![\"Beau](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/OCR-L-NOTEBOOK-0130-04.jpg\")
Beau Gravitte as Older Noah and Sharon Catherine Brown as Older Allie in a scene from \u201cThe Notebook,\u201d playing through Sunday at the San Diego Civic Theatre. (Roger Mastroianni)<\/p>\nThe first time I saw \u201cThe Notebook\u201d musical was in spring 2024 on Broadway, where that production had great singers who could pull off the vocally challenging score, a truly tear-jerking finale and a confusing casting concept.<\/p>\n
Now \u201cThe Notebook\u201d is on the road in a touring production that\u2019s playing through Sunday at the San Diego Civic Theatre. The musical\u2019s creative team have changed an element of the show since it left Broadway that I see as positive. But for anyone who remembers the 2004 film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks\u2019 1996 novel, the musical\u2019s new ending doesn\u2019t pack the same emotional punch that left Broadway audiences in tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Notebook\u201d is the 60-year love story of Noah and Allie, who meet in the 1940s, go their separate ways for a decade and then come back together. Their story, handwritten in a leather notebook, is told in reflection by the 80something version of Noah, who lives in a nursing home with his wife, Allie, who is losing her battle with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
To cover the passage of time, co-directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams cast three sets of actors to play the two characters in their late teens, late 20s and old age.<\/p>\n
In the Broadway staging, the three actors for each character bore little physical or ethnic resemblance to each other. I interpreted this casting decision as a reflection of Older Allie\u2019s mental confusion. But in the touring production, the teams of actors look very much alike, and when all three version of Noah and Allie are onstage at the same time, it\u2019s uncanny and powerful.<\/p>\n
On the downside, the producers opted to change the musical\u2019s ending for the tour. Without spoiling anything, the musical\u2019s new ending resembles the vague finale of the novel. The musical\u2019s original ending had the darker, but more deeply moving finale from the film. I miss the more cathartic ending.<\/p>\n
The touring production is led by two excellent actors, Sharon Catherine Brown as Older Allie and Beau Gravitte as Older Noah. I lost a parent to Alzheimer\u2019s and found Brown\u2019s mannerisms, movement and anxiety true to life, and Gravitte\u2019s heartbroken bewilderment very familiar.<\/p>\n
Beau Gravitte as Older Noah and Sharon Catherine Brown as Older Allie in a scene from \u201cThe Notebook,\u201d playing through Sunday at the San Diego Civic Theatre. (Roger Mastroianni)<\/p>\n
Also superb are Ken Wulf Clark and Ashley Deslorieux as Middle Noah and Middle Allie. Clark has a charming and fun-loving personality and the reserved Deslorieux is the show\u2019s powerhouse singer. The musical\u2019s score by Ingrid Michaelson isn\u2019t traditionally melodic, with big leaps from note to note that can easily strain a singer\u2019s voice. But on Wednesday night, Clark and Deslorieux ably pulled off the two best songs in the show: Noah\u2019s first-act \u201cLeave the Light On\u201d and Allie\u2019s second-act \u201cMy Days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyle Mangold and Chlo\u00eb Cheers complete the lead cast as younger Noah and Allie. Their songs are the hardest to sing and there were some flat notes sung Wednesday. But these actors do beautifully transmit the joy, discovery and passion of young love.<\/p>\n
The touring production also re-creates all of the Broadway show\u2019s best scenes, include the signature rainstorm, which is impressive for a road show.<\/p>\n
Is \u201cThe Notebook\u201d musical better than the book and movie that came before? Fans of the film will recognize iconic scenes, but not the ending. And for fans of the book, the musical is true to the original, especially in presenting the pain families suffer when Alzheimer\u2019s affects a loved one.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Notebook\u2019<\/p>\n
When: 7:30 p.m. April 16; 8 p.m. April 17; 2 and 8 p.m. April 18; 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 19<\/p>\n
Where:\u00a0San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown<\/p>\n
Tickets:\u00a0$53.25-$332.75<\/p>\n