If you’ve seen the movie, The Notebook, you’ll recognize the storyline and certain dialogue. I can’t speak to the book, having not read it but I suspect it’s the same. So, do you need to have read the book or seen the movie to enjoy The Notebook, now playing at the Buell Theatre?
The answer is – maybe. I’d seen most of the movie (I think I was coming into and out of the room when someone else was watching it, so I only saw chunks of it) but I had seen enough to know where it was going. My husband was a complete newbie and, afterword, peppered me with questions about how the movie and Broadway show were different.
Bottomline, there’s something to appreciate about both but I think I prefer the Broadway play! Before I explain why, let me provide the gist of the plot for those who are unfamiliar. The story is about Noah and Allie who meet one summer and fall head over heels for each other. But his prospects are going nowhere fast and hers are on the rise, carefully crafted by her mother, who takes Allie away, back home, to start college. Noah goes off to serve in Vietnam. That’s phase one of the story.
Phase two has the couple re-uniting in adulthood, Noah still pining over Allie and she mere days away from marrying exactly the kind of man her mother wanted for her. There’s a famous rain scene (in the movie and on the stage), some canoodling and you think they’re going to get back together but…no. Not yet anyway.
Phase three is the couple in their later years, Noah hobbling around due to a war injury to his knee and Allie suffering from dementia.
The physical notebook itself is even a character in the play, recounting the ups and downs of their meandering path and life together. It becomes the read-aloud narrator of the story.
So, with all of that set up for you, here are the reasons I preferred the Broadway version of The Notebook:
- Three sets of actors play Noah and Allie at the various stages of their life and relationship. Many times, all three pairs are on stage at the same time, singing in various combinations and, in the final scene, together. We see certain characteristics and mannerisms carried through by the actors, especially the Noahs and the way they move their hands. The Allie’s always wear blue.
- Having the three pairs on stage together at various times, provides a very visual layering of the span of time, the ways their bodies change over the years, and the ways their yearning for each other morphs. It’s very interesting to view.
Having the Noah’s and Allie’s at various ages on stage at the same time provides interesting layering to the story. Photo by Roger Mastroianni. - I’m a sucker for a musical so having music put to the story added a wonderful dimension. Even better was the fact that the score was written by Ingrid Michaelson who is well known as a singer/songwriter but has never written for the theatre. Because of her background, she really understands the need for a “hook” in a song to make it memorable and sing-along-able (making that a word, right here, right now). Similar to another “pop” singer, Sara Bareilles scoring “Waitress,” their understanding of what makes a song not only move the plot along but makes it stand out and cross over into musical culture, is strong.
- As opposed to the movie, where sets were realistic, indoors and out, The Notebook’s stage set was based on a framework of dark gray wood slatted walls, floors and stairs that slid back and forth, forward and back. They were augmented by a few walls to suggest the inside of a hospital or the front of a home. There was no curtain – something that they might have wished they had opening night when the rain began to fall prematurely, soaking the stage. Everything came to a halt while crew brought out rags and mops while someone else made repairs in the rafters. Of course, it was fascinating to see and hardly anyone got out of their seats because of that – we’ve seen things happen before during productions and the curtain always comes down to obscure the mad dashing behind the scenes.
Perhaps the best thing was seeing how the older Allie and Noah stayed in character, physically, as they exited the stage – her shuffling and him placing a loving hand on her back to guide her. And middle Noah, to whom the premature rainfall happened, acknowledged the incident through body language once he returned to the stage, as if to say “That was weird, right? Give me a moment to get back into character to start the song again.” The audience sent their understanding and acceptance back with good-hearted laughter and applause. Those moments may be a nightmare for the crew and cast but they make the live theater experience so memorable and interesting for the audience!
- All of the main actors’ performances were very good. Kyle Mangold as young Noah and Chloe Cheers as young Allie had beautiful voices and their exuberance of youth and new love was palpable. Middle Noah was played by Ken Wulf Clark and middle Allie by Alysha Deslorieux. Clark’s angst was well-played and Deslorieux’s voice in her big number built and built, then soared. But the biggest kudos (and applause) go to Beau Gravitte and Sharon Catherine Brown as older Noah and Allie. His desire to have his wife “return” to him from her maze of dementia is just heartbreaking, as is her tortured fighting within herself to understand what is going on.
The very last scene deserves a line all to itself in this review – mid-way through the song, the orchestra drops out and it’s just a cappella. The sound is so rich, the harmonies so perfect and the sound so big, I found myself holding my breath, taking it all in. Fabulous!
Photo by Roger Mastroianni.
Having all of the actors on stage so much of the time really allows the audience to identify with whomever they are going to – the young couple in a flurry of new love and passion; the middle couple with battle scars and baggage; and the older couple with a rich, well-developed love who are now struggling through the ravages of time and illness. There was, inevitably, something for everyone to connect to.
Expect to get choked up or downright cry. I saw several men in the rows ahead of me wiping away tears – yes, men, feel all the feels! And when we exited the theatre, the ushers were there, boxes of tissues thrust out at the red-eyed throngs of us! That made me simultaneously laugh and tear up some more.
A few deep breaths out in the cool night air and I was composed again but still filled with the breadth of the arc of a long relationship. Good/bad, misunderstanding/true understanding, passion/compassion. There’s a lot to a lasting marriage and The Notebook does a great job of taking us along for the long haul.
The Notebook is running through December 28 at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. For more information and tickets, visit the website at DenverCenter.org.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, In Good Taste Denver
Comments are closed.