They say that when you have a kid, the time flies by. They also say that time flies when you’re having fun.

Well, I always say my shows are like my kids. And despite being the longest run of a show I’ve ever produced at 657 performances (besting Godspell by 363 shows), boy has the time flown by for the run of A Beautiful Noise.

And boy did we, and our audiences, have fun.

I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity I was given by Neil, as well as his friend, and my partner, Bob Gaudio. (I joke about it often – but let me tell you – one of the most surreal moments I had was being on a zoom with these two legends – listening to them tell stories about playing in front of 40,000 people – and me wondering if I was in the wrong zoom room!)

As well as our Director Michael Mayer, Choreographer Steven Hoggett, our incredible designers, David Rockwell, Emilio Sosa, Jessica Paz, Kevin Adams, Luc Verschueren, and music team, Sonny Paladino, Brian Usifer and my partner-in-Joy-crime, AnnMarie Milazzo.

And then there’s Anthony McCarten – the four time Oscar nominee that I never thought would want to take time out from his incredibly busy screenplay schedule to work in the theater. I also must thank his agent, Olivier Sultan at CAA, for finding this Neil Diamond-lovin’ needle in the writer haystack. (Yes, that’s right, a Producer just thanked an agent.)

And our General Managers Amy Jacobs and A.J. Orth, Company Managers Miguel Ortiz and Mikayla Bump and Stage Managers Bonnie Panson, Julie DeVore, Alexander Allen, Colyn W. Fiendel. Our Box Office staff and every Usher and every individual who works at the Broadhurst.

And oh, that cast!  From Will to Nick, from Robyn to Amber, from Linda to Shirine, and Mark, Bri, Jessie, Michael, Tom, the off-stage swings and understudies, and that incredible Noise who still have me jaw-dropped when I watch “Crunchy Granola“.  #Blessed

This is a hard goodbye, to be honest. Because in a pre-covid world, with our suburban audiences coming over the bridges and tunnels at their previous levels, and with costs at their previous levels, this show would run another 3 years . . . easy.

But I’m so proud that we are one of the longest running new musicals to open since the pandemic. And more importantly, I’m proud of the art on that stage . . . and the story it tells about Neil . . . and the story it tells about ALL of us.

We’re far from done here. We’re coming to America this fall with a national tour . . . and we are also coming to the rest of the world – I just can’t talk about it, so stay tuned to this channel for more.

And finally, a thank you to every single person who “Bah-bah-bah-ed” with us at the show. You’re why we do it. And you’re why we were able to do it this long.

And with that . . . I am. I said.