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Whether on the page, big screen or now the stage the story of the Notebook has been making people cry for nearly 30 years, so it should be no shock to longtime listeners that when I attended opening night of the Musical's national tour in Orlando on Tuesday, I alternated between blubbering and openly weeping. I often to the embarrassment and annoyance of my sister sitting next to me. Welcome to Broadway Radio. My name is Matt Tamnini. This is my review for the national tour of the Notebook, the musical currently playing the Dr. Phillips center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, May 17. In all of its forms, the Notebook tells the decades long love story of Noah Calhoun and Ally Nelson. But unlike in the bestselling novel by Nicholas Sparks or the blockbuster film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the twist that has so often left hearts broken is treat not as a surprise, but as the entry point to a beautiful and intensely compelling way to track two characters across more than half a century. Without a single word of dialogue, the Notebook directors Michael Greif and Shelley Williams, along with choreographer Katie Spellman, construct the most effective and emotionally impactful opening number since at least come from away. With subtle costuming choices and simple yet elegant movement, they dispense with what could have been 5, 10, 15 minutes of exposition as they establish three couples will be playing Noah and Allie throughout the years, ignoring the need to protect the spoiler that the older and younger pairings are one and the same. That decision changes the Notebook from a well drawn, if not emotionally manipulative conventional tale into a story much more honest, sad and exhilarating than it ever has been before. The opening number, simply called Time, a word that becomes a near constant theme throughout the, establishes the poetic and lyrical language that the show operates in. You are not seeing a standard movie to musical adaptation. Instead, you are seeing something more akin to a poem or perhaps more appropriately, a watercolor interpretation of the story you likely already know well. The subject is familiar but the edges are blurred, allowing the narrative to take full advantage of musical and choreographic elements that the theater affords. Allie is in the late stages of Alzheimer's and struggles to recognize or remember anyone, including Noah, who has moved into her assisted living facility to be closer to his beloved wife. At her direction, he reads her the often tumultuous story that led to their love and life together, even though she doesn't realize she once lived the words he is now recounting for her. However, unlike the more naturalistic narratives found in the book and the movie, the musical form allows for more artistic and ultimately more meaningful ways to communicate Noe and Allie's love and loss. While the musical takes place in three different time periods and is not always told chronologically, the way that Becca Brunstetter has structured the libretto and Ingrid Michaelson has composed the score gracefully builds on the parts of the story we have seen before, even if out of order, often adding emotional depth by bringing in the other versions of the characters to shadow and mirror their future and former selves in important moments. The result is an elegant reinvention that utilizes every tool in its storytelling arsenal to pull at all of your heartstrings. While by no means a dance heavy show, the Notebook's movement, music and performances deliver an emotional punch you rarely see in movie to musical adaptations. At the center of the show's love and heartache are the older versions of Noah and Allie. In the Tuesday night performance, understudy Aaron Raimi stepped in as Noah opposite venerated Broadway vet Sharon Catherine Brown. Despite Raimi not being the typical older Noah, the chemistry between the two was obvious from the first moment, even if Brown's Ally doesn't fully know whom she is talking to. In fact, all three Noah and Ally pairings have incredible chemistry. The sparks make it very easy to believe that their love has survived everything from disapproving parents to a decade apart to dementia. Kyle Mangold and Chloe Cheers play the younger version of the couple, and their teenage giddiness gets the romance started. Appropriately, Mangold's voice is a bit more tinny than I would like, and they both sometimes struggle to make the transition from their respective chest to head voices and to sing in their upper registers, something that really needs to be executed flawlessly to deliver Michelson's delicate, breathy melodies. The middle pairing features Ken Wolfe Clark and Broadway favorite Alicia Delorier. Clark's Noah is more grounded than Mangold's having suffered multiple losses in the intervening 10 years. But it is DeLaurier who delivers the show's transcendent moment with the instant musical theater anthem My Days on Tuesday night, she added a flourish that sounded more more than a little like an Elphaba war cry. And while the performance did feel a little bit loose around the edges in moments, Delorier still gave me full body chills for the entire back half of the song. Her vocals, commitment and acting are electrifying throughout, and she provides a soul stirring version of one of the most difficult sings in the recent Broadway canon. Tuesday night was the fourth time that I've seen the Notebook on stage, the first three on Broadway, now once in Orlando. And while I understand that changes are often made for a variety of reasons when a show heads out on the road, I am particularly disappointed in two of the decisions made that fundamentally alter this version of the story. On Broadway, While Younger and middle Ally were played by black actors Jordan Tyson and Joy woods, respectively, older Alley was played by a white actor, Tony Award winner Mary Ann Plunkett. Similarly, Younger and middle Noah were played by white actors with Latino heritage, John Cardoza and Ryan Vasquez, while older Noah was played by black actor Tony nominee Dorian Harewood. Not only is that jumbling up of races a reminder that love and loss impact us all regardless of our background, but from a dramaturgical standpoint, it is a vital reminder that older Ally does not remember even the most important moments of her own life and doesn't realize that the book her husband is reading her is their love story. It also helps explain why Allie's parents were so disapproving of her relationship with Noah, and who would have been a young black man in the late 1960s or early 70s even if the actor playing him was white. The move seems to indicate that the producers and or creative team did not trust audiences across the country to be able to weave together the seemingly disjointed threads of this not all that complicated story of forgotten pasts that or perhaps that they were worried about pushback from certain segments of regional theater audiences not being able to suspend their disbelief enough to accept actors of varying races playing the same character. Either way, the casting change robs the show of one of its most nuanced and inventive turns. The other substantive change is the decision to eliminate what is arguably the most bittersweet gut punch in 20th century entertainment. Now, I don't want to get too much into detail here, as I generally try to avoid spoilers as much as I can, but by neutering the well known ending of this story, which was part of the Broadway production, simply to send regional audiences out on a more positive note, feels disingenuous to the story and like a disservice to Noah and Allie. Now, despite those deeply felt reservations, the Notebook remains a triumph known as one of the most emotional stories in modern literature and film. They even sell branded tissue boxes at the merch stand. Yes, I have one. The way that this show moves me is in its subtle grace and unsuspecting artistry. An adaptation of the Notebook could have been a paint by numbers musical the likes of which we have seen countless times before and undoubtedly will again. But credit to the creative team for giving audiences something far more innovative and heartfelt while still being able to elicit sobs from start to finish. The national tour of the Notebook the musical will play the Dr. Phillips center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, May 17 before heading to Charlotte, Tampa, Greensboro and dozens of other stops across the country through this time next year. If you are in the Central Florida area anytime throughout the rest of this week, I will have a link in the Show Notes to where you can purchase tickets to see the show at the Walt Disney theater at the Dr. Phillips Center. Thank you as always for listening to Broadway Radio. This has been Matt Tamminini and I'll talk to you soon. Foreign.
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Deserves to be Connected T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Our networks are coming together bringing more T Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is available in a US cellular store near you. Bigger network the combination of T Mobile and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage savings versus comparable Verizon plans plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third free line free via monthly bill credits credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.