‘The Notebook the Musical’ at The

Fabulous Fox Sparks Memories of

Life-Long Love Affair

                                 by Pat Lindsey

The 2004 movie, “The Notebook,” is my favorite tearjerker love story. No matter how many times I’ve watched it, I always go through a lot of tissues. Because I love the movie so much, I knew it was going to be difficult to watch the stage version without constantly comparing it to the movie. After all, it is the hallmark of modern romance stories and it starred Ryan Gosling.

“The Notebook the Musical” is an emotional and heart-breaking love story based on Nicholas Sparks’ debut 1996 novel, ‘The Notebook’ and Bekah Brunstetter’s book by the same title. Sparks’ inspiration for it came from his wife’s grandparents’ love story that began as a summer romance, survived a separation during a war, and ended with Alzheimer’s.

The setting is a Mid-Atlantic coastal town. The story spans more than a half century beginning in the late 1960s and ending in present day. The main characters, Allie and Noah, are each played by three different actors. Older Noah is Beau Gravitte; Middle Noah is Ken Wulf Clark; and Younger Noah is Kyle Mangold. Older Allie is Sharon Catherine Brown; Middle Allie is   Alysha Deslorieux; and Younger Allie is Chloe Cheers. On the night I saw this show, the understudy for Younger Allie, Makena Jackson, took Chloe Cheers’ place near the end of the first act. When the story begins, Older Noah is reading a book to his wife in the nursing home. As he reads, the younger actors portray flashbacks of their lives, beginning when Noah and Allie first met as teenagers.\

Young Noah and Allie (Kyle Mangold and Chloe Cheers) fell passionately in love the summer before Allie was to leave for college. Allie’s parents (Anne Tolpegin, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman) already had her life mapped out for her and those plans did not include Noah. The young lovers became separated by college and the Viet Nam War. Ten years passed before they saw each other again. Noah had never stopped loving Allie, but Allie had gotten engaged to a young lawyer who met her mother’s approval.

When Older Allie (Sharon Catherine Brown) realized she was beginning to lose her memory, she wrote their love story in a notebook. She also wisely included a message to Noah that if he would read their story to her (when she lost her memory), she would come back to him.

A physical therapist at the hospital named Johnny (Connor Richardson) provides some welcomed comedy relief. When Noah is incapacitated, Johnny offers to continue reading the book to Allie. Some of the juicy parts in the book get Johnny so excited that the audience can’t help but laugh.  The music by Ingrid Michaelson that delivers her lyrics/dialogue, fades into the story. There are no standout numbers that you’ll hum on the way home, but they fit the script. All of the actors do an excellent job of singing those songs with meaning and clarity.

David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis have created a clever set that can be transformed from a hospital room to a two-story mansion to the dock of a river during a thunder storm. The Middle Allie and Noah get soaking wet during that storm as Allie tries to decide if she loves Noah more than her fiance, Lon (Jesse Corbin). Ben Stanton highlighted the set with interesting lighting that included vertical light fixtures.

The Fabulous Fox production of “The Notebook the Musical” captures the essence of the movie, but not all the passion and heartbreak. With three pairs of actors, I think it was difficult for the actors to develop a chemistry in short spurts of time. That is often a feat for just two actors. Besides being a love story, though, it sends an important message about Alzheimer’s and how memory loss affects the entire family.

“The Notebook the Musical” will be playing at The Fabulous Fox now through Nov. 16.

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