The New York Times bestselling book, The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks turned hit 2004 romantic-drama movie, is heading to the New York City stage. The Notebook will take over the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre beginning Feb. 10 and will open on Broadway on Mar. 14. This comes after a successful run at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2022 and a workshop in 2019 with Vanessa Hudgends starring as the main character Allie. The Notebook features music and lyrics by indie-pop singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, a script by Bekah Brunsetter, and is directed by Michael Grief and Schele Willams.
“I’m extremely excited to see The Notebook on Broadway. The music is going to be great, and the story is already amazing. I love the movie and I don’t expect anything less of the show. With opening night only two months away, I’m starting to get excited,” said sophomore Tori Kaufman.
The Notebook is based on renowned author Nicholas Sparks’ debut novel, which follows the love story of mill worker Noah Calhoun and the wealthy Allie Hamilton, narrated by an old Noah reading their story to his wife with Alzheimer’s disease. Noah and Allie first fall in love as teenagers, but are separated when Noah leaves to fight in World War II. They reconnect after Noah comes home from fighting, and Allie has to make a decision between marrying her current fiancé, Lon, or going back to Noah. The story was later turned into a “cult-classic” movie starring Ryan Gosling as Noah and Rachel McAdams as Allie.
As for the musical, fans of the movie and novel are waiting to see what changes this new format and music will bring to the plot of the story. So far, there is one song you can listen to from the musical called “If This Is Love,” sung by the show’s lyricist, Michaelson, but otherwise little is known as the stage adaptation has not started its run yet. Another question many have about the musical is how the Broadway show will handle the time-jumps in the story. The movie heavily featured Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as Noah and Allie in their teenage years and early adulthood while James Garner and Gena Rowlands made appearances as the older versions of these beloved characters. The musical will feature six different actors playing Noah and Allie across different periods of their relationship, so they can accurately portray the ages of the characters on stage. Jordan Tyson and John Cardoza will play younger Allie and Noah with Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez as the middle-aged version of the characters, and Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood playing the older version of them.
“I’m interested to see how the show will work with many actors playing Allie and Noah, but I’m mostly excited to listen to the music from the show. I think this production is going to be amazing because the story is so good,” said junior Sadie Feingold.
Rounding out the cast of The Notebook on Broadway is Chase Del Rey as Lon, Andréa Burns as Mother/Nurse Lori, Yassmin Alers as Nurse Joanna. Alex Benoit, Hillary Fisher, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman, Dorcas Leung, Happy McPartlin, Juliette Ojeda, Kim Onah, Carson Stewart, Charles E. Wallace, and Charlie Webb will all star as extra characters and members of the ensemble.
Fans of the movie and book are so excited to see how their favorite scenes pan out on a Broadway stage, but as with all beloved stories, some fans have their doubts.
“I really hope they didn’t get rid of the scene when Noah asks Allie out on the ferris wheel. I’m not sure how it could work on the stage, so we’ll see if it is still included in the story. Overall, I’m really interested to see how the story pans out on the stage, and I think the adaptation will be amazing,” said freshman Allie Mandelkern.
The anticipation for the Notebook on Broadway has created huge buildup in anticipation for its opening in March, and fans of the book and movie alike are eager to see this story come to life on a big Broadway stage. Schreiber students can’t wait to see this adaptation of a modern classic in a new way.