The author of the The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks, has recently announced that his novel which claimed its spot as the contemporary ideal love story when it was adapted for film, is now coming to Broadway. The Notebook follows two young adults who come from different worlds and backgrounds, but fall in love regardless. It was the tear jerking romance of our generation when it came out in 2004. To keep the city relevant, he revealed that the setting will be altered to take place in Manhattan. Casting is going to be difficult considering actors will have big shoes to fill, namely Rachel McAdams’ and Ryan Gosling’s.
As popular as this love story is, it’s hard to imagine the show retaining the same level of profoundness as the movie if the actors are going to be dancing and singing about the stage. Imagine the famous “I wrote you everyday” scene set to a swooning orchestra instead of the pitter-patter of rain. That’s not to say that there haven’t been romantic dramas that retained seriousness once they enter the world of Broadway. But, sometimes it’s not always better to have a soundtrack to everything. Maybe the revamping of this classic love story will sit well with the elements of a musical or maybe some things should be left alone in their greatness. Perhaps, the phrase “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” applies. It will not be known until critics get their seats to the much anticipated show which has not a release date yet.
I definitely agree that there is a limit to what can be brought to Broadway. Not every story has the right characters or re-creatable scenes for a successful musical or play. Some stories, like The Notebook perhaps, will not have the ability to maintain seriousness in a Broadway show. But then I thought about Memphis, and I realized that it was a musical with an overall serious plot about discrimination and love despite hardships. In this way, Memphis and The Notebook are very similar. So why should there be so much criticism? A successful performance based off The Notebook is not impossible.
I understand that fans of The Notebook prior to the Broadway musical may have high expectations which is the result of the criticism, but that is why the key to this production will be that it is an adaptation. Because the story may not be perfect for music, some things may have to change and everyone should keep an open mind. There are actually a lot more shows coming out aside from The Notebook that may spark criticism, like Austin Powers and even Rocky! Check out this article: http://theweek.com/article/index/222627/the-notebook-and-5-other-films-bizarrely-slated-to-become-broadway-musicals.
This brings to mind the novel we read before entering the semester – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It is coming to theaters soon and the anticipation is increasing. Will the movie live up to the novel or will it fail as many other movies have failed in portraying excellent novels? Can literature always be turned into visual images? Can a movie do a story justice when leaving out so many details? I would answer those questions with a big fat NO. Movies and literature are two separate worlds, in my opinion. They can sometimes be combined but that takes real talent. We saw a similar situation between different media when we first saw a movie and then the opera (Don Giovanni). The opera was much better and much more engaging. There should be limits between what can be turned into what, simply because we don’t want something great to be turned into something lousy.
I disagree with Monika’s comment. I don’t think there should be a limit as to what is adapted. Yes, some adaptations are horrible. For example, being the crazed Twilight fan that I am, I found the movie adaptation of the first book of the Saga to be absolutely dreadful (as did most people). However, I believe that all art is an adaptation of something else, whether it be adapting something from real life or older art. I think it’s pretty much inevitable! I completely agree that maybe we should be more careful in how we adapt something, but in the end, we have accept that that’s how it’s going to be.
In this case, I’m curious to see how The Notebook will be adapted on Broadway. Being that it is an “ultimate” love story, I don’t think that it’s going to turn out horrible. I think what people tend to forget, is that not all Broadway musicals are “happy-go-lucky.” Like Rosie mentioned, “Memphis,” is able to portray something extremely powerful while still being a musical. Another example is the musical, “Next to Normal,” which unfortunately is not running on Broadway anymore, but had a great run! The storyline follows a woman suffering from bipolar disorder who hasn’t accepted that her son has passed away. It was extremely emotional and I was sobbing throughout a lot of the show (I have to admit I was especially emotional because some of the scenes reminded me of when my mother was being treated after suffering from a stroke). It was able to emotionally touch me, while having a great storyline, acting, choreography, and music. With all that said, I would like to agree with Rosie and say that it is very possible that this could be a success.
Here’s an article about Next to Normal. I recommend everyone to listen to the music and try to find a film recording of it. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=next%20to%20normal&source=web&cd=4&sqi=2&ved=0CFEQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheater.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F04%2F16%2Ftheater%2Freviews%2F16norm.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall&ei=7sDvTsb8E6T00gHP4KC9CQ&usg=AFQjCNFC8z2n0qdkUPRGbAO9zZwUUbc_Cg