THE NOTEBOOK To Launch National Tour Fall 2025

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 9:41am

Begins in Cleveland.

Have to think a closing notice is coming very soon.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 9:51am

This show is absolutely going to print money on tour.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 10:16am

Alex Kulak2 said: "This show is absolutely going to print money on tour."

They can't even get people to buy tickets on Broadway.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 10:25am

Broadway is different. This will do well on tour. 

I wonder how the rain will work on tour though. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 11:44am

RippedMan said: "Broadway is different. This will do well on tour."

True I guess. Broadway doesn't have subscriptions to force people to see this manipulative garbage.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 11:51am

Fosse76 said: "RippedMan said: "manipulative garbage."

I beg to differ.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 12:07pm

I’ve been thinking about this show a bit more since the grosses started slipping. It’s not a bad musical — far from it — but it felt too static and earthbound for the story it tells. 

NY Post had the winning description of Michaelson’s score in my mind: “A scented candle fusion of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and Pachelbel’s Canon.” The first song I heard from the show was “Forever” some time before the Chicago tryout, and I thought it was lovely but nothing special. The rest of the score followed suit.

The early lyric “Perfect imperfection / That’s the way we make it through” sums up this musical in a nutshell. It has its share of flaws but I was able to find fleeting moments of beauty inside the banality, the humor inside the drama, the “sadness and joy.”

The central couple gets more interesting as they age. Curious to see who they get for the elders next year. 

The one thing they did absolutely right during their Broadway run, IMO, was donating a good portion of their Broadway Cares proceeds to the Alzheimer’s Association, and I hope this touring production does the same. 

 

Updated On: 8/16/24 at 12:07 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 1:10pm

I saw in Chicago and I don’t remember really anything about it. Felt very “meh.” But then I listened to the score again and fell in love. 

[sppunk]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 1:24pm

This was my least favorite show of the season and a top 3 least favorite show I’ve ever seen. 

That said, this should do well on tour.  

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/16/24 at 1:38pm

True I guess. Broadway doesn't have subscriptions to force people to see this manipulative garbage.

FAX. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/17/24 at 11:42am

EDSOSLO858 said: "NY Post had the winning description of Michaelson’s score in my mind: “A scented candle fusion of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and Pachelbel’s Canon.” The first song I heard from the show was “Forever” some time before the Chicago tryout, and I thought it was lovely but nothing special. The rest of the score followed suit"

It's not even "nothing special". It's very much a bad score. Not her fault, she just didn't know how to write a theatre song.  And for some reason when pop writers decide to write for Broadway they forget about melody. Which should be their strong suit! But on top of everything she had some really horrendous lyrics as well! Which is a shame because I really think it has a fairly strong book.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/17/24 at 11:51am

Are we listening to the same lyrics? I don’t understand how you can say any of it was ‘horrendous.’

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/17/24 at 1:21pm

I think it's called a difference in opinion?

she just didn't know how to write a theatre song.

Understatement of the year. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/17/24 at 5:06pm

What even is a theatre song anymore? I think “If This is Love” is pretty solid and gives major Disney princess vibes. If it was on the soundtrack of a Disney animated movie it sounds like the kind of song that would have charted. It’s the song I keep going back to.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/17/24 at 7:59pm

Owen22 said: "It's very much a bad score. Not her fault, she just didn't know how to write a theatre song. And for some reason when pop writers decide to write for Broadway they forget about melody. Which should be their strong suit! But on top of everything she had some really horrendous lyrics as well! "

You sound like Michael Riedel circa 2008!

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 8/17/24 at 8:14pm

I enjoyed the show very much. Saw it three times in Chicago and twice on Broadway. Love the score and performances. I understand others have wildly different opinions, but now that I’ve read such objective facts about it being manipulative garbage and not having “real theatre songs,” I guess I should skip the tour when it comes to town. It will probably be hard to get tickets anyway. 🙄

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/19/24 at 12:03pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Owen22 said: "It's very much a bad score. Not her fault, she just didn't know how to write a theatre song. And for some reason when pop writers decide to write for Broadway they forget about melody. Which should be their strong suit! But on top of everything she had some really horrendous lyrics as well! "

You sound like Michael Riedel circa 2008!"

Hey, Ermengarde.Stop sniveling.

[TalksAboutBruno]

Posted: 8/19/24 at 5:17pm

Ingrid's score might not be traditional musical theater (very little of it advances plot), but damn does she hone in on the emotional truth of the characters. These actors really run with that blueprint and are doing some exceptional work on stage. 

I wonder how it would be to only listen to the score without seeing the production. I could see how it might not resonate as much.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 8/19/24 at 5:54pm

The score of The Notebook is interesting to me in a way because I think the songs as standalone songs can actually be quite nice to listen to (though I do also think some of the lyrics could've used another pass), but they just don't work in the show for me because the dramatic storytelling through song doesn't happen.  But I do think they're quite good at evoking a sense of feeling that suits the story being told, so I feel like while Ingrid might not have written a fully successful musical theater score, I think the songs would be very good for a series of music videos or even montage scenes in a movie or something.

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 8/19/24 at 7:55pm

I saw Suffs and The Notebook on the same day.

I found both to be dreadful in different ways, but upon repeat listens of both I have to say that the lush, haunting atmospheric quality of The Notebook's score provides a more distinct experience than the didactic nature of Suffs. Structurally, Suffs is clearly a better musical...but by god was it a drag. At the very least, The Notebook projected from the start exactly the outcome we were all waiting for and created a distinct musical world that I can safely say is different than our previous crop of "pop musicians writing musicals"

I have been recommending The Notebook more so than Suffs specifically because I think it hits closer to its target. It's not great...but I think it succeeds its mission over several other shows last season (Suffs, Gatsby, Hells Kitchen)

Updated On: 8/19/24 at 07:55 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/20/24 at 11:32am

Owen22 said: Hey, Ermengarde.Stop sniveling."

HAHAHAHA