Romantic film ‘The Notebook’ is on its way to become a Broadway musical

The successful book-film ‘The Notebook’ is now headed to Broadway and we can’t keep calm!
In its Broadway adaptation, the play will be a musical with producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch in association with Nicholas Sparks (author), as it was announced on Thursday.

Nicholas first published the novel ‘The Notebook’ that opened on the New York Times bestseller list in its first week of publication in 1996. The book was later adapted for the big screen starring actors Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands. The movie came out in 2014 and was a massive hit.  

Bekah Brunstetter and Ingrid Michaelson are developing the musical adaptation. 

Actor Gena Rowlands on the musical adaptation said, “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. 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.”

“The older you get, it seems, the more invisible you become, and yet, you have so much to say — so putting an older couple at the forefront of a musical is thrilling to me. I am so excited to continue collaborating with Ingrid on bringing this beautiful story to life in a new way,” she added.

Ingrid has been busy releasing singles and has since released seven albums since 2005. On the collaboration for the Broadway musical, the singer-songwriter said, “When I was approached about working on ‘The Notebook,’ I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom and cry and come back into the meeting.”

She added, “I have loved the movie and the story for so many years now that the idea of turning it into a musical overwhelmed me. The concept of unending devotion and love wrapped up in memory and family is something very close to my own personal life. The story sings to me so perfectly. I actually started writing that very night of the first meeting, before I even had the job!  I cannot wait for the world to hear these characters come to life in a musical way.”

Meanwhile, the author who has made all this possible, Nicholas 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.”