The Echo was lucky enough to interview Robyn Hurder, the highly acclaimed actress and dancer, who won the 2023 Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show and was previously a Tony Award Nominee for Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Robyn takes on the pivotal role of Marcia Murphy, who is credited with much of Neil Diamond’s rise to fame as his girlfriend and second wife. She is side by side with Neil giving him the confidence to perform his own songs in front of crowds and to embrace the flashier, sequined persona the world knows. Her love for Neil was enduring and pure over nearly 3 decades of incredible highs and equally incredible lows.  Broadway’s hit The Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise tells the life story of Neil Diamond, one of the world’s most successful and enduring musicians. He has sold over 140 million albums, had 10 Top 10 hits, performed in sold out shows all over the world and written countless signature songs for other bands, including The Monkees and Elvis. His career has spanned over 6 decades, with a GRAMMY Award, a Golden Globe Award, inductions into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and The Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and more.  

Will Swenson does an unbelievable job embodying the younger Neil Diamond and performing his greatest hits. Mark Jacoby brings the story full circle as Neil Diamond present day with maturity and gravitas. The staging, music, story and production are flawless, exhilarating and highly emotional.  

We hope you enjoy the interview that follows below and highly recommend this riveting musical!

1) Did your parents expose you to Neil Diamond’s music growing up?

Not really. My Mom has stated that she was a Neil Diamond fan once I got the show. My Dad was never really a Neil Diamond fan. The only reason why I listened to Neil Diamond was because he was on the radio. He was in his prime back then. That’s how I got to know it. The only song I really remember from my childhood listening to believe it or not is Forever in Blue Jeans. I remember my Dad would always wash the car outside our driveway and there was one summer – I don’t know when it was – it kept playing on the radio. I just remember loving the beat to it. So, it’s very ironic that I am now doing it many decades later!

2)   What Neil Diamond song has the most meaning to you now that you are in the show and have met him?

They’re all so wonderful. I guess the one that means the most is I am I Said, because it really talks about what he struggled with. When he’s in front of the audience he’s the king – when he’s got the sequins on and that lifestyle – and the lights and the audience and the lovers and all that stuff – he’s the king. But when it’s gone he just immediately feels like he’s a frog, like he’s nothing. And that song comes in at the end of the show and I think it just touches us all. So, that’s definitely the one that has the most meaning to me.

3)     You did not originally audition for the role of Marcia Murphy, Neil Diamond’s second wife. Is this normal for the audition process – auditioning for one role and getting another role?

This is completely unrelated. There was a workshop happening in 2021 – I believe – and they called me in for Ellie (Greenwich) and Rose (Diamond). And I knew I wasn’t right for it. I was like why I am going in for this? This isn’t correct. I obviously did not get the job. Brie (Sudia) the person that you saw playing Ellie and Rose – she got the role and did the four week workshop they did in the Fall of 2021. Someone else was playing Marcia Murphy at that time. When they came around to auditioning for the out of town tryout, the casting director then said you know who I think would be right for this – Robyn Hurder. So, this was done almost a year later. It was completely unrelated and done for a different moment of the project for the workshop in New York City. And then I auditioned for the role of Marcia Murphy, which is a much more appropriate role for me. And that’s when I got it – in April of 2022. So the two things were not at the same time. But sometimes in auditions it does happen where you go in for one role and they may think you are not quite right for the part – but if there’s another part they may ask you to go outside and look over lines to read for another part. But that is not what happened to me auditioning for the role of Marcia Murphy.

4)     Not a lot is known about Marcia Murphy. How did you create such a compelling portrayal?

I have to say that I put a lot of myself into it because there was not a whole lot of information out there about Marcia Murphy. She definitely enjoyed being in the public eye and the lifestyle they led. She was extremely supportive of Neil and he says he owes a lot of his career to her because she really pushed him and was there with him along the whole ride. About her personally, I think she was magnetic and outspoken. She knew what she wanted and didn’t take any crap. I thought those are a lot of the qualities and traits I have – so, I’ll just go with it and use the words that Anthony McCarten wrote for me.  And I just went for it and let it come to me organically in the rehearsal studio. Michael Mayer our director drove me in certain directions. They knew I was a dancer as well and put in some dancing. As an actor you keep discovering more and more. And it was really developed organically with Will Swenson being my scene partner.

5)     Your performance of Forever in Blue Jeans is so powerful. What can you tell us about the creation of that scene?

That was a moment. They gave that song to me for my final callback. I was like that was the song I loved when I was a kid! But I didn’t understand it at all – why was she singing it? Where does it fall in the show? I asked the music director what it meant and he told me to make a choice. In Boston, it was performed as a trio in a dreamworld realm. In the span of a week it morphed into Marcia Murphy’s song because with Blue Jeans I felt it was our true love; this is where we fell in love together. That is our real connection – our soul – our fire.  Money talks – is the lifestyle – Marcia had a big part in creating this monster of a lifestyle – the lavish lifestyle, the money, the houses, the art – all of the stuff. I look at that number as all of the things are amazing but in that moment – if it just came down to the two of us in the bitter end – I would leave all the money and things to have us be in the moment – the honeymoon phase when we first fell in love for the rest of our lives. So that is how I view that number every night. I choose you and me. There are the sparkle blue jean people that represent his noise, his lifestyle – they start creeping in more and more intense and take over my whole rhythm by the end and I realize I am losing control over our lives and relationships and it leads up to that crash where I go through stadium medley and I have phone calls with him. It was a journey to create that number.

6)     This is your second lead role. Does it get any easier balancing all of the demands and stresses?

No. It doesn’t get any easier. Physically I feel better but this is so hard in a different way – mentally, vocally, emotionally – putting everything into it every single night. So, it’s hard. And also now that my husband is across the street performing – he’s starring in the show New York, New York – the balance between career and normal lifestyle is getting even more difficult. It doesn’t get any easier because I care so deeply about everything that’s involved in my life. And I never feel like I’m truly nailing it on every end of my lifestyle. So, it doesn’t really get too much easier.

7)     How long has the show been in development?

Neil Diamond went to see Jersey Boys about 10 years ago and said he wanted his own show. Our producer started working on it and I think they started reading 5 or 6 years ago. COVID hit and then the 4 week table reading was in October of 2021, followed by the out of town run. And here we are now on Broadway!

8)     Neil Diamond has a massive fan base. What has the fan response been?

It’s been amazing. The best thing I hear from people that come to see the show is they were not expecting this. They were expecting the sequins. They were expecting the rock concert. They were not expecting to cry. They were not expecting his life story. They just were not expecting to feel all kinds of feelings. And that is what they say makes this jukebox bio musical different from the others. It is completely unexpected how you walk out. Of course you’re walking out singing Sweet Caroline but you are feeling so much more than you thought you would be.

9)     What is the one question you wish people would ask you but they never do?

What a great question! You might be the first person to stump me in an interview! Maybe what do I want to do when I grow up? People are always very in the moment about shows you are doing and have done but not beyond that. That is a brilliant question!

10)   What advice would you give to aspiring high school actors?

Two things – always – and it sounds cliché – always remember who you are and be yourself when you decide to do this. I’ve experienced it myself when I get put into a tornado, hurricane in this business and you go to audition after audition and nothing is happening. And then you start to think that you need to be someone else. That’s what gets you into trouble because the people behind the table who want to cast you can sniff that out in a second. Do not be anyone other than yourself and truly believe in what you have to offer. Believe that you are a special person and you have something unique that no one else has because there is no one else like you. Put on the blinders and knock out all the negativity of social media. Remember your goals. Do not take no for an answer. Let that fuel you. And the other most important thing – nothing matters if you are not kind. You have to be a nice person. Be kind to others. Treat everyone as an equal. Treat everyone with respect. We are all humans. And none of this means anything if you do not have a good heart and lead with love.

The Facts:

Location: Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036

Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission

Ticket Price Range: $110 to $368

Website: www.abeautifulnoisethemusical.com