Cover Morissette as Middle Allie, Sheena Belarmino as Younger Allie, Celeste Legaspi as Older Allie in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
Morissette as Middle Allie, Sheena Belarmino as Younger Allie, Celeste Legaspi as Older Allie in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
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Presented by Theatre Group Asia at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, the international premiere of ‘The Notebook: The Musical’ transforms a cherished love story into a panoramic, emotionally resonant masterpiece of stagecraft
As Theatre Group Asia (TGA) mounts the international premiere of The Notebook The Musical at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati, it achieves something far more significant than a faithful restaging of a Broadway property. Under the direction of Nicholas Polonio and overall creative director Clint Ramos, this licensed production reimagines the narrative landscape of Nicholas Sparks’s iconic novel and its beloved screen adaptation. By maximising the sweeping width of the venue’s stage with panoramic visual design and gradient colour-driven horizons, TGA delivers a theatrical experience that breathes with distinct artistic independence.
Read more: Nicholas Polonio on bringing heart and heritage to the stage by helming ‘The Notebook the Musical’
Above Sheena Belarmino as Younger Allie and Benedix Ramos as Younger Noah in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
Sheena Belarmino as Younger Allie and Benedix Ramos as Younger Noah in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
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Unlike the Broadway staging, TGA’s production of The Notebook employs a minimalist and more focused scenic philosophy. Production designer Miguel Urbino and lighting designer Cha See utilise the expansive characteristic of the Samsung Performing Arts Theater stage to create panoramic compositions that frame each chapter of Allie and Noah’s lives. Gradient backdrops of sky—shifting through delicate atmospheric hues—and precise architectural lighting establish a sense of spatial freedom. This open visual layout allows singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson’s score and librettist Bekah Brunstetter’s Tony-nominated book to unfold with cinematic grandeur while preserving an intimate, domestic core.
Central to the emotional weight of The Notebook The Musical is the physical and vocal cohesiveness of its cast portraying characters across three eras of the two protagonists’ lives. Rather than feeling like separate actors playing isolated chapters, Young Allie (Sheena Belarmino), Middle Allie (Morissette) and Older Allie (Celeste Legaspi) share a unified physical vocabulary. A subtle, guttural laugh echoes naturally across all three performers, binding their portrayals into a singular identity. Similarly, Young Noah (Benedix Ramos), Middle Noah (Laurence Mossman) and Older Noah (Rody Vera) mirror each other through physical motifs—a distinct slouch in moments of contemplation, or a frantic, expressive tension in the hands when emotion overwhelms speech.
Above Morissette as Middle Allie and Laurence Mossman as Middle Noah in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
Morissette as Middle Allie and Laurence Mossman as Middle Noah in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
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This generational continuity is heightened by the decision to keep Older Allie and Older Noah onstage throughout the entire performance of Act One, setting the entire space within the quiet confines of a residential care home. Remaining visible on the side during flashback sequences allows the veteran actors to serve as living witnesses to their past selves. As Vera reflects, remaining onstage provides an essential anchor for characterisation: “There is a scene in Act Two that we echo the juxtaposed blocking made by the Allies in I Wanna Go Back. So it gets a lot more emotional, actually, for me to see my younger self and him to imagine his older self.”
While audiences anticipate the sweeping romantic peaks—such as the iconic rain-drenched reunion—the true dramatic power of The Notebook lies within its quiet, interstitial moments. In the silence between conversations, as Noah and Allie face agonising choices for love’s sake across different periods in their lives, the tension on stage palpably rises. The audience’s collective breath, marked by hushed sobs and spontaneous laughter at precisely calibrated beats, reflects the ensemble’s ability to project deep narrative truth purely through text and physical presence.
Read more: Catharsis and chemistry: finding the Filipino heart in ‘The Notebook The Musical’
Above Rody Vera as Older Noah and Celeste Legaspi as Older Allie in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
Rody Vera as Older Noah and Celeste Legaspi as Older Allie in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
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Musically, the production delivers remarkable vocal highlights for almost all of its cast members, which build systematically toward an overwhelming emotional climax. Morissette brings extraordinary vocal control and vulnerability to Middle Allie, turning her solo number My Days into a triumphant, highly anticipated highlight. This is complemented by Carla Guevara-Laforteza’s masterclass in dual characterisation; as Allie’s class-conscious mother, Guevara-Laforteza initially introduces melodic phrases almost in jest, before joining Morissette in a poignant duet that fills the auditorium with parental assurance and protective love.
The buildup to Older Allie’s musical moment makes the wait entirely worthwhile. Philippine cultural icon Celeste Legaspi performs her single song in the musical, I Know, with a devastating clarity that captures both the tragic haze of Alzheimer’s disease and the unshakeable core of her devotion.
Above Morissette as Middle Allie in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
Morissette as Middle Allie in ‘The Notebook The Musical’ (Photo: Jyllan Bitalac and Sherie Bolo / courtesy of Theatre Group Asia)
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Yet, it is the show’s final anthem that lifts The Notebook into another realm entirely. As the full cast gathers on the panoramic stage, their voices unite in a sweeping chorus—an anthem celebrating love, overcoming grief and embracing a life defined by its intricate balance of sadness and joy.
By pairing meticulous acting choices with panoramic visual direction, Theatre Group Asia’s production of The Notebook The Musical proves that a licensed international premiere can offer a definitive, world-class artistic statement.
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Franz writes about the local cultural scene and rediscovering the country’s storied past and rich heritage. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Art Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Besides working on this luxury lifestyle magazine, Franz is an avid book reader, local traveller, museum-goer, chorister, and community theatre playwright. But above all this, this Aether main spends more time in Teyvat than anywhere else.
