jared bowen: the 81-year-old diamond retired from performing in 2018 after being diagnosed with parkinson's disease. it was only when he stepped off the stage, says director michaelhas been part of the process every step of the way, was ready to tell his life story. >> he is probably truer to the human he was before he became a star. we reveal in the show the showman of neil, the jewish elvis, if you will, that is a character that he put on. it was a way for him to take someone who is innately shy and quiet and kind of a loner. that's how he could stand on a stadium stage and sing to 80,000 people. jared: mayer, the tony-winning director of shows like spring awakening, the green day musical , american idiot, and hedwig and the angry inch, has shaped the show as a memory play, not simply a night of diamond's greatest hits. michael: we're not doing the and then i wrote, and then i wrote and then i wrote, and then i wrote. it's a much more emotional and abstract exploration. jared: teased out by way of a therapist, played by linda powell, helping an older neil diamond reflect on his younger days. now, decades into her own acting career, it's a concept with which she