Dayton native directs ‘The Notebook’ Broadway tour in Cincinnati

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Dayton native Schele Williams, the production’s co-director, was immediately drawn to the material. The Colonel White High School graduate and daughter of Ohio Players drummer James “Diamond” Williams said the subject matter hit close to home.

“My mom is living with Alzheimer’s,” Williams said. “So, when I read the piece, it really hit me because this is not something people often talk about. When this is happening inside your family, it’s a really difficult thing to share. My parents have been married for over 50 years and are high school sweethearts. They’re Allie and Noah. So, I connected with it on a deeply personal level.”

Credit: Photo by Amelia Robinson

Credit: Photo by Amelia Robinson

Artistically “The Notebook” provided a chance for her to explore the depth within Allie, whose life is filled with joy, heartache, complexity and compassion.

“I thought here is an opportunity to really examine a life in which you make bold choices about your life and you are determining every moment of what your future will be and knowing at the end of your days you can say you have lived a life on your terms and it’s a life well lived,” Williams said. “Inside this person who is ever-changing, just as we all are, the soul is still the same. No matter how your body changes or what your afflictions are, the 17-year-old that wants, loves, dreams and has goals is still inside you.”

Color-conscious casting

“The Notebook” was immortalized on film in 2004 starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. In the musical version, which smoothly shifts the action to the late 1960s, late 1970s and the present, Allie and Noah are depicted at different ages (younger, middle, older) within the lens of diversity.

Being able to collaborate on work that visually reshaped the story greatly enticed Williams, who shares directing credit with five-time Tony nominee Michael Greif (“Rent,” “Dear Evan Hansen”).

“It was always Bekah and Ingrid’s conceit to make the show the most universal as possible,” she said. “The idea of having three Allies and three Noahs, and creating opportunities to expand the races of these characters, was part of their original conceit. Michael and I came into the show with those considerations. Instead of it being color-blind it was actually color-conscious in every way.”

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

On Broadway, the casting reflected a refreshingly unique, color-conscious fluidity (Dayton native Dorian Harewood received a Tony nomination as Older Noah) which left some theatergoers confused and detached. The tour is more straightforward in terms of interracial clarity.

“The conceit of theater allows your imagination to grow but for some reason inside ‘The Notebook’ (on Broadway), although the characters were named Allie and the (actresses) were wearing the same color palette, people were really arrested by the idea that somehow something else was happening,” Williams explained. “We did not want anything to be a barrier of entry or cause pause for people to just get inside the story so we made a conscious decision on the tour to create an easier path to understanding these three women are all the same and these three men are all the same. As audiences watch the show, we hope they are inside the beautiful spirits of these characters.”

Outstanding performances

The six outstanding principals portraying Allie and Noah are uniformly expressive, emotionally bonded and vocally strong.

As Younger Allie and Younger Noah, Chloë Cheers and Kyle Mangold vibrantly succeed in establishing the pivotal passion essential to the couple’s long-term romance, which notably resonates with finesse in the gorgeously introspective ballad “Kiss Me.” It’s also great to see the energetic, incredibly charming Mangold make his national tour debut here having memorably starred locally as Tom Jones in the Human Race Theatre Company’s 2023 world premiere of “This is Tom Jones!”

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Alysha Deslorieux and Ken Wulf Clark winningly navigate the curiosity and regret percolating throughout Middle Allie and Middle Noah. Deslorieux marvelously explores Middle Allie’s conflictions, inquisitiveness and determination, ultimately turning her soaring rendition of “My Days” into a life-affirming epiphany. She also joins Cheers for the moving duet “I Wanna Go Back,” a hallmark of Michaelson’s luminous score capturing Older Allie’s inner thoughts including “I’m in love with all the things that I forget.”

As Older Allie and Older Noah, Sharon Catherine Brown and Beau Gravitte excellently ground the show in heartbreaking truth. Brown dynamically conveys the volatility of Alzheimer’s with anger, fear and humor, and the laid-back Gravitte is an unwavering tower of commitment and loyalty.

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Williams, whose extensive career includes the Broadway productions of “Rent,” “Aida” and “Motown: The Musical” in addition to the 2024 Broadway revival of “The Wiz” which will have its regional premiere at the Schuster Center in Dayton in November, hopes this adaptation of “The Notebook” captivates audiences for years to come as it elevates connection and humanity.

“No matter how different we may be depending on who we are, what our economic status is or what our political beliefs are, when it comes down to the most basic elements — want, loss, love of a parent, a disease like Alzheimer’s — we are so interconnected,” she said. “When a story like this allows us to see each other’s humanity — to see the way we are connected on the most real and necessary levels —theater is doing its job.”

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Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Credit: Roger Mastroianni