Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
A timeless love story ‘THE NOTEBOOK’ the musical, based on the1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, with the music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson and a book by Bekah Brunstetter has arrived in Hollywood at the magical Hollywood Pantages Theatre.
It is a story of desperation, longing, divine love, and carrying the weight of social consciousness, where happiness of true love meets the resistance, in the form of parents who are under the influence of social status and with good intentions, they are protecting and guiding their beautiful daughter to true happiness. But there is a country boy, considered by her parents – a boy with no future, while she is from the world of expectation, what high society expects her to be. She is everything to him from the very first moment he saw her. He remodeled an old house for her, built the table just for her, he is the only one who understands her painting, and he waits for her, absolutely refuses to let love die. They both are like sea turtles that want to come home. It is a love story about how love shapes someone’s future and it shows what survives when everything else is gone. It transcends age, class and circumstances. The emotional gravity does not go away; with time everything changes – but the emotion. At the very end, the couple’s deep love for each other gets Allie to come back from the horrible cognitive decline, finally remembering that the story Noah is reading to her is of her and Noah and love takes over. They lay down in bed holding each other and peacefully transition their love into God’s worlds.
This popular romance successfully evokes strong emotions and features a talented cast. Noah Calhoun, a dreamer portrayed powerfully by multiple actors; older Noah (Beau Grabitte), middle Noah (Ken Wulf Clark), younger Noah (Kyle Mangold), and Allie, a girl from high society that recognizes true love; older Allie (Sharon Catherine Brown), middle Allie (Alysha Deslorieux), younger Allie (Chloe Cheers). Mother/Nurse Lori is portrayed by Anne Tolpegin, Johnny is Connor Richardson; Lon/others is Jesse Corbin, Father/Son/others is played by Jerome Harmann-Hardeman; Nurse Joanna/others is Rayna Hickman; Sarah/Granddaughter/others is Makena Jackson, Fin/Grandson/others is Caleb Mathura and Georgie/Concierge/others is played by Grace Ohwens Rundberg.
The older couple (Grabitte and Brown) rarely leave the stage, as the story is told through the flashbacks pulling a strong focus on their younger selves. Middle Noah and middle Allie in their solos hit those high notes with ease and in all sincerity sing them hauntingly beautifully, giving us a sense of that deep, divine love between the characters. The entire cast is majestic. They blend with superb orchestration–a harmonious blend of instruments, keyboard, violin, viola, harp, reeds, guitar and percussion.
Set in a coastal town in the Mid-Atlantic, the racially diverse cast prompted the setting to change from the late ’60s and ’70s to the present. The longing for each other is overpowering and downright beautiful at the same time.
“THE NOTEBOOK is ultimately a celebration of life, love, and the power of memory,” noted producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch. “Audiences first fell in love with this timeless story as a novel, then as an iconic film, and now they can experience it anew as a moving musical event. With multi-platinum artist Ingrid Michaelson’s unforgettable score and Tony Award nominated Bekah Brunstetter’s beautifully crafted book, THE NOTEBOOK comes to life on stage in a way that will resonate deeply with audiences across North America.”
Under the ingenious direction of Michael Greif & Schele Williams the popular romance takes us all into the days when we were young, first in love and into the magic of the romance. The power of the story, together with acting, singing, dancing evokes thoughts about love, whether we found it or not, the melancholy of not having it or the excitement of having it. Complimenting the story line, the dance numbers were choreographed by Katie Spelman and the Dance Captain Samatha Rios. Under the Music Direction of Tina Faye Ingrid Michaelson & Carmel Dean (Co-vocal arrangement), and Kimberlee Wertz (Music Contractor), the twenty-two songs move the story along and were excellently performed. The vertical positioning of neon tubes and the blue light on the stage under the lighting designer Ben Stanton, takes us all into the dream of expectations.
The Notebook runs through Jan. 25, 2026 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., in Los Angeles, CA.
It is a 2-hour and 20-minute production, including a 15-minute intermission, with performances on Fridays at 8:00 pm (Jan 9th, 16th, 23rd), Saturdays at 2:00 & 8:00 pm (Jan 10th, 17th, 24th), Sundays at 1:00 & 6:30 pm (Jan 11th, 18th, 25th), Tuesdays at 7:30 pm (Jan 13th, 20th), Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (Jan 14th, 21st), and Thursdays at 7:30 pm (Jan 15th, 22nd).
Tickets for the Los Angeles dates may be purchased at www.BroadwayInHollywood.com