Whether on page, screen or stage, ‘The Notebook’ shows that love always prevails

When preparing for this interview on the nationally touring Broadway adaptation of “The Notebook,” I felt like I was at a disadvantage as I had never read the Nicholas Sparks book of the same name on which the musical was based or seen the wildly popular movie adaptation, starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling.

It turns out, I had nothing to worry about, as Beau Gravitte, starring as Older Noah in “The Notebook,” walked into the audition having not read or seen “The Notebook,” either.

He knew it was a romantic story, but that was about it.

Prior to his audition, he was sent a few pages of the script and realized, “This is pretty good writing.” Already nervous because he acts in more plays, TV shows and films than musicals, Gravitte became even more anxious after meeting Ingrid Michaelson, who wrote the music and lyrics, in the audition room.

“I wasn’t fully there until I met Ingrid,” he said. “I read for them, and then she stopped and gave me a note, and I went, ‘Oh, OK, I need to up my game. I either need to get out of this room or I need to step my game up right now,’ because she was bringing some real stuff. Her connection to this material was strong.”

So Gravitte stepped his game up and was called back to meet directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams, who asked him if he’d be interested in joining the touring cast. Gravitte has performed on and off-Broadway, but never in a national tour, so he was initially reluctant to leave his family for so long.

But ultimately the cast, crew and story of “The Notebook” won him over.

“They were so wonderful in the room there, and the material was really stunningly beautiful and seamless, very, very actable,” he said. “In all consciousness, I couldn’t say no, and I’m so glad I said yes.”

“The Notebook” opens with Noah (Gravitte) and his wife Allie (Sharon Catherine Brown) living in a retirement home. Allie, who has Alzheimer’s, finds it difficult to remember her husband or moments from her life.

To help her remember, Noah reads from a notebook, which tells the story of how Younger Allie (Chloe Cheers) and Younger Noah (Kyle Mangold) met as well as moments from a decade later, when Middle Allie (Alysha Deslorieux) and Middle Noah (Ken Wulf Clark) reconnect.

Audiences see these memories played out interspersed with scenes of Older Noah and Older Allie back in the retirement home.

The musical also features Anne Tolpegin, Connor Richardson, Jordi Bertán Ramírez, Nick Brogan, Jesse Corbin, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman, Rayna Hickman, Makena Jackson, Aaron Ramey, Shari Washington Rhone, Samatha Rios, Grace Ohwensadeyo Rundberg, Emily Somé and Joe Verga.

“The Notebook,” which opens Tuesday and runs through March 22 at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, features a book by Bekah Brunsetter and choreography by Katie Spelman.

Between Michaelson’s lyrics and Brunsetter’s script, Gravitte said it’s rare to get to work on material that is so well-crafted he doesn’t have to fill in the cracks. So many scripts, he said, make him think, “Here’s something that doesn’t make sense or doesn’t hold together,” which leads him to pull out his “actor tricks.” But not with “The Notebook.”

“I open the show and I’m there at the end of the show, and it’s like stepping into a river,” he said. “I just step in, and it takes me away, and then I find myself at the end of the show.”

Throughout the show, audiences see Noah and Allie at three stages in their lives. To ensure there were commonalities between Noah at each stage, Gravitte, Mangold and Clark worked on their characters together.

It turns out all three actors have had an issue with their right knee at some point, so they incorporated that limp as a throughline between the characters.

Gravitte, on stage for much of the show, also simply watched Mangold and Clark, picking up how one actor holds his head or another answers in a notable rhythm.

“Older Noah is looking back so he can see the younger Noah in the full flush of love and he can see the middle Noah in the center of consequential love, where big decisions are made that reverberate for the rest of your life,” he said. “Then the rest of your life is me. I live with the decisions and events that those younger people made, so we’re very aware.”

The decisions and events Younger and Middle Noah make center around their love for Allie.

Gravitte’s Older Noah becomes not just a husband, but also a caregiver for Allie as she lives with Alzheimer’s. After performances, he’s often approached by caregivers who share stories of their experience and compliments like, “You told the truth on stage tonight,” which he said is better than any critic’s review.

“It makes you feel like we’re doing something that has an immediate impact on the audience in a good way,” he said. “That is a rare thing to get that in our business, because you do your job, you take your bow at the end and you go home. So to have that response, I love that.”

But of course for Noah, at any age, his love for Allie transcends health struggles, diverting paths, people trying to interfere with their relationship, and all the other obstacles life throws their way.

And it’s the story of that kind of love, the kind that overcomes all adversity, that Gravitte believes makes “The Notebook,” whether on page, stage or screen, so beloved.

“If it’s there, it’s there,” he said. “And it finds a way. It’s lovely to see.”