Kyle Mangold, Chloe Cheers, Ken Wulf Clark, Alysha Deslorieux, Beau Gravitte, and Sharon Catherine Brown Photo by Roger Mastroianni

Noah and Allie, two teenagers from different walks of life, meet and fall in love over the course of a summer. Noah works at the lumberyard with his father, and Allie is vacationing with her wealthy parents. Allie's parents disapprove of the less wealthy and less educated Noah, and the young couple are forced to sneak away to find time to be together. Noah shows Allie an old run-down house in town and declares that he will restore the house and that he and Allie will live there together some day ("Blue Shutters"). They are separated by Allie's parents but reunite 10 years later when Allie, now engaged to her lawyer fiancé Lon, sees a newspaper article about Noah and the house he restored. Allie and Noah rekindle their love, and Allie stays with Noah. They marry and raise a family. As the years pass, Allie develops dementia. As the disease progresses, Noah visits her and reads her stories from a notebook that we eventually learn is Allie's journal, detailing their lives together. Noah suffers a stroke, and his temporary absence causes Allie's condition to decline. When the two are reunited, Allie rallies and remembers her life with Noah before the two pass away in each other's arms.

What gives this otherwise trite storyline depth is the use of three sets of actors playing Noah and Allie at each stage of the narrative. The show begins with Older Noah visiting Older Allie, who doesn't recognize him. As Older Noah muses about aging, Younger and Middle Noah and Allie join him on stage. Throughout the show, the characters of Older, Middle, and Younger Noah and Allie overlap and illustrate the power of memories, shifting perspectives, and personal growth. This non-linear and generational overlapping structure produces a poignant exploration of the power of memory, the process of aging, and the evolving qualities that love requires.

While all iterations of the characters are ably cast and executed, Sharon Catherine Brown is the undisputed heart and core of the show as Older Allie. It is clear from the moment she steps on stage that she has dementia. She is subtle and heartbreaking, and maintains dignity and humanity with every movement. She effortlessly and movingly emotes fear, frustration, and confusion as she relives "memories within memories within memories" while Middle and Younger Allie and rest of the cast move around the stage. Older Allie tries to touch or contact these elusive and moving memories, but each remains just out of reach. The repeated lyrics, "I didn't know that the last time I'd leave the house/ Was the last time I'd leave the house" ("I Wanna Go Back"), combine to make the scene devastating.

Likewise, Beau Gravitte is flawless as Older Noah, infusing his character with the warmth, frustration, humor, and patience that anyone who has lost someone to dementia can identify with. He recognizes that while age is a number, our memories and who we are transcend time: "I look in the mirror/ I see an old man/ But in my eyes/ A young man's face" ("Time").

Mr. Gravitte and Ms. Brown show immense comfort in who they are as individuals and as actors, and it shows on stage and adds complexity to the journey their characters are on.

Alysha Deslorieux brings Middle Allie to life with a fresh and compelling voice that shows her character's transition from unfulfilled youth to self-assured young woman in the powerful second act song "My Days."

Two stand-out cast members are Anne Tolpegin in the roles of Mother and Nurse Lori, and Connor Richardson as Johnny. Ms. Tolpegin has an undeniable presence on stage. She shifts from imperious Mother to harried and cynical (yet deeply compassionate) Nurse Lori seamlessly and owns every scene she is in. Likewise, Mr. Richardson balances excellent comic timing with empathy to create a more well-rounded character than the smaller role might suggest.

While The Notebook is by its nature a simple and at times a clichéd story that can leave more cynical audiences feeling emotionally manipulated, it's worth noting that what resonates with the viewer depends largely on who the viewer is and where they fall within the timeline of the show. Viewers who identify with Young Noah and Young Allie see the story unfold in their future and find the ending particularly emotional. Those who identify with Older Noah and Older Allie can foresee the story's inevitable end from the beginning and identify with the layers of time and memory more acutely.

The Notebook is based on the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks, which was then popularized by the 2004 movie starring a young Ryan Gosling. The 2024 Broadway musical adaptation is directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams, with music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson and Book by Bekah Brunstetter.

The Notebook runs through March 8, 2026, at Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine Street, Seattle WA. For tickets and information, please visit stgpresents.com or call 888-729-4718. For information on the tour, visit notebookmusical.com