Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook debuted on bookshelves around the world in 1996. Since then, the American novelist and screenwriter has released many other internationally bestselling books such as A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle—all of which were adapted into hit Hollywood movies.

The film version of The Notebook came out in 2004. Almost two decades later, The Notebook debuted as a musical in the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2022, followed by a Broadway run in 2024 and a North American run in 2025-2026, proving that among all of Sparks’ romantic-tragic books-turned-films, this one is the most iconic.

To mark The Notebook, The Musical’s first international premiere, it opened on September 3, 2026, in Manila, Philippines, produced by Theatre Group Asia (TGA), featuring the music and lyrics of Ingrid Michaelson and the Tony-nominated book by Bekah Brunstetter. Filipino-American theater director Nicholas Polonio helms the Manila production.

I was invited to the Gala Night and watched their press preview, one night before the official opening on September 3rd. Spoilers ahead.

The Notebook Movie vs. Musical

There are major differences between the movie and musical version.

The musical’s storyline has three sets of Allies and Noahs—young Allie and Noah, played by Sheena Belarmino and Benedix Ramos, middle Allie and Noah, played by Morissette and Laurence Mossman, and older Allie and Noah, played by Celeste Legaspi and Rody Vera. In the movie, the main Allie and Noah characters were played by Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, while older Allie and Noah were played by Gena Rowlands and James Garner.

While the movie has a linear timeline and story, the musical version is more abstract, going back and forth between the past and present, sometimes intermingling when the past and present Allies and Noahs perform together.

While the 2004 movie’s main setting is 1940s American South during World War II, the musical’s beginning to middle part is set in the 1960s, with Noah serving in the Vietnam War.

The rest of the plot remains the same: A teenager from a rich family meets a working class boy over the summer. They fall in love, but her parents don’t approve. As he gets drafted in the war, they promise to write to each other, but her mom meddles by hiding all his letters. She tries to forget him, grows up, and gets engaged to an eligible lawyer that her parents love. She finds out her first love built her dream house. She finds him and they rekindle their passionate feelings for each other. She’s torn between him and the lawyer. Who will she choose?

For fans of the 2004 movie, the biggest difference they’ll notice is that in the stage version, older Allie’s Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Noah’s devotion to his dementia-ridden wife, are shown from the start of Act 1. In the movie version, the dementia isn’t revealed until the end of the movie, where we realize that the old man reading the romantic story to the old woman in the senior home is actually her husband, that they are Allie and Noah, and that the notebook is Allie’s journal. It was one of the most painfully romantic plot twists in Hollywood movie history.

Choose Your Bias

Belarmino and Ramos as the young Allie-Noah were a delight, as I’ve watched them grow and keep getting better at their craft. They brought the right mix of naivety, playfulness, brashness, and passion of teenagers experiencing their first big love.

Though the stage version omits some of the film’s popular scenes, such as the one with the Ferris wheel and the one in a boat surrounded by hundreds of geese, they created a stage version of the kissing-in-the-rain scene. It looked like a tricky scene to traverse—with all that water to create the rain effect—but both Morissette and Mossman pulled it off, giving us that iconic poster moment.

I do have one gripe about the script: I feel like it didn’t give enough time for some of middle Noah and Allie’s scenes to cook—especially the reading of the letters that led to her final decision.

For those who can’t help but still think of Ryan Gosling when talking about The Notebook, don’t worry! There was no lack of ab-bearing heartthrob scenes with Ramos and Mossman as Noah, as well as with Lon, Allie’s lawyer fiancé and Noah’s temporary foil, played by Markki Stroem. Just like the film, you’ll realize that there’s actually nothing wrong with Lon. He’s neither villain nor red flag; he just wasn’t the one for Allie.

As an elder, MTV-generation millennial who came into the show thinking she would fall for the middle Allie-Noah pairing, I found myself favoring older Allie and Noah, played with depth by Vera and Legaspi.

In interviews (read mine at Spot.ph!), Legaspi shared that her own mother succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease. You can feel that in her character motivation of older Allie. She encapsulated the emotional ups and downs of the disease, from childlike wonder to erratic confusion. And while we had to wait until the final act to hear her sing her solo number, “I Know,” it was that moment that brought many of us to tears. (For your bawling needs, they sell boxes of The Notebook tissue at the official merch shop.)

Unlike the movie where they were secondary characters, in this stage version the older couple held the heart and soul of Allie and Noah. As Legaspi told me in my interview for Spot.ph (Watch it here!), you hardly see a romcom where there’s a great role for an older woman. I believe she found it in The Notebook, The Musical.

There are no wrong or right answers to the question of which pair of Allie-Noah you’ll like best in this musical. As someone who’s grieved longer than she’s loved, I’m with older Allie-Noah.

Seeing The Story In New Light

The major changes in the stage version are actually what makes the Allie-Noah love story more poignant for the current audience. Thanks to Brunstetter’s script and Polonio’s direction, we see more nuances in older Noah and Allie’s story and thought processes.

Allie’s dementia, which was only touched upon in the movie, is given more representation onstage. The audience is given ample time to empathize and learn about the struggles of Alzheimer’s rather than seeing it as just a plot twist.

While the Allies-Noahs drew us into the tragic-romantic plot of the story, the supporting cast (Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Allie’s Mom, Floyd Tena as Allie’s Dad, Omar Uddin as Johnny, Markki Stroem as Allie’s fiancé Lon, Kathleen Francisco as Nurse Joanna, Felicity Kyle Napuli as Sarah, Shaun Ocrisma as Fin, and Jillian Ita-as as Georgie) also added flavor to the story. Uddin was such a hoot, while Guevara Laforteza had a mic-drop moment that deserved the applause.

As for the indie-folk and pop musical score of Michaelson, each song shines and are interjected smoothly into the script, making them just as important in the storytelling as the spoken dialogue.

With a cast of powerful singers and actors, you can add a new roster of songs to your playlist of Broadway favorites. There’s Noah’s “Leave The Light On.” And of course, there’s Allie’s “My Days,” which showcases Morissette’s vocal prowess. While the number gave a standout performance and momentary reveal of the band, it felt more like a nod to Morissette as a concert star rather than Allie as a character. But it did make a crowd-pleasing moment.

All the Wonderful Shades of Blue

On top of the house framework that moved in and out of the stage, there was something so painterly about how the set came together with the wardrobe’s color palette. From the dominating shades of blue to the floral touches, they all added to the cohesive vibe of the show. I do hope they’ve ironed out the technical hiccups we had at the gala.

As a grief support and mental health advocate, the scene that made me cry the most was the ending. Instead of the straightforward, standard way of depicting death like the movie did, they went for something more poetic and symbolic. Without giving away too many details, the way they utilized one of the biggest props of the play for the ending, and the way all the characters took part in it, was the chef’s kiss. This Nicholas Sparks classic is definitely worth revisiting in its musical form.

The Notebook: The Musical runs until September 20, 2026 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. Tickets range from ₱900 to ₱5,500 plus tax and are available at Ticketworld. The show runs for approximately 2.5 hours with one intermission.

Cast: Sheena Belarmino as Young Allie, Benedix Ramos as Young Noah, Morissette as Middle Allie, Laurence Mossman as Middle Noah, Celeste Legaspi as Older Allie, Rody Vera as Older Noah, Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Allie’s Mom, Floyd Tena as Allie’s Dad, Omar Uddin as Johnny, Markki Stroem as Allie’s fiancé Lon, Kathleen Francisco as Nurse Joanna, Felicity Kyle Napuli as Sarah, Shaun Ocrisma as Fin, and Jillian Ita-as as Georgie.

Cover Cast: Justine Narciso (covering Young Allie and Sarah), Albert Silos (covering Young Noah and Fin), Katrine Sunga (covering Middle Allie, Nurse Joanna/Concierge, and Georgie), Edward Benosa (covering Middle Noah, Lon/Nurse Tyler, and Johnny), Gimbey Dela Cruz (covering Older Allie and Mother/Nurse Lori) and Jamie Wilson (covering Older Noah and Father/Son).

Photos by Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo, courtesy of Theatre Group Asia