Nicholas Polonio on bringing heart and heritage to the stage by helming ‘The Notebook the Musical’

When Theatre Group Asia’s overall artistic and creative director Clint Ramos approached Polonio to direct the international stage premiere of The Notebook the Musical at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, the opportunity felt like a dream alignment of material, place and timing.

“I’ve always wanted to come to work in the Philippines ever since I started doing theatre,” Polonio shares. “To me, the audience that you all have here is the most exciting musical theatre audience in the world—how tasteful, rigorous, collaborative and how much point of view people have. So it is really who I am excited to speak to, work with and tell these stories about.”

Based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling 1996 novel and the iconic 2004 film adaptation, The Notebook the Musical features a score by indie-pop singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and a Tony-nominated book by Bekah Brunstetter. The musical expands the traditional narrative by splitting the central characters, Allie and Noah, across three distinct age tracks: Young, Middle and Older.

For Polonio, adapting a story with such massive cultural expectations is not an obstacle, but a welcome artistic challenge. “One of my favourite things about theatre, and musical theatre specifically, is how much adaptation from larger stories, movies or books has been there from the beginning,” Polonio explains. “It is amazing to deal with an audience that has expectations coming in and already has a relationship to the material. What Bekah Brunstetter was able to do—keeping basically everything that takes place in the book and the movie, yet rebuilding it around these three tracks instead of two—gives a balance to it in a really exciting way.”

Crucially, Polonio emphasises that this Manila production of The Notebook the Musical is not a carbon copy of the Broadway staging. “To be clear, this is not a replicated production whatsoever,” Polonio clarifies. “I don’t think there will be any staging in this that looks like the Broadway production. That was part of the big excitement to me: not only getting to make a new production, but getting to make a new production where there is only one piece of precedent to it. My aesthetic, sense of stage, sense of storytelling and my relationship towards the movie and the book are quite different.”

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In conceptualising the show’s visual and emotional landscape, Polonio and his design team drew inspiration from mid-century romantic musicals and traditional, handmade theatricality. Rather than relying heavily on stark modern minimalism, the production leans into evocative, painted environments reminiscent of classic American staging, citing productions like The Bridges of Madison County as a reference point for physical craft. The setting also holds a personal connection for Polonio, who spent his high school years in North Carolina—the setting of Sparks’ original novel.

“A lot of the inspiration for the design comes from out-of-date North Carolina from my time there,” Polonio says. “We wanted to create a version of North Carolina that feels expansive and express it almost expressionistically. We talk about how in New York they often write musicals that take place far away and build these fantastical worlds to transport an audience. I am excited to bring those locations onto the stage and deliver that same cinematic experience for people who are coming expecting The Notebook.”

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Polonio was also drawn to the story’s underlying exploration of social class and choice. In examining Allie’s decision between Noah and her wealthy fiancé Lon, Polonio wanted to lean into the radical nature of her romance with Noah.

“It is a story about class in many ways,” he notes. “What does it mean to choose Noah? Making Noah a more radical choice as a partner, and then showing what that life would have been like through the older characters, was very exciting to explore.”

Central to the Manila production of The Notebook the Musical is an all-Filipino multigenerational cast that unites seasoned stage icons with contemporary vocal powerhouses. Leading the story as Older Allie and Older Noah are Philippine cultural titan Celeste Legaspi and acclaimed playwright-actor Rody Vera.

“Celeste and Rody are the leads of the show in so many ways,” Polonio observes. “The story bursts through the memory care facility, but it is them, taking place on the last days of their life. Older Allie is an incredibly difficult role because you are playing this descent into dementia, but you are still her. Celeste brings such a deeply rooted heart and openness where she takes us there immediately.”

Polonio highlights Older Allie’s solo, I Know, as one of the emotional peaks of the entire score. Written by Ingrid Michaelson as a foundational piece for the show, the song functions as a poignant 11 o’clock number. “It feels very much at the heart of the show to me, and I am very excited to share what we have put together for that number,” he adds.

The middle track features pop superstar Morissette as Middle Allie opposite London-based international performer Laurence Mossman as Middle Noah.

“Morissette’s voice is incredible for what Ingrid Michaelson wrote for Middle Allie, but I also love her sense of humour,” Polonio praises. “Middle Allie is facing an identity crisis, deciding whether or not to stay with Noah. Morissette brings both stunning vocals and a lightness to that conflict. Laurence, with his classically trained voice, brings a sense of history, stillness and unwavering resolve that grounds the entire middle section.”

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Completing the trio of couples are rising talents Sheena Belarmino as Young Allie and Benedix Ramos as Young Noah, supported by a veteran ensemble that includes Carla Guevara Laforteza and Markki Stroem.

“Benedix and Sheena capture that whirlwind summer romance with so much playfulness and charm,” Polonio says. “And our supporting cast functions almost like a Greek chorus of real, fleshed-out characters from their lives. The detail and reality of the main relationship come directly from how detailed and real the characters around them are.”

For Polonio, the directorial process is inherently collaborative and actor-driven. Having spent weeks researching the local theatre scene prior to rehearsals, he approaches the rehearsal hall as a space to empower performers to bring their authentic selves to the text.

“To me, how to direct is essentially finding the most talented artists you can find who have chemistry as a group, and then setting up the conditions for them to do the best work of their lives,” Polonio shares. “I want artists to walk away feeling like they see themselves more in their work when working with me. Every single person on that stage should feel ownership and self-expression in what they are being asked to do.”

As rehearsals get underway in Manila, Polonio hopes the production offers audiences more than just a nostalgic night out.

“I want audiences to feel grateful that they are alive,” Polonio reflects. “I want them to identify what they feel love for, or who they feel loves them, and to call that person. The most radical thing about this story is the idea that the meaning of your life can be one other person, and that that is enough. If you can communicate that, what an audience walks away with is a simple gratitude that we get to spend this life as a species that can experience a feeling so complicated and real.”

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