Beau Gravitte and Sharon Catherine Brown (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Reviewed by Joel Beers
Pantages Theatre
Through January 25
There is clearly much ado about something when it comes to The Notebook, a musical now about one-fourth of the way through a national tour following a nearly year-long Broadway run in 2024. From the roar of the near-capacity crowd at the Hollywood Pantages when the show’s title was announced to the thunderous applause after many of its 21 songs, the production clearly arrives with a built-in army of devotees.
While it’s conceivable that these fans are familiar with the musical’s healthy, if not blockbuster, Broadway run, and/or with the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel that has sold roughly six million copies, much of the buzz likely stems from the 2004 film adaptation, which has since become a tentpole romantic drama.
The evidence for that speculation? The musical isn’t very good.
This Michael Grief and Schele Willliams-directed production looks fantastic and moves seamlessly, while the talent onstage is top-notch — but the story, which tracks three timelines simultaneously, is confusing and riddled with holes. And the music is distinguished mostly by how undistinguished it is.
Strangely, even with gaps in the story, the show’s greatest strength is its book. Framed around an elderly man reading a story to a fellow resident of an assisted-living home, the narrative traces a couple’s relationship over more than 60 years. Though the constant bouncing through time and space can make the plot hard to follow, Bekah Brunstetter’s dialogue is sharp, economical and emotionally grounded.
The same can’t be said for Ingrid Michaelson’s score. While the cast does an admirable job selling each number, few songs linger once they’re finished. Aside from the first-act curtain-closer “Home,” nothing stands out. The songs are pleasant but rarely memorable; they don’t coalesce into a musical identity and are barely hummable.
The strong book but weak score results in an experience where the story’s central theme — the power of enduring love — remains logically intact but lacks the musical power to elevate that emotion into something truly transcendent.
The narrative follows the lifelong love story of paramours Noah and Allie across three timelines. As a young couple in 1940s North Carolina, they fall in love despite class differences but are torn apart. Years later, they reunite after Noah returns from Vietnam and Allie is engaged to another man. The third timeline frames the story: an elderly Noah reading their shared history to Allie in an assisted-living home as he struggles to help her remember their life together.
Each timeline is played by different actors. Beau Gravitte’s older Noah offers the most grounded acting performance, while Alysha Deslorieux and Ken Wulf Clark as the middle duo and Chloë Cheeks and Kyle Mangold as the younger couple — tear up the stage with muscular vocals and chemistry.
Perhaps the most telling indicator of the musical’s deficiencies is that its defining moment comes not through music but through a rain effect, achieved mostly with lighting. It leaves an indelible theatrical image, delivering the visual and emotional payoff audiences expect, but also underscoring the larger issue: the staging succeeds where the score does not.
Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Tues.-Thurs., 7:30 pm, Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 1 pm and 6:30 pm; thru Jan. 25. www.hollywoodpantages.com Running time: two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.
