‘American Idol’ winner leads cast of ‘A Beautiful Noise’ at Peace Center

When Nick Fradiani sings his first lines in the jukebox musical “A Beautiful Noise,” audiences notice an uncanny vocal resemblance to the legendary singer he portrays, Neil Diamond.

Sounding like Diamond, however, required months of work.

“My voice is naturally similar to his,” Fradiani said, “but I had to do a lot of vocal training, especially in my lower register, and I listened for weeks to the way he says certain words and how he phrases songs.

“That was important because I think people go to the show really wanting to hear Neil Diamond songs sung as close to him as possible,” he added.

Fradiani, the 2015 winner of “American Idol,” leads a cast of almost two dozen in the national tour of “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” headed to the Peace Center Jan. 14-19.

The biographical musical traces the sometimes-tumultuous life of Diamond while delivering decades of the singer’s hits, such as “Sweet Caroline,” “America,” “Love on the Rocks,” “Solitary Man,” “Song Sung Blue,” “You Don’t’ Bring Me Flowers,” “I Am … I Said,” “Kentucky Woman” and, of course, the title song.

Fradiani played the role of Diamond in the Broadway incarnation of “A Beautiful Noise” for more than a year before embarking on the national tour in September.

It’s a role he passionately pursued when he heard in 2021 that the musical was being developed.

‘Perfect for me’

“I knew it would be perfect for me,” Fradiani said, speaking by phone from a recent tour stop in Washington, D.C. “My dad loved Neil Diamond, and I grew up on his music.”

Fradiani performed as Diamond in an unrelated cabaret show at Fort Worth’s Casa Manana theater and sent a tape of it to the Broadway show’s producers and Neil Diamond’s wife.

Before he knew it, Fradiani was in the Broadway show — first as the understudy for the role of Neil Diamond, then as an alternate, then as the star.

“It’s taken over my life in a great way,” said Fradiani, who performs the demanding role eight times a week on tour. Fradiani plays Diamond during the decades of his career. Another actor plays Diamond in retirement.

A favorite moment for Fradiani is when the audience joins in a singalong of “Sweet Caroline.”

“For the first time, the lights go up and I can really see the audience, and the genuine joy on people’s faces is so real,” he said. “I see an older couple holding hands and little kids singing, too. There’s something wonderful about that moment. It’s amazing to see and it happens every night.”