Original Broadway Cast Recording of ‘The Notebook’ Musical Is Coming Via Atlantic Records

When performances of the new Broadway musical The Notebook begin Thursday (March 14), the team behind the show based on the beloved Nicholas Sparks novel (which itself became a now-classic film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) will have something else big to celebrate, too. Billboard can exclusively announce that Atlantic Records will release The Notebook (Original Broadway Cast Recording) on April 19.

The show, with a score by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, is the latest addition to Atlantic’s extensive catalog of original Broadway cast recordings, which includes Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen and Jagged Little Pill. “I saw The Notebook during its out-of-town run in Chicago in late 2022 and was blown away by how good it was,” Atlantic’s president A&R Pete Ganbarg tells Billboard. “The adaptation from page to screen to stage felt flawless. We’ve always been fans of Ingrid’s writing and her songs really connected for us in the context of the story.”

The show marks Michaelson’s Broadway debut as a composer (she briefly starred in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 in 2017).

The Notebook also marks the Broadway lead producer debut of Kurt Deutsch, senior vice president of Warner Music Entertainment and Theatrical Ventures. Deutsch, who produced the cast album, is a veteran of cast recordings, having produced them for 25 years as the founder of Ghostlight Records (originally an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records), which aimed “to bridge the gap between pop/rock music and theater,” and tells Billboard that The Notebook continues his focus at WMG “to create, develop and invest in new and exciting musical properties, whether they be theater, film or TV.”

In September, Michaelson told Billboard working on The Notebook had been “one of the most collaborative and exciting creative experiences of my life,” and that the story had always felt like a natural one to be told in a musical theater context. “You can make that material magical, and that means you can make it theatrical — and magic and suspending disbelief always leads to musical moments in my opinion.”

The Notebook (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is available for pre-order. In the meantime, Billboard exclusively shares this video of Ryan Vasquez, who plays the character of Middle Noah, and the cast performing “Leave the Light On” from the show.