Memories, it could be said, are the most precious thing in our lives. When all else is gone, they are what we cling to most to take us to places forever special. Then there’s Alzheimer’s. It steals memories, taking with it joy and happiness. I’ve never had a family member deal with this tragic and so far incurable disease, but a good friend is going through this experience with her husband currently. It’s heartbreaking to see what she and her soulmate had for so many years disappear from his memory like sand when the tide comes in and carries it out to the ocean.
“The Notebook,” a musical playing at Bass Hall this week, reminds us that while Alzheimer’s does take so much, it cannot take away love, and certainly not one as deep as the main characters in this production share. The show is the latest in Performing Arts Fort Worth’s Broadway at the Bass Series Presented by PNC Bank. It runs through Sunday, June 28.
Bring some tissues – and a few extra in case the person next to you did not. The message of “The Notebook” is that true, unconditional love is eternal and capable of overcoming even the most immense obstacles. It emphasizes that genuine connection can withstand anything, be it time, distance, social barriers, and even a debilitating illness. The centerpieces of the story are husband and wife Noah and Allie Calhoun. They are featured in three different versions, young, middle and elderly – the latter of whom anchor the tale.
Elderly Noah and Allie (played on this night by Aaron Ramey and Sharon Catherine Brown) live together in a retirement home. She is battling Alzheimer’s and struggles to even remember that Noah is her husband, along with their life together. The show opens with Noah singing “Time,” and how we always wish we had more when it’s too late. For most folks, that’s why memories are so wonderful. That message is reinforced later in the show when Noah says “Time moves so fast when you’re with the one person who understands you.”
Noah reads to Allie regularly from a notebook in which she wrote all about their history, apparently understanding the day would come when – for her – it would be non-existent otherwise. Even so, she thinks it is a story about another couple and their life. But she loves a good love story, so she’s fine with her friend (in her mind, remember) Noah reading it to her.
When they first meet, young Allie (Chloe Cheers) comes from a prosperous family and young Noah (Kyle Mangold) is a working class high school dropout who had to do so to help his widowed father at the lumberyard. They meet when Allie comes to town for summer break from school, and though discouraged by friends and family because of their vastly different social backgrounds, they find themselves falling in love.
But, as life will do, it brings separation. Noah, accused of kidnapping Allie by her family, goes off to fight in Vietnam and Allie gets engaged. A decade later, however, they are reunited and realize that while apart, their love continued to grow. Remember that old saying about absence making the heart grow fonder?
As is often the case with Alzheimer’s, there are moments when memories do return, at least partially. Such is the case with elderly Allie as she sometimes begins to recall, only to once again drift into forgetting and the fear and uncertainty that comes with it. As the memories are played out onstage in concert by the younger Noah and Allie, often alongside the middle (Ken Wulf Clark and Alysha Deslorieux) versions, we also see their romance having in and out moments – though not because their love ever wavers. Only when they break through the challenges that made their lives different are they able to share what was clearly meant to be all along.
Based on Nicholas Sparks’ wonderful 1996 novel of the same name, the story is not surprisingly heavily reliant on the chemistry between every version of Noah and Allie. They all deliver individually and together, maintaining a consistent and rare emotional connection so few people ever truly experience. Sadness permeates the entire show, true, but it does not weigh it down. There is also much joy and even some humorous moments to bring a smile and a laugh. You know, a mixture of all emotions – much like life itself.
The music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson tell a story unto themselves. From the jovial “Dance With Me” at their first meeting to the moving “Leave the Light On” at their reunion in the middle of the story to the mournful, yet blissful “I Know” sung by their elder selves at the end, Noah and Allie’s entire love story is unfolded in music. And yes, the iconic rain scene is in there. And it’s just as touching as when Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling performed it in the movie more than two decades ago.
Unlike that movie, however, the different age versions of Noah and Allie do sometimes appear onstage together. It’s an interesting way to view their lives and to bring into focus how memories intertwine. Most of all, “The Notebook” delivers the message that we should never give up on what and who matters most. This terrible disease might dilute the memory, but it can’t erase the story written by a powerful and passionate lifelong love. If someone you love is battling Alzheimer’s, learn more at alz.org, or call 800-272-3900.
‘The Notebook’ At Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth Now through June 28 Tickets: https://www.basshall.com/notebook
