), Kathy Fabian (properties designer), Jim Carnahan, CSA (casting), and Ryan Conway of Architect Theatrical (general manager).
With his first break into songwriting in the 1960s and his meteoric rise in the 1970s, and plenty of crushing disappointments and heart-stopping triumphs along the way, Neil Diamond has maintained an almost unthinkable level of superstardom for five straight decades. How did a poor Jewish kid from Brooklyn become one of the most universally adored showmen of all time? There’s only one way to tell it: a musical set to his era-defining smash hits that entered the world.
Throughout his phenomenal and wide-ranging career, Neil Diamond has performed at sold-out stadiums and arenas around the world, dominating the charts for more than five decades, selling over 130 million albums worldwide and achieving record sales.
A Grammy Award-winning artist, Diamond is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has been presented with the Johnny Mercer Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, three of the highest honors bestowed on songwriters and artists. He has also been the recipient of the NARAS Music Cares Person of The Year Award and the prestigious Kennedy Center Award for his contributions to American culture.
His music has earned him a multi-generational fan base and he is a believer in the healing power of music. Through his charitable foundation, he has supported many causes close to his heart.
A Beautiful Noise is produced by Ken Davenport, Bob Gaudio, Sandi Moran, Hunter Arnold, Scott Abrams, Marco Santarelli, Jonathan and Rae Corr, Marguerite Steed Hoffman, Ron Kastner, Rob Kolson, Valli Family Group, Caiola Productions, Paul Dainty AM, Gaudio Family Group, Joseph J. Grano Jr., Starlight Theatre, Roy Putrino, James L. Nederlander, Tricia Blake, Mark E. Jacobs, Universal Music Group Theatrical, Deborah Green, Patty Baker, Sheri and Les Biller, H. Richard Hopper , Sharon Karmazin, NETworks Presentations, Adam Riemer, Matthew Salloway, BB Investments LLC, Universal Theatrical Group, Witz End Productions, Theater Producers of Color, and Ryan Conway.
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of A Beautiful Noise, produced by Bob Gaudio and released by UMe, is available now as a CD and to stream on all major platforms. To order the album or stream it, please visit www.abeautifulnoise.lnk.to/originalcastalbumpr