Alysha Deslorieux as Middle Allie and Ken Wulf Clark as Middle Noah. Photo by Roger Mastroianni.
Nicholas Sparks’ stories are romantic, saccharine, stirring, or melodramatic, depending on who you ask. Given musical theatre often provokes similar polarized reactions, it’s surprising it took decades for a producer to adapt one of his novels for stage. “The Notebook: The Musical” reimagines the famous tearjerker 1996 novel for a new decade and with a new soundtrack. While far-fetched plot hijinks may still provoke some eye-rolls from cynics, a melodic score composed by folk-pop singer Ingrid Michaelson and the resonant depiction of dementia’s impact on a family elevate this romantic fable. Now on tour after a nine-month Broadway run that earned three Tony nominations, “The Notebook: The Musical” has landed at Washington, D.C.’s National Theatre for a limited run.
…a melodic score composed by folk-pop singer Ingrid Michaelson and the resonant depiction of dementia’s impact on a family elevate this romantic fable.…proves compelling and affecting…
Allie and Noah, the couple at the center of “The Notebook: The Musical,” live in assisted living during their waning years, as Older Allie’s (Yassmin Alers) memory and Noah’s (Beau Gravitte) body fail. Yet every day, Noah comes to read their story to Allie in the hopes that, one day, she’ll remember. From a month of whirlwind puppy love to years fraught with misunderstanding and loss, their tumultuous romance spans many tropes of the genre. But by centering the story around the couple in their final phase, “The Notebook: The Musical” adds unexpected depth and realism.
Older Allie’s behavior is characteristic and relatable to anyone who has loved someone with dementia. Aphasia, paranoia, confusion, and regression each appear, to the pain of family members whom Allie no longer recognizes. Even though she can’t remember who the man reading is, or why the story is significant, she enjoys hearing how Younger Allie (Makena Jackson) and Younger Noah (Kyle Mangold) snuck around their first summer and how Middle Allie (Alysha Deslorieux) and Middle Noah (Ken Wulf Clark) rekindled their passion.
Faithful fans of the novel or the iconic 2004 film adaptation that starred Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling will notice key plot changes in the musical. Most significantly, the story is moved forward several decades, so the specter of the Vietnam War rather than World War II looms over a teenage Noah. And, while Noah is played by white actors, Black and Latina actresses play Allie across her ages. Yet race and racism never meaningfully factor into the story, despite its coastal Southern setting. (The book and film are set in the Carolinas). Fans can rest assured that the film’s most iconic scene—the kiss in the rain—still finds its way to the stage despite key plot revisions.
Ingrid Michaelson’s lush music is by far the strongest element of “The Notebook: The Musical,” even if uniform motifs occasionally blend one song with the next. The 11 o’clock belter, “My Days,” proved such an earworm, it broke containment in 2024, trending on TikTok beyond just musical fans, after the original Broadway Middle Allie, Joy Woods, immortalized the track on the cast album. Performed on tour by Deslorieux, “My Days” remains the standout melody. Unfortunately, Michaelson’s score seems uniquely difficult for male voices as both Clark and Mangold noticeably struggled with high notes and the multi-octave ranges on their solos.
Compared to the ambition of the music, the lyrics of “The Notebook: The Musical,” also by Ingrid Michaelson, range from trite and inane to flat and awkward. Without the soaring notes of “My Days,” lines like “Only I can choose my choice” would be glaring. In weaker songs, the lyrics drag “The Notebook: The Musical” down. The opening number, “Time,” perhaps doubting the audience’s ability to pick up on a core theme, repeats the word “time” forty times in less than four minutes, often obliquely rhymed with “mine.” Similarly, “Kiss Me,” the song that narrates Younger Allie and Younger Noah’s first physical encounter, repeats “the mouth” more than twenty times as they each beg the other to kiss them while they shed their clothes.
The creative design of “The Notebook: The Musical” is cohesive and consistent, focused on evoking water, time, and the color blue as often as possible. Before the (metaphorical) curtain even rises, the loud tick of a clock echoes through the audience, until a thunderclap and flash of lightning usher in the buzzers and bells of assisted living, in a soundscape designed by Nevin Steinberg.
David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis’s scenic design includes a fake pond above the orchestra pit for Younger Allie and Noah to skip through, a dock and a few buoys for them to flirt, and of course, a cinematic downpour to drench Middle Allie and Noah. Lighting, also by Zinn and Banakis, combines an ambient glow from statement, vertical lights hanging like raindrops with bright spotlights that bathe Allie and Noah in cool blue light for climactic moments. Video design by Lucy MacKinnon backdrops scenes with waves gently lapping at the coastline and dancing, abstract ripples.
Early on, Paloma Young’s costume design is essential for quickly framing the story. In the opening number, Katie Spelman’s choreography groups the trio of Younger, Middle, and Older Allies and their respective Noahs and has each group move in sync, with all Allies wearing light blue and each Noah wearing a brown shirt, visually drawing a clear line of connection. After Younger Noah remarks “You should only ever wear blue,” we indeed never again see Allie in anything else—except when she’s wearing little at all.
Less steamy and more introspective than the film or novel, “The Notebook: The Musical” proves compelling and affecting despite its flaws. Alers as Older Allie portrays the impacts of dementia with sensitivity, even as the story’s ending veers into magical realism, transforming into something of a modern fable. Ingrid Michaelson’s original score proves both a blessing and a curse with lovely melodies weakened by stilted lyrics and straining voices. If you loved the novel or film, you’ll likely enjoy the national tour. But even if you aren’t already a fan, this adaptation may surprise you with its tender depiction of love that lasts beyond memory.
Read our “Quick 5” interview with the three Allies here.
Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes including one intermission.
Advisory: Recommended for ages 13+ due to adult themes.
“The Notebook: The Musical” runs through August 30, 2026 at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004. Performances are Tuesdays-Fridays at 7:30 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm and 7:30 pm. For more information and to purchase tickets, go online or visit the box office Monday-Friday, 12-6 pm with extended hours during performance days, Tuesday-Sunday, 12-7 pm.
