Breaking Barriers on Tour: Lisa René Pitts Brings Black Excellence to A Beautiful Noise

Courtesy Photo-The national tour of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical brings the story of the legendary singer-songwriter to East Lansing’s Wharton Center, September 16–21, 2025. Featuring a live band and an electrifying cast, the Broadway hit celebrates Diamond’s music and legacy.

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When the lights go up on A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, audiences may expect the familiar, 120 million albums worth of hits like Sweet Caroline, Forever in Blue Jeans, and America. But they also find themselves invited into the quiet, complicated, and deeply human spaces of Neil Diamond’s life, as seen through the eyes of his therapist. And in this national tour, that role is carried with remarkable depth and responsibility by actress Lisa René Pitts

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Courtesy Photo-Lisa René Pitts as “The Doctor” in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, coming to Wharton Center September 16–21, 2025. Pitts’ role, based on Neil Diamond’s real-life therapist, anchors the show’s exploration of music, memory, and healing

Pitts plays the doctor, a character based on Diamond’s real-life therapist, who helps him sift through memories, struggles, and triumphs. For Pitts, the role is more than lines and music, it is a chance to embody authenticity, to honor the seriousness of therapy, and to bring her own cultural lens to a Broadway hit now touring America

“I take this role very seriously, because she took her work very seriously,” Pitts told me during our conversation. “Every client matters, every story matters. To play someone whose work was rooted in helping others find clarity and healing, it’s an honor.”

From Broadway to Wharton Center

After a successful run on Broadway, A Beautiful Noise is now in its second year on tour, arriving at East Lansing’s Wharton Center September 16–21, 2025. The show, created with Neil Diamond himself, weaves his career into a narrative about identity, resilience, and the transformative power of music.

This production is more than a jukebox musical, it’s a live band, high-energy show that also addresses mental health with care and honesty. Audiences don’t just leave singing—they leave reflecting.

“The cast is diverse, across ages and backgrounds, and that’s important,” Pitts said. “People walk away not only with the music they came for, but with so much more understanding of who Neil Diamond really was.”

Carrying Black Excellence into the Spotlight

For Pitts, stepping into this role also carries the weight of representation. She is a Black woman inhabiting the life and work of a Jewish therapist, bridging cultural realities while affirming the importance of Black voices in every corner of theater.

“It means a lot to me to be in this position, to represent Black excellence in this way,” she said. “We’re telling a universal story, but I know that what I bring with me matters. I carry that into every performance.”

A Career of Versatility and Purpose

Pitts is no stranger to demanding roles. A veteran actress with decades of experience, her credits span stage, screen, and audio. On Broadway, she appeared in Sweat (Cynthia u/s). Off-Broadway, she starred opposite Leslie Uggams in The Old Settler (Lou Bessie) and played Florrie in Waiting for Lefty under the direction of Joanne Woodward.

Her regional stage work is equally powerful, from Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 at the Mark Taper Forum to The Father at Pasadena Playhouse alongside Alfred Molina, and memorable roles in Tiny Beautiful Things, Doubt, Tintypes, A Raisin in the Sun, and Intimate Apparel.

Audiences may also recognize her from the acclaimed film Straight Outta Compton, where she portrayed Dr. Dre’s mother, Verna Griffin, or from television in “Stephen King’s: The Stand” on Paramount+.

Beyond acting, Pitts is a motivational speaker, mentor, ministry leader, and teacher. She’s also an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer, with more than 200 titles to her name across every genre, from romance to social justice. A graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, she describes her career as a blessing, giving credit to her faith, her family, and the teachers who shaped her path.

The Power of Listening

When asked about similarities with the character she plays, Pitts laughed softly and admitted: “I’m a listener. I got that from my mother. It’s how I move in the world, wanting to help people.”

That resonated with me deeply. It’s also how she transforms into the therapist onstage, not just reciting words, but embodying presence.

Of course, there are differences too. “She’s a doctor, I’m creative,” Pitts noted. “But in this role, I become her.”

Legacy, Music, and More

Neil Diamond’s story is legendary, bigger than Elvis, as some call it, and A Beautiful Noise captures that magnitude. But in this tour, it’s the layered performances, the honest attention to mental health, and the cultural bridges crossed by actors like Lisa René Pitts that make it unforgettable.

When the curtain falls at Wharton Center this September, the audience will walk away with more than a night of music. They’ll leave with a sense of humanity, filtered through a voice that honors both history and the importance of representation on America’s biggest stages.

And for me, it’s not just another story in print. It’s the chance to recognize a Black woman breaking barriers in Broadway theater, while celebrating the 40-year legacy of The Chronicle News, a legacy built on telling the stories that matter most.