Neil Diamond Musical Headed For Broadway
Andreas Terlaak
Producers Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio announced today that a new biographical musical telling the life story of Neil Diamond is headed for Broadway.
The untitled musical will be directed by Michael Mayer, and the score will consist of Diamond’s greatest hits and a book by Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour, The Theory Of Everything).
Diamond shared in a statement: “I’ve always loved Broadway. The inspiration for many of my early songs came from shows like West Side Story, My Fair Lady and Fiddler On The Roof, so it seems only fitting to bring my songs to The Great White Way. I’m honored and excited to be working with this great team.”
“On the mantle-piece in my childhood home in New Zealand, there were always two pictures: one was of the Pope, the other of Neil Diamond,” McCarten also said in a statement. “The epic musical catalogue of this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer flowed endlessly off our family record player. As a child you took it into yourself, and to this day I can recite the lyrics of his hits deep into their second or third verses. Imagine my excitement, then, when the opportunity arose to work with Neil on a musical based on his life and music. A very, very easy and so sweet ‘Yes!'”
Gaudio added, “Having been intimately associated with one very special biographical musical, I am clearly a fan of the form. And as a fellow member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I remain in awe of Neil Diamond’s contribution to American popular culture, music, and of his incredible life story.”
Since the era- and genre-defying musical will follow Diamond’s journey throughout his life, it will see the legend go from being a poor kid in Brooklyn to one of the greatest showmen in rock ‘n’ roll history.
Additional details will be announced soon.
This article originally appeared at Billboard.
