Theatre 2026: The Division @ Crow's Theatre

I went to watch the play The Division at Crow’s Theatre with no prior knowledge of what the play was about, other than making assumptions based on its title. I thought it might be related to a situation similar to the Partition of India in 1947, or perhaps a more personal melodrama based the breakup of a family unit. It did not occur to me that the “Division” in question would refer to a military unit.

Written by second generation Canadian-Ukrainian playwright Andrew Kushnir, the development of the play stems from the fallout of an article that he had published in the “Lives Lived” column of the Globe and Mail newspaper.  The long-standing obituary-like column accepts short, intimate personal essays that celebrate the “unheralded lives” of recently deceased Canadians. In 2019, Kushnir submitted a piece in honour of his grandfather Peter Kushnir, who passed away in Montreal at age 91 in late 2018. Within his tribute, Andrew described his grandfather or “dyido” as “Ukrainian patriot, Watchmaker, CPR clock man”. Andrew went on to detail his grandfather’s time spent in World War II as part of the “1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army”, fighting on behalf of the Germans against Ukraine’s sworn enemy, the Russians. Peter was captured during the war and spent time in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp until he and two others escaped. He immigrated to Ontario in 1947 and became a skilled watchmaker, leaving his grandson Andrew a pocket watch upon his death.

I found this 2019 article behind the Globe and Mail paywall and read it along with the comments posted by other readers. The well-written article led to several comments praising Andrew’s writing style. But then came a shocking comment from a reader who made note that the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army was better known as the “German 14 Waffen Division SS Galizen” with members of this unit being responsible for one of the “worst atrocities committed against Jews and Poles during WWII”. The commenter went on to reference the book “Hitler’s Foreign Executioners: Europe’s Dirty Secret” by Christopher Hale. 

Andrew Kushnir knew his grandfather as a contradictory man who was both strict and foreboding as well as gregarious and full of stories. But being a part of the “Waffen-SS” was not a story that Peter Kushnir ever told. Learning of this led Andrew on a mission to find out more about his grandfather’s past. He traveled to Peter’s hometown in Ukraine to retrace his grandfather’s steps from his youth, through the war, until his migration to Canada. Andrew traveled from town to town, interviewing anyone who might have known his dyido or was around during the same time periods.

The play The Division reenacts Andrew’s quest with actor Daniel Maslany (younger brother of Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black fame) playing the role of the playwright. Four other actors (two male, two female) literally act as the Greek Chorus at the start of the play, echoing his words, before transforming into the myriads of people that Andew met during his investigations.  To illustrate what a personal tale this will be, the play begins with Daniel playing a tape recording of what presumably is Andrew Kushnir’s voice informing the audience that the actor holding the tape recorder will be a stand-in for him. As a framing device for conveying the tale, Andrew is documenting his odyssey by writing letters to be read in the future by his young nephew Lev, once Lev reaches adulthood and is old enough to understand. The goal seems to be to end the cycle of silence and secrecy by passing on his grandfather’s past and legacy to the next generation.

At the centre of the thrust stage is a table full of clocks and clockmaking tools to highlight Peter’s profession as a watchmaker. Throughout his journey, Andrew carries a vintage, exquisitely crafted pocket-watch that his grandfather made, encouraging people he meets to hold and examine the timepiece. It feels like Andrew wants people to see the part of the grandfather that he knew, as a buffer against new details that he might be about to learn. The watch feels like a metaphor for the grandfather, as they are both complex with many intricate parts. A gap in the front row of the audience (coincidentally right in front of my seat) was left for a folding chair that allowed Andrew to occasionally sit in, as if joining the audience in watching the scene unfolding in front of him.

The conceit and backstory of this autobiographic tale is fascinating but somehow the play didn’t work for me.  There were so many disparate characters with thick accents that were difficult to understand and so many jumps in locations and dates that it made it hard to follow where Andrew was, who he was talking to, and in some cases, why he was talking to them and how those conversations added any useful context to the story. It felt more like a brain dump of his travels rather than a cohesive tale. A screen at the back of the stage with very faint letters briefly tried to highlight the date and location (e.g. 2019 Krakow) but more often than not, my view of that was obscured either by an actor or a stagehand who was setting up props for the next scene.

There were some interesting discussions about whether the young men from conquered foreign countries were forced into the German army, or in Ukraine’s case, did they go willingly in order to gain access to arms for fighting the Russians? There was some debate about whether it is an appropriate time to put on a play like “The Division”, when Ukraine is desperately battling for its sovereignty and does not need to be painted in a bad light. There was also a scene depicting the political debacle in Canada during the Trudeau administration when a Canadian-Ukrainian “war hero” was given a standing ovation in parliament before it was revealed that he fought for the Nazi Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, providing parallels to Peter Kushnir’s role in the war. What was unequivocal was the playwright’s stance on the Russian-Ukrainaian war.  Graphic denouncements of the unjust and cruel Russian aggression and the atrocities committed included the actors literally spitting onto the stage in disgust.

Although it was only 95 minutes long, the show seemed to drag for me. It was ironic that in a play that so prominently featured watches, I ended up looking at my watch multiple times to see how much longer it would be before the end. The basis for a good story was there but perhaps it needed to be presented in a different way. I was surprised to learn that my husband felt the same way. As a history major and lover/collector of watches, if anyone was going to appreciate this play, it was him.

Theatre 2026: A Beautiful Noise - Neil Diamond Musical @ Princes of Wales Theatre

Neil Diamond is an accomplished American singer/songwriter who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1984) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2011), as well as receiving many other honours. He had ten singles reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts, is credited with thirty-eight Top 40 singles and sixteen Top 10 albums and has sold over 130 million records worldwide.  He toured around the world non-stop starting from the 1960s until a Parkinson’s diagnosis in early 2018 forced him into early retirement at the age of 77.

Finally forced to slow down, Diamond became introspective and decided that a Broadway musical reflecting upon his life and career was in order. He approached longtime friend and producer Bob Gaudio (Jersey Boys) for guidance and in 2022, a jukebox musical named after one of his hit songs opened on Broadway. Titled “The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise”, the “Noise” represents Neil’s internal thoughts, memories, emotions, and the mental noise triggered by his anxieties and lifelong bouts of depression.  The physical manifestation of “The Noise” comes in the form of the ensemble who act as a “Greek Chorus” who seem to appear out of nowhere to heighten and enhance his memories.

I typically don’t enjoy biographical jukebox musicals even when I know and like the songs of the artist or band. This is because this type of musical usually does not follow the rules of a book musical where the lyrics of songs move the story along. Most biographical musicals are really dramas where the songs are performed in a diegetic manner either in a rehearsal or concert/performance setting.

A Beautiful Noise uses a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic songs, then adds an interesting concept that gives it a bit more depth and context to the story. Neil Diamond spent years in psychoanalysis and therapy with his real-life long-term therapist Dr. Lu Katzman (since deceased) as he dealt with the pressures of fame as well as feelings of anxiety, loneliness and depression.

These analysis sessions were used as the framing device for the musical which starts with Neil as an old man (listed as “Neil-Now” in the programme) and his therapist (listed merely as “Doctor”) each sitting in a big armchair facing one another. Through their discussions and analysis of his songs, Doctor pries memories and interpretations out of Diamond as we are presented with flashback scenes featuring the younger version (“Neil-Then”), played by Nick Fradiani, a Neil Diamond look-alike/sound-alike actor/singer who won American Idol in 2015. 

With dialogue between “Neil-Now” and Doctor providing background and context, we follow “Neil-Then” through his rising career and multiple marriages. He gets his big break as a songwriter, providing hits for established acts including writing “I’m a Believer” for The Monkees. He starts to establish his own voice and singing career with songs like “Kentucky Woman”, “Solitary Man”, and “Cracklin’ Rosie”.  When “Neil-Then” foolishly and regretfully signs a record deal with Bang Records, which turns out to be backed by the mob, he is pressured into writing silly pop ditties like “Cherry Cherry” as opposed to the deeper, more poetic songs that he wants to release like “September Morn”.  A medley pairing of these two songs effectively highlights what the studio wanted Diamond to write versus what he craved to produce.

For most of the first act, the songs are diegetic, sung as part of recording studio sessions or live performances as Neil-Then tries to establish himself. But just as I resigned myself to sitting through yet another stereotypical biographical jukebox musical, things changed as the show delved into Diamond’s relationships and how they were affected by his need for fame and success. Some of the songs are sung by other characters and chosen so that the lyrics advance the plot.  When Diamond lands a gig at a Greenwich Village Club, he meets and falls in love with Marcia despite being married to and having two daughters with Jayne. He and Marcia bond as they discuss his constant depression (termed as “clouds”) by singing “Song Sung Blue” with the lyrics “me and you are subject to the blues now and then”. When Neil’s marriage to Jayne falls apart because of his feelings for Marcia, Jayne angrily laments with the song “Love on the Rocks”, changing the lyrics slightly to better fit the plot with the line “Just pour me a drink and tell me some lies”. 

By the second act, Neil Diamond is an international success and touring non-stop, at the expense of spending time with his second wife Marcia and their two sons. Marcia sings “Forever in Blue Jeans” to express her frustrations, declaring that she is willing to give up all the money and fame to spend more time with her husband. The lyrics “Money talks, but it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk” perfectly alludes to this. When eventually they also break up, they sing the heart wrenching duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore” and these lyrics are also perfect for the plot.  Scenes like these where the lyrics of Diamond’s songs are integrated into the storyline are what elevated this jukebox musical for me, as opposed to the innumerable concert scenes, despite all the spectacular lighting effects and spot-on costumes with the frills and then the sparkles worn the Neil-Then character.  During a lengthy concert montage, we did wonder how Neil-Then changed his costume so quickly and frequently.

Through it all, we keep returning to Doctor probing at the source of Neil’s mental strife. As "Neil-Now" talks about having an childhood imaginary friend named Shilo who kept him company, one of the background performers came out and performed the song "Shilo". It was not clear but presumably he was supposed to represent that imaginary friend?  Finally Neil-Now makes a breakthrough epiphany towards the end of the show while recalling childhood traumas, he sings “I Am, I Said” with “Neil-Now” singing for the first time and eventually joined by “Neil-Then”. Diamond realizes that his insatiable need to perform, at the expense of two marriages and two families stems from his attempts to quell the noise in his head and feel like “a king,” not “a frog”, to quote a few words from that song.

Despite arriving to “A Beautiful Noise” with low expectations and prepared not to like the show, I rather enjoyed it and consider it one of the better biographical jukebox musicals.  Granted, this is a relatively low bar, as I still much prefer a “book musical”.  Recently there has a been a resurgence of interest in Neil Diamond, spurred not only by this musical but also the 2025 docudrama film Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as a husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act.