The Notebook is becoming a Broadway musical—and it has a “This Is Us” connection
The Nicholas Sparks book (turned 2004 Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams romance drama) The Notebook is officially getting the musical treatment. “Girls Chase Boys” songwriter Ingrid Michaelson is set to compose music and lyrics, with This Is Us producer Bekah Brunstetter set to write the script. So basically, prepare yourself with several boxes of tissues come opening day.
Michaelson announced the news during a January 3rd appearance on the Today show. She told host Hoda Kotb, “It’s been a long process for me, but it’s been slowly building. I haven’t been able to talk about it because we’ve been in negotiations and getting directors and stuff. But finally, my producers signed off and said this is a perfect way to announce it.” She added: “Oh God, I feel like I’ve birthed a child.” No show dates or cast news have been announced just yet.
“I’m writing a musical … and the musical is ‘The Notebook.’”@ingridmusic had a DELIGHTFUL announcement today!!! 🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/3s9RelDMIp
— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) January 3, 2019
In case you haven’t seen it (in which case, please stop everything and do so asap), The Notebook follows mill worker Noah (Ryan Gosling) and affluent teen Allie (Rachel McAdams) as they fall in love in 1940s South Carolina. The film also stars James Garner and Gena Rowlands, weaving between past and present. In a statement about the new adaptation, Sparks said,
“I am thrilled to work with Bekah and Ingrid in order to make The Notebook a reality on Broadway. They are amazingly talented, and obviously, the story is near and dear to my heart.
The announcement comes at the heels of other celebrated movies getting the Broadway treatment in recent months, like 2004’s Mean Girls and 1995’s Clueless.
In a statement, writer Brunstetter gushed about the project. “When I first heard about The Notebook potentially being turned into a musical, I was instantly drawn to the idea. The story hits home for me in two big ways: it takes place in my home state of North Carolina, and Alzheimer’s runs deep in my family.”
She continued: “I was sent a few songs Ingrid had already written for it, and that week, I spent my drives to and from work car-listening, memorizing, imagining the story unfold with music, imagining how I might layer worlds, dramatize memory, and before I even knew that I had to write the book for this, it was already starting to happen in my head.
If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be sobbing until more details become available.
