It certainly was a choice that playwright Anthony McCarten used “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” to portray the much-loved superstar behind the songs as an absolute jerk.

But that’s what happens in the touring Broadway show, which runs through Sunday at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.

McCarten framed his take on Diamond’s life and career on an uneasy therapy session with an aged Diamond (Robert Westenberg) who has stopped performing and who has absolutely no interest in discussing his past, his career or his music. Still, his crafty, unnamed therapist (Lisa Renee Pitts) pulls out a book of Diamond’s lyrics and, eventually, gets the musician talking.

Between scenes of that session, we learn how Diamond rose from obscurity to become one of the biggest stars of his generation. Famed Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich (Kate A. Mulligan) takes a chance on Diamond and guides him from writing bubblegum pop for others to performing his own, more serious songs.

Along the way, we meet Diamond’s childhood sweetheart and mother of two daughters Jaye (Tiffany Tatreau) and his second wife and mother of two sons Marcia (Hannah Jewel Kohn), who helps urge him out of his shell and, later, leave his first wife. Diamond’s third and current wife, Katie, who is nearly three decades younger than him, barely gets mentioned and is not portrayed on the stage.

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One of the problems with the script is that Jaye and Marcia are paper thin characters who don’t get much development beyond sweet and innocent (Jaye) and ambitious homewrecker (Marcia). That said, the latter does get a moment to shine with her rendition of “Forever in Blue Jeans.”

We also meet Bert Berns (Michael Accardo), himself a songwriter and head of the mobbed-up Bang Records, who convinces the young Diamond to sign a crooked contract with the promise of artistic freedom. A significant chunk of the first act is dedicated to this ill-fated move, which is wrapped up in a flash, with Berns ripping said contract to pieces. That move seems to suggest Diamond got out of the deal thanks to his sheer awesomeness when the reality is that he had a great lawyer.

“American Idol” champion Nick Fradiani mostly pulls off his portrayal of Diamond. For the first few numbers, he struggled to replicate Diamond’s unique vocals while also carefully enunciating in the Broadway fashion. But he eventually warmed into it and was convincing enough during showcase numbers like “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” “America” and “Cherry, Cherry.” (At one point, for no real reason, he took his shirt off to reveal tight abs that had the boomer ladies in the crowd clapping and swooning.)

“A Beautiful Noise” takes place on a relatively sparse set, but inventive staging, costumes and lighting design bring life to the proceedings, as does the diverse chorus of 10 performers. Songs like “Sweet Caroline” and “Holly Holy” crackle with the energy of Diamond’s own concerts.

But Diamond’s gloomy spirit and supposed self-doubt undermine the fun. The therapy scenes drag on too long and come to an absurd climax when Diamond makes a murky breakthrough thanks to his song “I Am… I Said,” the chorus of which reveals that Diamond thinks chairs have the ability to listen to humans.

“A Beautiful Noise” works best if you ignore the morose stuff and focus on the songs, which are the true star of this show.

‘A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’

When: Through Sunday
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis
Tickets: $235.80-$59 via hennepinarts.org
Capsule: Diamond’s music shines, even if his own story does not.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce on Wednesday announced the anticipated increase in health insurance rates for 2026 — a driving factor in the federal government shutdown that began at midnight.

Under the new rates, Minnesotans covered through the individual market — Affordable Care Act plans accessed through the state’s health insurance marketplace — will see an average rate increase of 22% and those in small group plans will see a 14% increase. The increases are due to both rising health care costs and the expiration of enhanced tax credits under the ACA, officials with the Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

Roughly 200,000 Minnesotans are enrolled in the small group market, while 163,000 are enrolled in the individual market, according to 2024 data from the state Department of Health.

The increased rates came just hours after the federal government shut down, in part over health care disputes such as the expiring ACA credits and Medicaid cuts. Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota health care leaders held a press conference last month, urging Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits.

“We hope that Congress will take swift action to make the enhanced tax credits permanent, because every Minnesotan who has been able to stay covered with this financial help is another Minnesotan able to access the health care they need,” MNsure CEO Libby Caulum said in a news release Wednesday.

The Department of Commerce announces the rates every year on Oct. 1, ahead of the Nov. 1 date for open enrollment, and three months before premiums go into effect on Jan. 1, also when the ACA credits are set to expire.

Caulum said on Sept. 23 that while MNSure can “make technical changes” if Congress acts to extend ACA credits before Jan. 1, the deadline is tight.

“As soon as the rate release happens, there’s a whole host of things that MNsure does to get ready for open enrollment … so we’re really short on time here to keep it from getting confusing,” she said.

MNsure estimates that nearly 90,000 Minnesotans will see an increase in their monthly premium due to the loss of ACA credits if Congress does not extend them.

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By MARCIA DUNN

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have uncovered new types of organics in icy geysers spouting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, bolstering the likelihood that the ocean world may harbor conditions suitable for life.

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Their findings, reported Wednesday, are based on observations made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2008 during a close and fast flyby of Enceladus. The small moon, one of 274 orbiting Saturn, has long been considered a prime candidate in the search for life beyond Earth because of its hidden ocean and plumes of water erupting from cracks near its south pole.

While Enceladus may be habitable, no one is suggesting that life exists.

“Being habitable and being inhabited are two very different things. We believe that Enceladus is habitable, but we do not know if life is indeed present,” said the University of Washington’s Fabian Klenner, who took part in the study.

An international team decided to launch a fresh analysis of tiny grains of ice encountered as Cassini flew through the moon’s geysers. The grains were young compared with the much older geyser particles that ended up in one of Saturn’s outermost rings.

These new grains collided with Cassini’s cosmic dust analyzer at 40,000 mph (64,800 kph), faster than the old ones. The increased speed provided a clearer view of the chemical compounds present, the scientists noted.

Organic molecules already had been spotted in the old geyser grains, but their age raised questions as to whether they had been altered over the years by space radiation.

Scientists found some of the same molecules in the fresh grains, confirming they came from the moon’s underground sea, as well as new chemical compounds. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.

An ice-encapsulated water world barely 310 miles (500 kilometers) across with a rocky core, Enceladus is suspected of having hydrothermal vents on its ocean floor, quite possibly like those in the Arctic. The moon’s jets of water vapor and frozen particles can stretch thousands of miles (kilometers) into space.

“We are confident that these molecules originate from the subsurface ocean of Enceladus, enhancing its habitability potential,” the Free University of Berlin’s Nozair Khawaja, the lead author, said in an email.

The scientists favor new missions to further explore Enceladus. Launched in 1997, Cassini is long gone; the spacecraft was deliberately plunged into Saturn in 2017 following its joint mission by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

“Having a variety of organic compounds on an extraterrestrial water world is simply phenomenal,” Klenner said in an email.

The European Space Agency is in the early planning stages of a mission to land on Enceladus decades from now. China also has proposed a landing mission.

NASA has a spacecraft en route to another enticing target to hunt for the ingredients of life: Jupiter’s moon Europa. The Europa Clipper is expected to begin orbiting Jupiter in 2030 with dozens of Europa flybys. ESA also has a spacecraft, Juice, that’s headed to Jupiter to explore Europa and two other icy moons that could hold buried oceans.

Underground oceans on moons “are perhaps the best candidates for the emergence of extraterrestrial life in our solar system. This work only confirms the need for further studies,” said University of Kent physics professor Nigel Mason, who was not involved in the latest findings.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The sacred bones of a much-loved French Carmelite nun began a tour of the U.S. on Wednesday at a suburban Detroit parish named in her honor.

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Nicole Scheier was among those who arrived hours ahead of the first opportunity to catch a glimpse of the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

“St. Thérèse is a saint for everybody. She is relatable. She teaches that sainthood is attainable, doing small things with great love,” Scheier said after pausing before a statue of St. Thérèse outside the National Shrine of The Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, Michigan.

A reliquary containing some of St. Thérèse’s remains will be on display through Oct. 8, before moving on to California. Other stops on the tour, which runs into December, are Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.

Haifa Gabbara also arrived at the basilica well in advance.

“St. Thérèse means a lot to me and to my family,” the West Bloomfield Township resident said. “So, I was determined to be here, although early.”

The National Shrine was founded in 1926, as one of the nation’s first parishes dedicated to the memory of the saint born Thérèse Martin and who died of tuberculosis in 1897 at age 24.

Nicknamed “The Little Flower of Jesus,” St. Thérèse became known worldwide for her autobiography, “Story of a Soul,” that described her devotion to God. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Mother Teresa took her name and said she was inspired to serve the poor in India.

St. Thérèse’s relics also came from France to the U.S. in 1999. Tens of thousands visited Royal Oak that year during a one-day stay. Now, a quarter-century later, they are back on The Little Flower’s feast day.

“It feels like Christmas morning that a wonderful gift from God is coming here to be with us,” said the Rev. John Bettin, rector of the National Shrine of The Little Flower Basilica.

In the Catholic tradition, a relic is an object, notably part of the body or clothes, that serves as a memorial of a departed saint. It is an ancient tradition within the church to venerate, or honor, the relics of holy people.

In this image made from video, Relics of St. Thérèse Tour attendee Nicole Scheier pays her respects to a statue of St. Thérèse outside the National Shrine of The Little Flower Basilica Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Royal Oak, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Those who wish to venerate the relics are to slowly make their way inside the basilica, where they will find the reliquary positioned in a central area. They are permitted to touch the reliquary with medals, rosaries and prayer cards, but they may not lean on nor kiss the glass.

“We do have to protect the reliquary and the relics,” Bettin said.