Bekah Brunstetter on Bringing 'The Notebook' to the Broadway Stage: "It's Really Gratifying"

2 years ago

Broadway's 'The Notebook' writer Bekah Brunstetter chats with THR on the carpet for the 2024 Tony Awards and shares her experience bringing 'The Notebook' to the stage and her first-hand experiences with dementia.

Transcript

00:00Congratulations on your Tony nomination. Where were you when you found out about the nomination?

00:03I was in bed because I live in LA, so it was 5 30 in the morning. So I was trying to

00:11not care, you know, and sleep, but I shot out of bed at 5 30. Like,

00:16you know, I've been wondering, you know, you get you get anxious about it. So I was like asleep,

00:21and then was able to like share the moment with my husband. It was really special.

00:26Yeah. What was your experience in bringing the notebook to the stage? And what inspired you to

00:31do so? Well, um, I just love the story. There's a lot of dimension in my family. I've seen

00:38firsthand what it's like to lose someone to it. And I just an opportunity to kind of honor the

00:45truth of what's nasty about the disease, but also provide a little hope and uplift

00:49for people who are going through it, people who are experiencing it with their own family members.

00:54So I was just instantly drawn to it. And it's been really, really gratifying because it's such

01:01a universal story. And it's really, it's really special when you get to write one thing that

01:07appeals to so many people. That's always like, a really, really good feeling.

01:12And also the music Ingrid Michaelson's music lyrics is just incredible. What was your experience

01:17like working with her and and her kind of coming on board for this?

01:20Well, she started it. She's she I came on after her and she had already written about five songs.

01:24And that's what made me want to do it was her. I was kind of like, I think I want to do this. I

01:28think it'd be a beautiful musical. But then as soon as I heard her music, I knew I I had to be

01:32involved because it just like took my breath away. And we've become family, you know, it's been

01:37working on eight years. And now she's we're here together tonight. And she's my sister, you know,

01:43that and she will be forever. And I love that, like, it's almost the best part of this whole

01:48thing is like, finding her as a collaborator. And we will be making many more things together.

01:53And we're excited about that. Excited and also to nominations for Dorian and Marianne.

01:58How exciting is that? And also bringing together all of the Noah's and Ali's on stage?

02:03Yeah, it's I mean, Dorian, Dorian and Marianne being nominated is so special, because we always

02:09wanted to highlight the older characters with the show. So the fact that they got nominated

02:14just confirms that we did that, that they really, like, you know, are a big part of the show. And

02:22it's important to me that that older people see themselves in the show and feel honored and feel

02:28heard. So that's really cool. Yeah. And finally, what is your favorite production on or off Broadway

02:33right now outside of your own, of course? Oh, my gosh, I love the Outsiders. I loved it. I loved

02:40it. That the thing that everyone's talking about that rumble scene in Act Two is my new like,

02:44David Cromer, Our Town best theater moment ever moment. Yeah, so good.

Bekah Brunstetter on Bringing 'The Notebook' to the Broadway Stage: "It's Really Gratifying" | THR Video

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended