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Nicholas Sparks’ romantic 1996 novel about a young couple separated by class and war in ’40s America was a big hit; the 2004 screen adaptation starring a young Ryan Gosling and Rachael McAdams was an even bigger one.
Will it be third time luck with this new musical?
The Notebook – A New Musical (as it’s literally called) did reasonably well on Broadway a couple of years back (it ran for about nine months) and is now headed our way to serve as the inaugural production at the renamed Shaftesbury Theatre – now called the Judi Dench Theatre.
Written by playwright Bekah Brunstetter and singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, it’s co-directed by Michael Greif (most famous for Dear Evan Hansen) and Schele Williams (who has a big hit with her revival of The Wiz).
Although nominally adapted from the book rather than the film, it’s definitely playing to fans of the movie – in his review, Time Out New York’s Adam Feldman takes pains to point out that the production perfectly recreates the iconic ‘snog in the rain’ sequence when protagonists Noah and Allie are reunited following the Second World War and various other romantic misadventures.
Basically if you loved the film or the book or are just in the market for a musical romance, then it’s worth a look. Casting is to be announced but should be with us soon, given that it starts previews as soon as March.
The Notebook is at the Judi Dench Theatre, booking Mar 10-Dec 11 2027.
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