‘The Notebook' earns its tears by the book | Review
I always bristle when a piece of entertainment is labeled “emotionally manipulative.” That’s the point of entertainment: To make you feel something.
So maybe I shouldn’t be too hard on “The Notebook,” the stage musical based on Nicholas Sparks’ hit book and its movie adaptation, which goes for the Kleenex second the curtain rises. It’s just that the show is trying so, so hard to make you cry. For many, it absolutely works.
For me, though, the chief appeal of the show is also its drawback: That would be the mechanics of how the story is told. Three sets of actors play the central couple, Noah and Allie, at different points in their lives. It’s an interesting idea, and it creates beautiful visual tableaux as older versions of the characters walk among the ghosts of their younger selves.
But this idea is more fully fleshed out than the actual plot. Noah and Allie meet as teens, are pulled apart by her parents and don’t see each other for a decade. Then, they reunite the week Allie is supposed to marry another man, a reunion that includes the famed rain scene.
There’s no suspense here about what will happen, because the audience knows right from the start that they end up together. In the present day, the oldest version of the couple is battling health issues, notably Allie’s dementia. (The show’s ending, by the way, has been changed - made happier? - since the show’s Broadway run.)
So the singular focus of “The Notebook” is the romance, tinged with the nostalgia of looking back at one’s salad days. That might be enough if there was any depth to their instantaneous love, but nothing that happens onstage in their early years gives their emotion any real depth.
At least a deep love is seen in the bond the couple shares at the end of their lives. Sharon Catherine Brown, playing dementia-stricken Allie, gives a respectful performance, and reflects the love shown her by Noah, played with poignant determination on opening night by understudy Aaron Ramey. (Another understudy, Nick Brogan, livened up his scenes as friendly physical therapist Johnny.)
As Bekah Brunstetter’s adaptation of Sparks’ story jumps from plot point to plot point - Your parents hate me! You didn’t write me! I’m getting married! The Vietnam war! - the story is augmented by Ingrid Michaelson’s songs, many with obvious lyrics and many sounding rather alike. (Lighting designer Ben Stanton seems to emphasize this sameness by ending multiple musical numbers with the same sudden color change and silhouette effect.)
Alysha Deslorieux makes the most of her big number, “My Days,” the most memorable song in the score. And she has natural charm and pleasing chemistry with her counterpart, the steadfast and hopeful Ken Wulf Clark.
The youngest pair, Kyle Mangold and Chloë Cheers, have appealing youthful energy, and Mangold in particular sings with romantic fervor.
To me, “The Notebook” feels generic in music, characters and dialogue - the dementia adding a dollop of originality that in this romanticized setting might feel superficial to those affected by the disease. But maybe its by-the-book approach is exactly why “The Notebook” has struck such a mainstream chord: In the Walt Disney Theater on opening night, you could certainly hear the stifled sobs and rustling of Kleenex.
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‘The Notebook'
• Length: 2:20, including intermission
• Where: Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando
• When: Through May 17
• Cost: $61.80 and up
• Info:drphillipscenter.org
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 6:11 AM.