Rousing jukebox musicals should be high on any list of prescriptions for self-care. Bathing in a tsunami of Solid Gold hits for a couple of hours can wash away stress and energize the spirit in ways pharmaceuticals could only dream of.

As evidence, take one evening of “Beautiful Noise,” the Neil Diamond musical onstage this week at Shea’s Buffalo. The upbeat show — heavy on music, light on drama — is downright therapeutic, in both its framing and in its effects.

The show opens with the aging pop superstar (Tuck Mulligan as Neil-Now) literally sitting opposite his shrink (Lisa Renee Pitts), reluctant to be there and even more reluctant to talk about himself. His wife wanted him to get some help, he says. “Apparently I’m hard to live with these days,” he quips.

We get it. After spending decades gyrating in sequined shirts in front of tens of thousands of fans around the planet while rocking the rafters with hooky rock songs and breaking hearts with break-up ballads, self-reflection doesn’t come easily. He doesn’t like to talk about himself, Diamond says.

“I put everything I have into my songs,” he explains. Then the doctor says “show me,” and off we go. 

The therapy office and the years fall away as Nick Fradiani, winner of TV’s “American Idol” in 2015, is centerstage as the younger Neil Diamond, sounding very Diamond-esque in the anthemic “America.” The moment serves as quite a wakeup call.

Then we go back to the lean early 1960s, when the budding songwriter finds his way to the legendary Brill Building and gets the attention of the equally legendary songwriter Ellie Greenwich (vividly played by Kate Mulligan). After he nails a few hits as a writer, starting with “I’m a Believer” for the Monkees, Ellie encourages him to sing his own stuff: 

“Nobody out there sounds like you do,” she says, “like gravel wrapped in velvet.”

And thus the introverted Jewish kid from Flatbush who thought he should change his name (he was born a Diamond and Ellie made him keep it, pointing out “It worked for Tiffany”) starts his climb to the top. 

Filling in the blanks between more than two dozen Diamond hits are the singer’s first two marriages, an ill-advised recording contract, and news of the births of some unseen children. Tiffany Tatreau and Hannah Jewel Kohn each have their moments as the wives left behind, in “Love on the Rocks” and a particularly affecting “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” while the dance ensemble flows on, off and around the stage to provide emotion where Diamond struggles.

Like Diamond, Fradiani is a better singer than actor, but happily that works well for him in this narrative. The characters who know Diamond keep referring to him as “Hamlet” because he’s so moody and broody. It all changes, though, when the backdrop slides away, and we see the band. The stage lights sparkle off the bedazzled singer, now is in his element with “I Am, I Said,”  “Thank the Lord for the Night Time,” “Holly Holy.” And, more than once, “Sweet Caroline,” one of the most infectious pop tunes ever written. 

An abundance of lovely costume changes helped track the changing timeline on an otherwise uncluttered set. (Still not sure what a bunch of hanging lamps in the background a la Home Depot was supposed to represent, but they weren’t distracting.)

Diamond has done a lot of sharing in “Beautiful Noise,” but he also keeps a lot to himself. He really means it when Neil-Now tells his doctor that his life is in his songs. Those are the parts we’ll remember. 

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“Beautiful Noise,” with book by Anthony McCarten and music by Neil Diamond, continues through April 13 at Shea’s Buffalo, 646 Main St. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. April 9, 10 and 11; 2 and 8 p.m. April 12 and at 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 13. Running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission. Tickets are $60 to $136 at sheas.org and Ticketmaster.