This film adaptation of the novel by Nicholas Sparks tells the love story of Noah Calhoun, a poor boy, and Allie Hamilton, a wealthy girl, told by an elderly narrator who reads the story to his elderly wife, who has Alzheimer's disease. It turns out that these two are the young couple in the story. That passion was thwarted by meddling parents.
On stage, the multicultural trio of Noah and Ally has been adapted for various stages, and inflation has also occurred on Broadway. So at one point, six of her characters will be on stage representing the central couple, creating a somewhat diffuse effect. Fortunately, the boy is wearing brown clothes, and the girl is wearing blue clothes, like in kindergarten. If a Broadway musical requires color cues to differentiate the cast, that's a bad sign.
Directors Michael Greif and Cher Williams and choreographer Katie Spellman seem to complicate the visuals by rushing everyone in a breathless whirlpool, effectively making Love Really Want to Run. It's like saying it's a thing.
The older couple (Marian Plunkett and Dorian Harewood) rarely leave the stage, hanging around oddly to observe their younger selves, and the older Noah, perhaps to evoke memories of his wife. I was reading my notes. This effect is also used in Neil Diamond musicals, creating an eerie, focused, and complex scene.
The film's chronology is broken, but it's a welcome idea, allowing time to be manipulated and scenes to dissolve and overlap, perfect for a musical about Alzheimer's disease. But that opportunity was squandered, replaced by songs like “Fridge Iron” and the eerie lyrics “Is it dinner time?/Is it time for eternity?”
Credit the screenwriters for not copying Gosling and Rachel McAdams' most visually appealing parts of the movie: hanging from a Ferris wheel, lying on the road, riding a boat with geese. But by adding a new health crisis, introducing a jaded physical therapist as comic relief, and using the horrifying metaphor that “sea turtles return to the same nesting grounds they were born in”, the film shows a certain sense of desperation. .
You'd better believe the film's glossy rain scene made it onto the stage — the couple also performs the now-famous clinch several times. Unfortunately, there's a lot more musical after this – including some deaths, which left many in the audience sobbing at a recent preview. Maybe they were just angry that everything was so bad.
Michelson nails a few songs, including “Leave the Light On,” “If This Is Love,” and the wonderfully comedic “Forever,” but there are about 20 songs, most of which gets stuck in your head during the song. A true belter, “My Days'' by the excellent Joy Woods is a welcome respite, but it feels like another musical.
With a multicultural cast, the setting changes from the 1930s and 40s to the 60s and 70s (just look at Diane von Furstenberg's wrap dress), with scenes ranging from South Carolina to ” The stage was changed to “. -Atlantic”, robbing you of specificity.
Perhaps that's why the landscape work by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis is so strange. This is the first combined hospital and boat dock design seen on Broadway in a long time, and hopefully the last. There are real pools of water, and the occasional pilon or boat hull juxtaposed with neon exit signs and cold hospital decor.
Such jarring touches overshadow a nice attempt to show the evolution of the renovated old house, Noah's goal to win Allie back. It is first referenced in the abstract – a window here, a porch there – and is finally integrated into reality when she calls it home. Like a sea turtle.
Lighting designer Ben Stanton tried to bridge the gap between office fluorescent lights and stars by hanging neon tubes vertically, but he failed. Adding extra charm to the show is the sound effect of a ticking clock. Don't rush back from the bar, because the chaotic finale of the first act leads to the unwelcome sight of the second act, which begins with a comatose patient.
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