NEW YORK—When you find your true soul mate, you need to be prepared to fight for them, no matter what stage in life you are in. This is one of the key messages in the new Broadway musical “The Notebook,” based on the best selling novel and subsequent film adaptation of the same name.
In the present, 72 year-old Older Noah (Dorian Harewood), arrives at an assisted living facility to visit Older Allie (Maryann Plunkett), a woman battling dementia. During his visits, Noah makes it a point to read a story from a notebook he carries with him. His repeated relating of this tale is often the only thing able to keep aged Allie calm. Her bouts of anger and frustration happen ever more frequently as her mental faculties decline.
As Older Noah begins to read, the story slips back to the late 1960s, when Noah and Allie first met as teenagers in a mid-Atlantic coastal town. Younger Allie (Jordan Tyson) is a rich girl on a family summer vacation, while Younger Noah (John Cardoza) is a local boy who works at the town lumberyard. The two lock eyes during a chance encounter and are instantly attracted to each other, despite their clear social differences. Allie’s parents (Andréa Burns, Charles E. Wallace), and in particular her mother, are not happy about this situation, since her mother has Allie’s future already planned—a future which does not include someone like Noah.
Mixed in with these two storylines is a third, which picks up 10 years after Noah and Allie’s first meeting. Middle Allie and Middle Noah are played by Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez. It is through these different story arcs that the audience gets to experience the love and commitment Allie and Noah have for one other, as well the circumstances that threaten to keep them apart: roadblocks thrown up by Allie’s parents, Noah and Allie’s well-meaning friends, and the staff at the assisted living facility, who are more concerned with following procedure rather helping patients.
In addition to the idea of love eventually conquering all, “The Notebook” also presents an unflinching look at aging—specifically, the reality of how life is finite and how it can pass by far faster than one imagines. Examples of this include Younger Noah making plans for a life with Allie, who has to remind him to just enjoy the present moments they have together. Or, when Older Noah desperately tries to reconnect with Older Allie just once more before it truly becomes too late. This premise is also something Middle Allie faces when she must decide just how and with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life.
While the story contains very strong emotional elements, book-writer Bekah Brunstetter and directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams bring them to the fore all too infrequently. Where the tale should shimmer with passion, it only flares occasionally, and where it should shamelessly pull on the heart strings, it only teases.
Many of the episodes in the first two storylines feel too much by rote, with the full effects of one key decision never shown, thus depriving the audience the chance to experience them.
The creative team also makes some questionable choices when it comes to the narrative, especially in regard to the supporting characters. For example, Middle Allie’s fiancé Lon (Chase Del Ray), her mother and father, and Noah’s childhood friend Fin (Carson Stewart) all drop in and out of the story too quickly. This is glaringly evident when it comes to Allie’s mother and Lon, both of whom represent important plot points and each need to be fully expanded to allow the audience to better understand them.
The leads are all excellent, with the performances of Ms. Plunkett and Mr. Harewood alone worth the admission price. Each tries to reclaim, just for a minute, something priceless they have lost. Ms. Woods, Mr. Vasquez, Ms. Tyson and Mr. Cardoza are all strong in their roles. But overall, the couples’ scenes have less emotion and feeling than this epic love story longs for.
Also quite good are Mr. Stewart in the roles of Fin and a physical therapist at the center, and Dorcas Leung as Fin’s girlfriend.
The score by Ingrid Michaelson, while not particularly memorable, does have strong moments. Among the highlights are the heartrending “Iron in the Fridge” where Older Noah recalls the beginnings of Allie’s mental decline; the rousing “Leave the Light On,” in which Middle Noah remains ever hopeful about the future; and “My Days,” when Middle Allie finally accepts what she has been denying for so long. Yet, there are other instances where spoken dialogue would have worked better than having the characters sing their feelings.
“The Notebook” offers a great premise, but only delivers a satisfying and much needed emotional high far less often than it should.
