By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)
One of the marketing ploys for The Notebook: The Musical can be found at the merchandising kiosk downstairs at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Aside from magnets and some specialty clothing items they sell, they also offer a very small, branded The Notebook souvenir box of Kleenex to dry the weeping eyes of its audience members.
Of course, it’s an inside joke for those who are familiar with the Nicholas Sparks novel or the successful movie that starred Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. There’s probably not enough tissue paper in a regular size box to contain the tears that will run at the conclusion of this musical about a pair of star-crossed lovers – Allie and Noah – who overcome challenges in three periods of their lives: as separate youngsters first falling in love, as mature adults who search for and find one another again and, finally, as an elderly couple who are trying to reconnect with one another through the ravages of old age and Alzheimer’s disease.
Three separate pairs of actors – all diverse couples – portray Allie and Noah during the various stages of their lives. Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood perform as the elderly couple with so many forgotten memories revealed by the notebook that he reads to her every day. Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez are the mature couple who rekindle their youthful indiscretion. Finally, Jordan Tyson and John Cardoza are the young lovers from different backgrounds who discover their intense attraction to one another despite all odds.
The trio of couples are referred to by three conventions: Older, Middle and Younger. During several important scenes all three couples are seen at once, giving the audience insight into the full arc of Allie and Noah’s lives.
The enchanting force woven throughout this musical is the magical and expressive music of Ingrid Michaelson. Her music and lyrics are lush and romantic and serve as the springboard for the story of the young lovers whose indiscreet attraction becomes a searing, passionate tale of love rekindled for the Allie and Noah who return as mature adults. Coupled with the inventive choreography of Katie Spelman, Michaelson’s exquisite notes soar throughout the theatre, making us realize that all three figures – Allies and Noahs alike – are extensions of one another. There is poetry in her lyrics and divine harmony in the vocal arrangements.
Each of the couples enjoys a trajectory of their own. Songs like “Blue Shutters” and “Carry You Home” first establish the Younger couple’s improbable connection to one another and references the home they will eventually find at the center of their relationship.
Tyson and Cardoza express the joy of discovering love in the song “Dance with Me” and realizing the depth of their emotions in “Sadness and Joy.” But the couple are driven apart by outside forces, especially Allie’s mother, played notably by veteran performer Andréa Burns. She goes to extreme efforts in order to keep the couple apart, finally admitting years later to Woods and Vasquez of her involvement and confesses to a major decision that keeps them apart. In scenes with the Older Allie and Noah, Burns returns in a redeeming role as the more endearing and caring Nurse Lori, an enabler for the elderly couple separated by the loss of memory.
Act II’s “Forever” includes the iconic rain scene that is a technical masterpiece accomplished through a sophisticated system of actor-friendly heated water, slotted floorboards made out of special water-resistant materials and an actual pond on stage created by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis that leads to a tank that collects the rainwater. But to the audience, none of this wizardry counts; they believe it is actually raining on stage.
The representation of the lake and its dockside become a major feature of the production and a fitting background for lovers Allie and Noah. Water, of course, figures in that memorable scene between Woods and Vasquez. The rainwater is depicted through a series of highly choreographed actions beginning with giant droplets that signal the coming storm and eventually conclude with the downpour that soaks them. The lighting design team led by Ben Stanton should get special plaudits for being able to illuminate the drops of rain that normally would be invisible to the naked eye.
Stanton’s team devised some remarkable lighting including unusual fixtures that bear the intensity of incandescent lights at the very bottom and the glow of long florescent strips that hang down, creating a surreal atmosphere that literally lights the figures of the past and present.
The culmination in Act II is prefaced with a succession of beautiful duets. The first, “Don’t You Worry,” brings closure to Middle Allie and her mother. “It’s Not Easy” and “I Love You More” give substance to Middle Allie and Noah becoming a couple again, while Woods enjoys the single spotlight in the emotional “My Days.” The actors all resoundingly join in “Coda” as a remarkable final resolution to this brilliant production.
Michael Greif and Schele Williams co-direct this heartwarming and heartbreaking story overseeing Spelman’s wondrous choreography and the superb projections and special effects that meld seamlessly with Michaelson’s impressive music and lyrics. The audience connects with the stage performers on multiple levels through Michaelson’s warm and effusive music, which is her stock and trade. Geoffrey Ko served as the music director with orchestrations rendered by John Clancy and Carmel Dean.
Book writer Bekah Brunstetter smartly employs the adage “Less is more.” She has some needed exposition, but for the most part, her characters give the audience enough information to draw conclusions about what is happening on stage, especially in scenes with the elderly couple tenderly played by veteran performers Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood. As with couples in love, their actions rather than their words rule their passions.
Make no mistake about it: this is a musical full of passion and this sumptuous feast for the eyes and mellifluence for the ears will bring joy to to one’s heart in addition to the tears to the eyes.
The Notebook continues at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 W. 45th St. in New York. Tickets can be purchased online here. In-person rush for up to two tickets at $49 each start at 2 p.m. for evening performances and at 10 a.m. for Sunday 3 p.m. matinees.
