The Notebook

The Notebook follows Noah and Allie across three chapters of the same relationship, performed by three different pairs of actors: as teenagers falling for each other over one unforgettable summer despite coming from very different backgrounds, as young adults reckoning with the choices that pulled them apart and the ones that eventually brought them back together, and as an older couple facing a very different kind of test. The show moves between all three timelines, letting younger and older versions of Noah and Allie share the stage as one story becomes clear only by seeing all of its ages at once.

The musical has music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson and a book by Bekah Brunstetter, based on Nicholas Sparks' 1996 novel, which was also adapted into the popular 2004 film. The stage musical premiered at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2022 before opening on Broadway in 2024.

The score is contemporary folk-pop, built around Michaelson's own songwriting voice, and its structure lets the young, middle and older Noah and Allie sometimes sing the same melody at different points in their lives, echoing each other across decades. Watch for the staging device of three couples playing one relationship simultaneously, which lets audiences see a single line or gesture repeat with very different weight depending on the age of the actors performing it, often within the same scene. It suits fans of Nicholas Sparks' novels and films, and audiences drawn to a tearjerker love story told through folk-pop songwriting rather than a traditional Broadway sound.