Kerry Reid — Theater Critic

If you’re allergic to romance, then this may not be your show. But The Notebook faithfully (but not dutifully) illuminates the original story, and the acting is first-rate. Gravitte is particularly fine as an older man desperately trying to hang onto the woman around whom he built his world as she slips further offshore every day. But the connections among the younger, middle, and older versions of the Noahs and Allies are clear and believable, making it easier to invest in what happens to them.

But the musical flattens the story’s ironies and paradoxes into a standard-issue tragic romance, one that doesn’t do justice to either Jay or Daisy, despite charismatic performances from Jake David Smith and Senzel Ahmady, respectively. The songs, oddly lacking in period influences, have a certain kind of sameness to them, and though the costumes by Linda Cho and the scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III burst with glamour and color, it all feels overproduced—like a Roaring Twenties theme party crossed with a Las Vegas extravaganza.

But the musical flattens the story’s ironies and paradoxes into a standard-issue tragic romance, one that doesn’t do justice to either Jay or Daisy, despite charismatic performances from Jake David Smith and Senzel Ahmady, respectively. The songs, oddly lacking in period influences, have a certain kind of sameness to them, and though the costumes by Linda Cho and the scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III burst with glamour and color, it all feels overproduced—like a Roaring Twenties theme party crossed with a Las Vegas extravaganza.

So there is a little bit of a paint-by-numbers quality to the way Diaz structures the story. (Though arguably, many artists have similar stories of early love, figuring out who they are in relationship to their parents, and a beloved mentor who shows up just when they need them most.) Yet the moments of raw emotionality and joy underpinning the show generally carry us through, thanks in no small part to Camille A. Brown’s terrific choreography and the tear-the-roof-off vocals provided by Drake and Caughell.

There are some brilliant visual interludes here involving kite imagery and the juxtaposition of Kabul streetscapes with San Francisco. (Credit to the combined efforts of scenic designer Barney George, lighting designer Charles Balfour, and projection designer William Simpson). The percussion accompaniment (especially as performed by tabla artist Salar Nader; Jonathan Girling is credited as composer and music supervisor) creates an often hypnotic soundscape, aided by the sound design of Drew Baumohl, that moves us from dream to nightmare.