‘The Notebook’ Musical Finds Its Heart in the Music
Some stories are ones where you already know exactly what you are signing up for. The Notebook is one of them. There will be romance. There will be heartbreak. There will be rain. And there is an awfully good chance someone in the audience will be digging through their bag for a tissue before the final curtain.
Now playing at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre as part of its North American tour and the opening show to ATG Detroit’s Broadway season, The Notebook transforms Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel, and the enormously popular film it inspired, into a full-scale stage musical. Featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson and a book by Bekah Brunstetter, the production is directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams with choreography by Katie Spelman.
If you are a hopeless romantic, someone who has watched the movie more times than you care to admit, or a longtime fan of Sparks’ original story, there is plenty here to enjoy. The musical understands exactly why people continue returning to Noah and Allie decades after the story first became a phenomenon. It is unapologetically sentimental, filled with longing and determined to squeeze every available ounce of emotion out of its central romance. Whether it completely succeeds as a piece of musical theater is a slightly more complicated question.
[Warning: spoilers from The Notebook are below!]
Three couples, one love story in The Notebook
Unlike the movie, the musical presents Noah and Allie at three different stages of their lives, with Younger, Middle, and Older versions of both characters frequently sharing the stage. On the current tour, Makena Jackson and Kyle Mangold portray Younger Allie and Noah, Alysha Deslorieux and Ken Wulf Clark take on their middle years, and Angela Birchett and John Rubinstein portray the older couple.
It is an interesting theatrical device, and at its best, it gives The Notebook something that neither the book nor movie can accomplish in quite the same way. Past and present can physically coexist. A younger version of a character can stand feet away from the person they will eventually become. Memories are not simply referenced; they come alive around the older Noah and Allie.
For audiences already familiar with the story, the concept is relatively easy to follow. You understand who everyone represents and where each memory fits into the larger relationship. For someone walking into The Notebook completely blind, I am not convinced it will always be that simple. The musical moves frequently between different periods of Noah and Allie’s relationship, and because all three versions of the couple remain so integral to the storytelling, the jumps can initially feel disorienting. At times, I wondered whether someone unfamiliar with these characters would immediately understand where we were in the timeline or why a particular version of Noah or Allie had suddenly become the focus.
Eventually the pieces come together, but The Notebook occasionally seems to assume the audience already knows at least the basic structure of the story.
Beautiful music, predictable movement
Musically, there are some genuinely incredible moments. Ingrid Michaelson’s writing feels particularly well suited for a story built around yearning, memory and relationships that stretch across decades. Her signature singer-songwriter sensibility gives the score an intimacy that works beautifully for Noah and Allie, but the harmonic writing frequently stands out.
When voices begin layering together, particularly as different generations of these characters musically overlap, the score becomes much more interesting. There are moments where the harmonies swell around the theater, and suddenly the production feels significantly larger than the fairly intimate story being told. Those musical moments were easily among my favorite parts of the evening.
The staging, however, did not consistently reach the same level. To be clear, the physical utilization of the stage itself is often great. Scenic designers David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis have created a space that gives the production plenty of room to move between locations and periods without requiring endless major scene changes. There is an effective theatrical simplicity to many of the environments, particularly when the different generations of Noah and Allie begin occupying the space together.
But utilizing a stage well and creating compelling movement on that stage are two different things. Far too often, the general staging felt predictable. A character crosses here. Another enters there. Someone moves downstage for a major emotional moment. The ensemble shifts the environment. Repeat. Nothing is necessarily wrong with that, but in a musical built around memories colliding and decades folding into one another, I wanted more theatrical imagination in how the performers moved through those memories.
The show presents an incredibly interesting opportunity. Six performers essentially embody two people, often existing in the same emotional world at the same time. Countless possibilities for visual parallels, mirrored movement, and choreography that connects one stage of life to another. Occasionally, The Notebook taps into that potential. I simply wished it happened more often. For a musical with such a sweeping emotional story, much of the physical movement felt surprisingly restrained.
Who is The Notebook really for?
This is also one of those shows where your relationship with the source material will likely have a significant impact on the experience. If you love the film or book, there’s inherent excitement in watching familiar characters and emotional beats reinterpreted for the stage. You know what is coming, but part of the fun is discovering how the production gets there.
If you love hopelessly romantic stories in general, this should also be firmly in your wheelhouse. Sweeping declarations, impossible choices, years of longing, and enough emotional turmoil satisfy anyone looking for a musical that wears its heart completely on its sleeve. If you fall into neither category, the experience may be more mixed. Without that preexisting attachment, the musical has to rely much more heavily on its own storytelling. That is where the confusing timeline and somewhat predictable staging become harder to overlook. The score helps tremendously, and individual performances and musical sequences elevate the evening, but I never reached the point where the production completely swept me away.
Final thoughts on this ATG Detroit Broadway season opener
The Notebook is a good musical with several very good elements inside it. Still, there is no question about who will leave happy. If you are a fan of the movie, the book, or simply the type of hopeless romance where two people seem destined to spend their entire lives finding their way back to one another, The Notebook delivers exactly the emotional experience you are probably hoping for.
For me, it was an enjoyable evening with some legitimately beautiful musical moments. But when the curtain came down, I didn’t feel like I needed to experience it all over again immediately. The Notebook is a good show, sometimes even a beautiful one. I just cannot say it is one I’d wait in line to see again.
Want to see it for yourself? Grab your tickets from ATG Detroit’s website or visit The Fisher Theatre’s box office to see this musical adaptation of a modern romantic story! The Notebook runs through October 4th at The Fisher Theatre as the opening show of ATG Detroit’s Broadway series! For more information about this touring production, such as when it’s arriving in your city, check out their official page! Have you seen The Notebook on stage before? If not, are you excited to finally see this Tony Award-nominated musical now that it’s touring North America? Share your thoughts with us at @bsb.insider on all social media platforms, and we look forward to seeing you at the show!
Exclusive Interview: Angela Birchett of The Notebook
