‘The Notebook’ might just turn a page for Chicago Shakes

John Cardoza, Jordan Tyson, John Beasley, Maryann Plunkett, Ryan Vasquez, Joy Woods. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Come the spring, Broadway will have lost The Phantom of the Opera as the go-to sure bet for unabashed musical romance. The world premiere of The Notebook at Chicago Shakes, being backed in part by deep Broadway pockets, may just have something to fill that niche.

Indeed, the Nicholas Sparks novel that launched a thousand ugly-cries is now a musical. But despite the tone set by that opening, it’s thankfully not a mercenary enterprise. It’s got the heart, for sure, but it’s also got some very clear eyes.

The heart is in theatre newbie Ingrid Michaelson’s songsuite, as bracing and cozy as a sip of hot apple cider. The eyes are in Bekah Brunstetter’s fleet script and the co-direction of Michael Greif and Schele Williams.

And it’s those eyes I’m most interested in, to be honest.

Coming out of it, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of Greif’s previous Broadway outings came to mind to him. Between Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, and Grey Gardens, he seems to have a knack for finding stories about the nexus between American culture and mental health (or the lack thereof). But whereas those tales are by and large tragic, The Notebook is the American fantasy about taking the big leap, propriety be damned.

Beginning in the last breath of summer on the Carolina coast, the romance in and of itself is pretty stock. Working-class Noah meets and flings with well-to-do Allie. Then, years later, Allie can choose between the safe and secure fiancé handpicked by her parents or to rekindle that old flame. The specifics lie in what happens years later, as Noah and Allie recount the past, or as much as they are able to, at least.

If you’ve managed to not be exposed to The Notebook by now, either in print or film, I won’t spoil those specifics. Suffice it to say, no one tips the scale toward the bathetic despite every means and opportunity. On press night, no one tittered like all the high emotion was a bit too much. No, people were paying absolute attention, totally rapt, not the slightest interruption. It takes a lot of doing, on stage and off, for a production to train an audience like that, and I can count the number of musicals I’ve seen with such an audience on maybe one hand. One of those happened to be Greif’s Hansen.

Yes, The Notebook is romance-novel archetypal. But, one, what’s wrong with archetypes, when they’re put to effective use? And, two, what’s wrong with romance novels? Better a romance novel than any number of blood-drenched stories that are somehow more culturally acceptable.

I expected The Notebook would either leave me either dry-eyed or a blubbering mess. Rather, I basked in the warmth of a musical firing on all cylinders. That’s not a marketplace niche to fill, but a privilege to encounter.

The Notebook runs through October 30th at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E Grand Ave. For tickets or more information, please call (312) 595-5600 click here.

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