Love That Endures: The Notebook Opens at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre with Heart and Hope; Interview with Chloe Cheers
Grab your tissues and your loved ones because The Notebook is well into its first national tour and opening tonight at the stunning Paramount Theatre. The three time 2024 Tony Award nominee is making its way across the country, bringing a slice of sadness, joy, and everything in between to theater lovers everywhere. There is always electricity in the air on opening night, but this one feels deeply personal to me. The Notebook has long been my favorite romantic love story. It is the film I return to when I need to feel something deeply. I know every scene, every swell of music, every heartbreaking line, and still I watch it with tissues in hand. I quote it. I cry before the emotional scenes even begin because I know what is coming. It has always been more than a movie to me. It is a reminder that love, even imperfect love, can endure.
The music by Ingrid Michaelson adds another layer of vulnerability and warmth to the story. Her score gives voice to longing, hope, heartbreak, and devotion in a way that feels both contemporary and timeless. The production runs two hours and twenty minutes including one intermission, and every minute is spent investing in the journey of these two people who choose each other again and again despite the odds.
Chloe Cheers brings both reverence and freshness to the role of Young Allie. Growing up in New York City in a theatrical family filled with singers and storytellers, performing was always part of her world. She booked her first professional show at fourteen at the Goodspeed Opera House and performing eight shows a week shifted her perspective from hobby to calling. She trained at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and spent summers at the conservatory at Paper Mill Playhouse. Being named a finalist with the National YoungArts Foundation further shaped her discipline and artistry.
In our interview she shared that playing Allie is truly a dream come true. As a young Black woman stepping into an ingenue role once portrayed on screen by Rachel McAdams, she understands how meaningful representation can be. Representation matters, she said, and seeing her bring both sweetness and strength to the role makes that statement ring true.
Her Young Allie is playful on the surface but fierce underneath. She is discovering first love while also discovering her own voice. Meeting Noah challenges her to step outside of expectations and trust her heart. There is innocence in her performance but also a spark of independence that feels authentic and grounded.
