Review: 'The Notebook' at Hollywood Pantages
- Anita W. Harris
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
If you are a fan of the 2004 film “The Notebook” or Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 novel on which it is based, you'll love “The Notebook: The Musical,” continuing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Jan. 25.
The musical conveys the story of Allie and Noah, two youthful lovers who first lose then find each other years later, told through a notebook recounting their passion that’s read aloud when the two are older. The musical resets the story so that the couple when they’re older exist in the present, and also makes the relationship seamlessly multiracial.
More meaningfully, though, it makes visible the dimension of time in these two people’s lives (signaled, in fact, by the opening song “Time”) by dividing the characters into younger, middle and older versions of themselves, often with the differently aged couples on stage together. The result is a meditation on how time and memory affect us all , made palpable through creative staging.
Adapted by Bekah Brunstetter with music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson, the Tony-nominated musical seems targeted to audiences familiar with the story and has fun being tongue-in-cheek about the romantic sappiness of the couple in their prime.
The audience giggles at how many times “mouth” is repeated in the song “Kiss Me” and when physical therapist Johnny (Connor Richardson) can’t bring himself to read to Allie some of the steamier parts of the notebook, though she smiles knowingly.
For all that passion, though, it’s the older couple who carry the emotional weight, as in the film, aided by strong performances in both roles. Older Allie (Sharon Catherine Brown) is given more lines here than in the movie, making her more integrated with the story and a more satisfying character, even as she grapples with memory loss.
And like James Garner in the film, Older Noah (Beau Gravitte) anchors the story with masculine sensitivity as he reads to Allie from the notebook, hoping to recover her memory. Gravitte’s rich voice and Brown’s warmth infuse the production with poignant resonance, bringing home what matters at the end of life.
When it’s time, lighting by Ben Stanton and video by Lucy Mackinnon help create the illusion that all three couples exit and vanish together, visually underscoring how they are all the same two people even as we experience their lives differently at different times.
Staging also includes real rain when Middle Allie (Alysha Deslorieux) and Middle Noah (Ken Wulf Clark, understudied well by Jesse Corbin) reconnect after many years in the old house that Noah had fixed up, evoked by its exterior façade, kitchen and, of course, bedroom (scenic design by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis).
Interestingly, and an example of how some lines are transposed from the film, here it’s Younger Allie (a delightful Chloë Cheers) who proposes meeting Younger Noah (an amazingly voiced Kyle Mangold) in the old house before they must separate due to parental pressure, instead of the other way around, and they seem to actually consummate their love, unlike in the movie.
There are also other changes, such as Allie’s fiancé Lon (Corbin, understudied by Nick Brogan) appearing in only one scene, though his name becomes a funny running gag later. And some things are told not shown, such as Noah having fought in the Vietnam War, losing his friend Fin (Caleb Mathura) there and spending years fixing up the house.
Allie’s pivotal decision of whether to stay with Noah or go back to Lon is also a little less clearly made than in the film, perhaps without as much of her mother’s backstory, and revealed mostly through her solo song “My Days” on the heels of her and Noah’s “It’s Not Easy," both still uncertain about what to do.
While Deslorieux as Middle Allie is the most physically similar to the film’s Rachel McAdams, her relative petiteness compared to the younger and older versions of her character makes her seem visually miscast, and though she belts her solo, her voice is perhaps not as strong as the rest.
That may be because the men especially carry the production in terms of singing, all three able to convey the songs’ range of emotions, including Younger Noah’s solo “Blue Shutters,” Middle Noah’s “Leave the Light On” and all three in “Iron in the Fridge,” about when Noah first realizes Allie’s memory may be faltering.
Michaelson’s lyrics get the job done, though are sometimes banal and not as compelling as her music (directed by Tina Faye), which is graceful and flowing, featuring keyboards, violin, harp, reeds, guitar and percussion.
Directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams, with choreography by Katie Spelman, the story is movingly staged, deftly interweaving the couple’s timelines more than the film, which might be confusing to those unfamiliar with it, and there are also some of the same lulls as in the movie, perhaps unavoidable given the essential thinness of the plot.
Still, “The Notebook: The Musical” is a must-see for anyone who likes the story, capturing the book’s textured sense of time and enduring love. And even if you don’t know the tale, and cringe at anything emo, you may fight back tears when all the Allies and Noahs sing “where do we go when we go?” and “will you remember me?” and especially “leave the light on, even though I'm gone” — tugging not only at our hearts but existential angst.
“The Notebook: The Musical” continues through Jan. 25 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, with shows Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at (866) 755-2929 or visit BroadwayinHollywood.com. Run time is 2 hours and 20 minutes, including intermission.