[rating=5] Often I am tempted to add another rating system to plays using tissues. There are many plays, musical and non-musicals that are at least a 2 or 3 tissue type of show. “The Notebook” a New Musical, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks and the 2004 movie (screenplay by Jan Sardi and Jeremy Leven) is indeed a five tissue play. I found myself needing two in the first act and three in the second and luckily for me, the lady sitting next to me had read the novel and seen the movie, thus carrying a full box of tissues in her purse.

This story is about as pure a love story as one can imagine. We start off with a major  musical number “Time” which kind of sets us up for a story that will tear at your heart in so many ways. We meet an elder man, Noah ( played by  Jerome Harmann Hardemann, who appears to be the understudy for John Beasley, but is wonderful in every way). He is reading to an older lady, Allie ( deftly handled by Maryann Plunkett). He has an old book ( a sort of notebook) from which he is reading. We find out as the story progresses that this is “their” story and they are indeed a married couple. In fact, they are the story that we are seeing. Noah and Allie are the young lovers who meet and fall in love.

During the play, we meet these characters at three different phases of their lives. At the outset, Older Allie ( I guess Older Allie is the best way to describe her) is having medical assistance and therapy. She has dementia and Older Noah is reading from the notebook in hopes that she will remember him allowing them to be together again. The story has many of the ups and downs of a Hallmark TV film. As we take that ride, we fall in love with the lovers ( at all the stages) and see the hidden meaning behind some of the reasons they were kept apart.

I have not read the book and certainly did not see the film ( it did have a great cast) but my “tissue lady” said the musical follows it fairly close. I will not divulge the ending but will tell you that the full house audience was on their feet quickly. This was in some ways the perfect love story with the absolute best ending it could have ( thus the tissues).

Directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams on a wonderful set by David Zinn and Brett Banakis, this is a masterpiece . In many ways, it could be considered a chamber piece. The music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson are designed to propel the story. The book by Bekah Brunstetter evidently follows the original but with the modifications needed to create it as a musical. Every detail of this production from the costumes (Paloma Young) to the special effect ( it rains on stage. The lighting (Ben Stanton) and sound (Nevin Steinberg), as well as the hair and wigs (Mia Neal) and of course the choreography (Katie Spellman) all fit to make this a total picture for us to see.

The ensemble of players is also what makes a piece like this take one’s breath away. The other two Allie’s ( young Jordan Tyson is amazing) and middle (Joy Woods is sheer perfection) along with their mates, Young Noah (the fabulous John Cardoza) and middle (Ryan Vasquez is a standout) along with the other cast  members, who take on several roles are as follows: Liam Oh, Sophie Madorsky, Omar Lopez-Cepero, Dorcas Leung, Andrea Burns, Yassmin Alers and Johnathan Butler-Duplessis. As I have stated over and over again “the ensemble makes a show work”. This one is superb! I will not divulge the ending, but will tell you that you will love it!

You will probably not leave the theater humming any of the songs as they are part of the storytelling process, but you will love “Leave The Light On”, “If This Is Love”, “Kiss Me”, “Home” ( this ends the first act with a bang) and in the second act “My Days” ( Ms Woods rocked the theater with this one.

This is a World Premiere and one that I think will end up going to New York. How luck are we in Chicago to have a producer like Kevin McCollum appreciate the Chicago audience enough to bring his shows here before New York. and how fortunate are we that the staff at Chicago Shakespeare Theater loves bringing us new and exciting theater. Bravo.

” The Notebook” will continue thru – Oct 30th,  with performances as follows: