By ROY BERKO
The Notebook: The Musical tells the heart warming, and often heartbreaking life-long love story, of Allie and Noah. It is based on a true tale inspired by author Nicholas Sparks’ wife’s-grandparents, who shared a love story which started as a summer-romance and endured separation, renewal and Alzheimer’s Disease. It is filled with loving moments, humor and tear-inducing reality.
Set basically in a nursing home in the present day, it is framed by older Noah reading from a journal to his wife, Allie. The story flashes forwards, and backwards, from the duo’s passionate summer as teenagers to their renewed connection as adults.
Covering over 52 years of the character’s lives, the tale illustrates parental prejudices, classism, and the harsh reality of aging and memory loss. It exposes the raw strain of advancing dementia on both the victim and their caretakers, while centering on the enduring power of love that can transcend time and stresses.
The show features indie-folk-rock music created by Ingrid Michaelson. In contrast to other contemporary musical dramas, there is no “Waving Through a Window,” as in Dear Evan Hansen, or “It All Fades Away,” as in The Bridges of Madison County or “I Miss the Mountains,” as featured in Next to Normal. In this score, there is no break-out hit that one might hum or sing as they exit the theatre.The music, like the dialogue, is part of the whole. It is well-crafted to be inseparable from the story.
Bekah Brunstetter’s book, based on Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 novel of the same name, flows seamlessly, using the unusual device of three different duos of performers to portray the characters as they grow from young adults, to a middle-age couple, to the older couple. They are constantly, physically and emotionally, weaving within each other on stage, in a non-linear manner.
It is an ingenious way to illustrate the continuousness of life and the flow of the past, to the present, to the future.
While not being as emotionally charged as the tearjerker 2004 film, which starred James Garner, Gena Rowland, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the musical still evokes strong emotional responses as displayed by the constant wiping of tears as evidenced in the audience.
The show, co-directed by Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal, Grey Gardnes and Dear Evan Hansen) and Schele Williams – making her Broadway debut – is meticulously-conceived, and tells the story by highlighting both the serious and comical moments of the script.
David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis’s effective set design features rolling platforms, pieces flying in from the loft, a proscenium space within the outer arch, and a realistic rain storm. The set is highlighted with vertical light fixtures and a creative lighting design by Ben Stanton.
The cast is excellent, each creating a real person, rather than portraying a character. They not only have well-trained voices, but vocally sing through the meanings, rather than simply reciting the song lyrics.
The six leads, three sets of Allies and Noahs at various stages of their lives, include teenaged Allie and Noah (Chloe Cheers and Kyle Mangold) who are separated by her parents; the middle couple (Alysha Deslorieux and Ken Wulf Clark) who meet again after ten years at which time Noah is now a Vietnam veteran and Allie is engaged to marry Lon, a lawyer; and the older couple (Sharon Catherine Brown and Beau Gravitte), now in a nursing home as Allie has developed Alzheimer’s Disease and Noah has chosen to live in the same facility to be near her.
Connor Richardson (as Johnny, a physical therapist) is a total delight, who displays a wonderful sense of comic timing and provides stress-relief from the script’s many angst-invoking moments.
The musical opened on Broadway on March 14, 2024 and closed on December 15, 2024. It received 3 Tony nominations, but unfortunately there were no wins.
The touring production rehearsed in Cleveland and opened at the Connor Palace theatre on September 12.
As David Greene, the senior vice for programming for Playhouse Square says in his program notes, “Cleveland continues to prove that it is not just a stop on the map: It is a destination for world-class theater.” He concludes with the statement, “Let it [the show] move you, challenge you and remind you of the power of love.”
CAPSULE JUDGMENT: The Notebook: The Musical tells an emotional story of love, family, loyalty and compassion. The touring production is a high-quality, well directed and well performed show. It should be highly received in the hinterlands where its less than sophisticated tone and tale should appeal to audiences more than it did in the high-powered less-than sentimental New York. YES, go see an impressive produciton of a well-crafted and brilliantly conveived show!
The Notebook: The Musical, which is being staged at the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square, 1615 Euclid Avenue in Clevleand, will continue on through Saturday, September 27. Tickets are currently still available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online here.
Roy Berko is a member of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and the Cleveland Critics Circle.
