When he was in high school, Robert Neary would sing, “Hello Again,” the song Neil Diamond made famous in “The Jazz Singer,” to a girlfriend — “or maybe two,” as he says.
Today Neary, a television actor and Broadway performer, is singing “Hello Again,” again. He performs that and other Diamond songs in his new production, “So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience.”
A free virtual performance will be shown at 7:30 p.m. April 16 via the College of Lake County’s James Lumber Center website. Tickets are free. Registration is required.
Neary said he loves Neil Diamond’s gravelly, baritone voice, and that friends, family and agents have often told him he sounds a lot like the singer.
But Neary never aspired to do a tribute performance of Diamond.
“I was busy acting,” Neary said. Plus, he said he didn’t like the idea of tribute bands while the original band was still performing.
Over the years, Neary has appeared in the Broadway hit “Aida” and others shows as well as acted in television dramas such as “New Amsterdam” and “Criminal Minds.”
As acting roles became fewer, and Diamond, 80, announced he would no longer tour because he had Parkinson’s disease, Neary thought about creating a tribute show to his favorite singer. He met an old friend and musician in a band that covered songs of many decades.
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He gave them 20 Neil Diamond songs. They rehearsed and he produced the show “So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience.”
“We were sold out here on Long Island for our (first) two shows. We were going to open March 30” in 2020.
The pandemic prevented them from opening live, he said. But it didn’t stop him from working with his eight-piece band to have his show professionally recorded . “I started putting it out to booking agents,” Neary said. “Everybody who looked at it just salivated.
Neary also established a TikTok account in which he performs music from many decades and all genres, with some Diamond tunes in the mix. “I have quite the following on TikTok,” he said.
“I do live shows four times a week. I sing songs all through the decades, all different genres. I start the show at 7, and at 8, I do my Neil Diamond portion. It’s very popular,” he said. His account shows he has more than 117,000 followers.
Neary said the experience is helping him heal from the loss of a good friend to the pandemic. “You realize that nobody is guaranteed tomorrow. That’s when I got off the couch and said ‘you have to put this out there; get the Neil Diamond show together,'” Neary recalled.
So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience has been airing virtually the past year, but he was able to do his first live show with his band in March in Alexandria, Virginia. “It was just fantastic to be out and be live,” Neary said.
Those who register for the virtual concert at the James Lumber Center will hear one of Neary’s favorite Diamond songs, “I Am … I Said.”
“There’s a big story behind that song, and Neil Diamond made sure that at every concert it was on his set list,” Neary said. “He wrote the song when he moved from New York to LA. Knowing the story, you listen to the lyrics and it all makes sense.”
“Holly Holy” is another favorite. “It just starts out low and it’s a religious experience. It’s a love song. It just escalates to amazing heights,” Neary said.
Neary has watched documentaries of Neil Diamond, listened to all his music multiple times and practiced to sound as close to him as possible.
Neary said getting acting gigs the past few years has been much more difficult. The Neil Diamond show, in a way, is a “reinvention” of himself, he said. He said he and his band members have gotten to a point in their lives when they are in their mid-50s and want to do something fresh and exciting.
“So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience,” has given that excitement to them, he said.
As for Neary’s idol, Neil Diamond, he may not be touring anymore, but he just released an album with 12 of his classic songs and the London Philharmonic. “He still is spot on,” Neary said. “You hear these songs and they’re absolutely gorgeous.”
So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience
When: 7:30 p.m. April 16
Where: Virtual, James Lumber Center
Tickets: Free
Information: 847-543-2300, clcillinois.edu/events/the-arts-events/james-lumber-center-events
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.