Book-in-Motion

 North American Tour / Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Director: Michael Greif, Schele Williams

Run Time: 2 Hours and 10 Minutes (+ 20 Minute Intermission)

Review by Destiny Lynn

One Love, Unfolded Across Three Lifetimes

How far are you willing to go for love? The Notebook, originally a successful novel by the king of romance stories, Nicholas Sparks, turned into a successful film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Making its Broadway Debut in 2024 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Segerstrom Center for the Arts hosted The Notebook: The Musical. 

Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton were not meant to be together. They emerged from backgrounds and lifestyles that set them on different paths. Noah was a hard-working man who earned his money working in the lumberyards and serving his country. Allie Hamilton was the rich girl who was expected to receive an education while filling up her days with extracurricular activities. Of course, her parents did not approve of Nick. Of course, they fell in love. After tragedy struck, Allie and Noah struggled to work their way back to each other. Unfolding through different stages in their lives, the novel, film, and musical revealed their decisions in a love story rooted in pain that almost never happened. 

Noah and Allie: Young, Middle, & Aged

Starring Chloë Cheers, Alysha Deslorieux, and Sharon Catherine Brown as the Allies and Kyle Mangold, Ken Wulf Clark, and Beau Gravitte as the Noahs, this cast featured professional talent no stranger to Broadway. 

Alysha Deslorieux and Sharon Catherine Brown commanded the performance in representing the same character from different life stages. Deslorieux (Hamilton, Beautiful) provided a range in her voice where the audience could experience the heaviness and indecision in her actions. What Rachel McAdams started in the film, Deslorieux expanded that emotional depth in her character. Alongside Deslorieux, Sharon Catherine Brown, the elderly Allie needed no singing or numerous lines to portray her character. Instead, Brown exhibited the most technical role in the story to (spoiler alert) play a character experiencing dementia with moments of clarity. Through grace, Brown delivered a believable performance that respectfully revealed the struggles a person undergoes. 

While delivering a strong performance, Beau Gravitte (Elder Noah) was the comedic relief that lightened a heavy story. Integral from the beginning, Gravitte harmonized musically with the other Noahs, where the Allies came up short. More importantly, he was the steady force that grounded the production in portraying a character who experienced disappointment and longing his entire life. In other words, Gravitte served as the narrator and lead simultaneously. Obviously, as the matured Noah, Gravitte exhibited a comfort on stage that some of the other Noahs struggled to command that same energy in verse and dialogue. 

Writing the Story, In Time

Where movies easily create flashbacks and lighting for audiences to understand scenes in the past and present, that same energy is incredibly challenging for live theatre. Directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams overcame that challenge through staging and lighting to make the story clear. Even when all the Allies and Noahs were interacting with each other on stage, their diagonal placements translated the passage of time for the audience. Overall, it was wise for Greif and Williams to have the oldest Allie and Noah closest to the audience (downstage) when switching time periods, as it forced them and the audience to symbolically travel back in time. Hence, that was their flashback moments. 

As a shorter musical, however, it was interesting to witness three distinct stages, instead of the film’s emphasis on the young adult and elderly Allie and Noah. The musical’s incorporation of another life stage demonstrated a stronger growth between the main characters in why their love was strong. While only realistically a decade apart in the show, the young and middle-aged Allies and Noahs distinctly revealed levels of maturity. 

A Rustic Design that Made it Rain on Stage

While the storytelling defined the success in the production, the set designs were integral in complementing the space. Often resembling different aspects of nature, such as the wooden deck or vintage house, scenic designer Matthew Buttrey created practical items that could function throughout both acts or quickly transitioned off stage. However, the rain scene that culminated in Noah and Allie’s love was remarkable to say the least. Knowing it required heavy coordination with the lighting team to reflect light off the crystals, Buttrey believably made it rain on stage without the set or characters actually getting wet. This author is still trying to unpack that secret. 

Is the Final Chapter Closed? 

Ultimately, it is not easy to produce a musical. Adapting a formerly successful novel and film is even harder. While I do argue that dialogue made a heavier impact than the music created for the production, the story was cohesive as a whole. If you are looking for a heartfelt production rooted in realism, The Notebook: The Musical continues its tour until 2027! Audiences of all ages will find moments they can relate to in the story, one sniffle at a time.