Let’s be clear: fans of Nicholas Sparks’s bestseller The Notebook and its wildly popular film adaptation will likely be completely entranced by the Broadway musical now touring at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. All of the familiar beats are here, and for those who are easily moved, this show delivers precisely what it promises.
For everyone else – those unfamiliar with the source material, or those with slightly more elevated tastes – The Notebook: The Musical will likely disappoint.
Just like the book and film, the story is simple to the point of being basic. Teen boy meets teen girl. They fall in love. Her wealthy parents disapprove of his humble background and forbid the relationship. The two steal a month-long romance before being torn apart by class, distance, and time. Ten years later, she’s engaged to another man; he’s back home, having built the dream house they once imagined together. She returns for one last visit before her wedding, old feelings resurface, and—well, you know the rest.
See Also: Theatre Review: So Good, So Good! Nick Fradiani Brings the Sparkle to ‘A Beautiful Noise’ at the Pantages
This entire romance is framed by the couple’s elderly selves, with Noah recounting their story to Allie, who is now living with dementia. And that’s it. That’s the story. There’s very little depth and almost no stakes. Because the older versions open the show together, we already know they end up married, so there’s no real suspense, no “will they or won’t they.” It’s a straightforward love story that could easily fit into a three-minute Taylor Swift narrative song.
The production uses three versions of Noah and Allie: as teenagers (Kyle Mangold and Chloe Cheers), in their late 20s (Jesse Corbin – filling in for Ken Wulf Clark and Alysha Deslorieux), and as seniors in a care facility (Beau Gravitte and Sharon Catherine Brown). Conceptually, it’s an interesting idea, though not entirely effective. The same actors could have easily played the teen and 20s versions. That said, directors Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen) and Schele Williams (The Wiz) do their best to make the structure work through carefully staged tableaus.
The cast is uniformly strong. However, Mangold and Cheers are directed to play their teenage counterparts in a heightened, almost exaggerated style that feels oddly out of step with the more naturalistic performances of the other couples. Still, Cheers’s voice is undeniable; she soars through her big numbers and makes the most of them.
Sharon Catherine Brown is particularly effective as Older Allie, beautifully capturing the confusion and heartbreak of a woman losing her sense of place, memory, and identity. It’s unfortunate, then, that book writer Bekah Brunstetter (F*cking Art) and lyricist pop-star Ingrid Michaelson don’t give her a solo of her own. She has a poignant spoken moment about wanting to return to a time when she felt young and whole, but that emotional beat is sung instead by the younger versions of Allie. A puzzling choice, especially since Older Allie does sing later in the show.
Ultimately, the musical feels like it needed another round of development to become truly compelling. But when the source material itself is so middle-of-the-road (albeit enormously popular), there’s only so much that can be added. The scenic and lighting design are pleasant, the songs are momentarily catchy, and the show moves at a brisk pace that keeps you modestly engaged.
Still, this isn’t a production you’ll go home talking about, or even thinking much about once it’s over.
That said, fans of The Notebook will absolutely have a joyful evening watching a beloved story unfold in a new format. For them, that may be enough to write home about.
“The Notebook” runs through January 25th at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles.
For more information, visit www.broadwayinhollywood.com.
