The Notebook Will End Its Time on Broadway in December

The Notebook, the musical adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' bestselling novel and the 2004 film that followed, will play its final performance at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on December 15. It will have played 35 previews and 317 regular performances.

Directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams, The Notebook features a book by Bekah Brunstetter and music and lyrics by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. The production opened on March 14 after beginning previews on February 10. 

The story follows Allie and Noah, two people from different worlds who share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. Three pairs of actors lead the cast as Allie and Noah during different periods of their lives: Jordan Tyson and John Cardoza as Younger Allie and Noah, Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez as Middle Allie and Noah, and Tony Award winner Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood as Older Allie and Noah. The Broadway company also includes Andréa Burns, Yassmin Alers, Alex Benoit, Chase Del Rey, Hillary Fisher, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman, Dorcas Leung, Happy McPartlin, Juliette Ojeda, Kim Onah, Carson Stewart, Charles E. Wallace and Charlie Webb.

The Notebook earned three 2024 Tony nominations: Best Book of a Musical (Brunstetter), Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Harewood) and Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Plunkett). 

Broadway.com recently visited the show's cast at the Schoenfeld to capture all the goings-on behind the scenes.

“We set out from day one to refocus this story on the older characters and give them more space and more weight than they get in the book or the movie,” said Brunstetter in an interview with Broadway.com. “To have it be not just a young love story, but a story about getting older and being in the end of your life.” She also commented on her collaboration with Michaelson. “Ingrid and I were so in each other's heads. We both like the funny-sad worlds, so from the beginning, our brains and our hearts were very aligned in terms of what we wanted to make.” 

Michaelson, who made her theatrical composing debut with The Notebook, shared about her experience with the production in a musical walking tour on The Broadway Show. "There's something about being a cog in a wonderful machine. I love the collaboration. I just love being part of that whole process. It's unlike anything I've ever done before, and it's my favorite thing that I've done. I just wanna do more and more and more and more and more.”

The Notebook had its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in fall 2022. The production’s creative team includes scenic design by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by Nevin Steinberg and hair and wig design by Mia Neal. The music supervisor is Carmel Dean, who also collaborated on arrangements with Michaelson and on orchestrations with John Clancy. Geoffrey Ko serves as music director.