Northeast Ohio native Aaron Ramey has been on five national tours but the North American tour of “The Notebook” is the first one he’s launching at Playhouse Square, in his hometown area.
In fact, the 49-year-old Solon native will be performing for the first time at Playhouse Square in the romantic musical “The Notebook,” which opens Sept. 6 and continues through Sept. 27 at the Connor Palace. He’s an offstage swing for the show who also understudies the role of Older Noah.
Aaron Ramsey
Ramey joined the latter end of the “South Pacific” tour at Playhouse Square in 2011 for rehearsal, so he didn’t perform on the Playhouse Square stage at that time. Now, as a swing in “The Notebook,” he also covers the role of Alile’s father, opposite Younger and Middle Allie, and covers the part of Older Noah’s son.
Ramey arrived in Northeast Ohio Aug. 25 to start tech rehearsals at the Connor Palace Aug. 26. The actor was happy to now be based at his mother’s family farm in West Farmington in Trumbull County, northwest of Warren, which has goats and chickens.
He’s staying there for about five weeks, through the 25-performance run of “The Notebook” in Cleveland. Once the tour starts traveling to 31 additional cities, Ramey’s mother, Linda Evans, will be watching Ramey’s two cats, Taco Marie Tuesday and Woody.
“She gets to spend the tour with her grandcats,” he said.
‘Notebook’ a homecoming for Ramey
The New York-based actor, who was born in Garfield Heights and grew up in Solon, graduated from Solon High School in 1994 before going on to study musical theater at Otterbein University.
“It’s really nice to be able to do a beautiful production like this in my hometown,” Ramey said of “The Notebook.”
The musical is based on the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks that inspired the film starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling as Allie and Noah. The story follows a couple from two different worlds who meet as teens but are pulled apart by multiple forces before their enduring love brings them back together.
“The Notebook” opened on Broadway in March 2024 and is now on its first tour. The musical portrays Allie and Noah at three points in their relationship, with the tour featuring Chloe Cheers and Kyle Mangold as Younger Allie and Younger Noah, Alysha Deslorieux and Ken Wulf Clark as Middle Allie and Middle Noah, and Sharon Catherine Brown and Beau Gravitte as Older Allie and Older Noah.
Aisha Jackson as Middle Allie and Ryan Vasquez as Middle Noah in the Broadway cast of “The Notebook.”
Ramey, who graduated early from Otterbein, moved straight to New York in 1997, where he’s lived ever since.
When he auditioned for “The Notebook,” he had seen the classic romance film. Ramey said he might read the original novel after the tour’s over.
In contrast with the film, “The Notebook” musical starts in the 1960s and ’70s, in the Vietnam era, as opposed to the 1940s World War II setting from the novel and film. The change in time period works well for the story’s major plot points, said Ramey, including Noah being drafted and the couple being separated.
“I think the part that is sort of smoothed over a little bit is that we do have a multiracial cast and that sort of setting in Maryland in the ’60s and ’70s kind of makes that a little bit easier, more realistic, that that would be possible in that area, in that time, rather than in the ’40s and ’50s,” Ramey said.
“I think that was a very intentional decision to demonstrate the universality of this story,” the actor said. “(For) everyone — regardless of color, ethnicity, where you’re from — love like this exists and that’s a really important part of the message of the show.”
From the original Broadway company, from left, John Cardoza (Younger Noah) and Jordan Tyson (Younger Allie), Ryan Vasquez (Middle Noah) and Joy Woods (Middle Allie) and Dorian Harewood (Older Noah) and Maryann Plunkett (Older Allie) from “The Notebook.”
Timing right for ‘The Notebook’ tour
The last national tour that Ramey was on was “Jekyll and Hyde” in 2012, so he decided to go for the first national tour of “The Notebook,” which is run by the musical’s original Broadway creative team.
“It seemed like the timing was right,” he said. “I’m excited to be here.”
Working with co-directors Michael Greif and Schele Williams, starting with four weeks of rehearsal in New York, has been rewarding for Ramey. That included the cast’s original table work with Greif, which included “introspective direction” about the show’s characters.
“They’ve been a wonderful creative team,” Ramey said. “The whole team has made it very clear to us that the swings and understudies are an integral part of the production and has really made us feel special and appreciated.”
Among the Ramey’s six musicals that he’s done on Broadway, he’s performed in another highly romantic show based on a novel: “The Bridges of Madison County.”
“I love them because they are beatuiful. They tend toward more beautiful, sweeping scores, which is always lovely both to listen to and sing,” Ramey said of “Bridges” and “The Notebook.”
“They really do, both for audiences and performers, remind us that we’re all human and we all have hearts and souls and those kinds of connections with another human being are just so timeless and valuable,” he said.
“The Notebook” is so emotionally powerful, Ramey said, he teared up during every run-through of the show during New York rehearsals. That was a testament to both the writing and the gifted actors on stage.
It’s too hard for him to pick a favorite song in the musical’s lush score by Ingrid Michaelson. But Ramey loves “I Wanna Go Back,” in which Younger and Middle Allie sing to a struggling Older Allie that they’re still inside her.
The song from the original Broadway cast recording has surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify.
“It’s really a beautiful moment and they sing it straight to her and the harmonies are gorgeous,” Ramey said.
Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or [email protected].
Details
Musical: “The Notebook”
When: Opens Sept. 6, continuing through Sept. 27; 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; no 1:30 p.m. performance Sept. 6
Where: Connor Palace, Playhouse Square, 1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
Onstage: Sharon Catherine Brown, Beau Gravitte, Alysha Deslorieux, Ken Wulf Clark, Chloe Cheers, Kyle Mangold, Anne Tolpegin, Connor Richardson, Nick Brogan, Jesse Corbin, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman, Rayna Hickman, Makena Jackson, Caleb Mathura, Aaron Ramey, Shari Washinton Rhone, Samantha Rios, Race Ohwensadeyo Rundberg, Emily Some, Joe Verga
Offstage: Ingrid Michaelson, book and lyrics; Bekah Brunsletter, book; Michael Greif and Schele Williams, directors; Katie Spelman, choreographer; David Zinn and Brett Banakis, scenic design; Paloma Young, costume design; Ben Stanton, lighting design; Nevin Steinberg, sound design; Mia Neal, hair and wig design; Lucy Mackinnon, projection design; Carmel Dean, music supervisor; Tina Faye, music director; Carmel Dean and Ingrid Michaelson, music arrangements; Carmel Dean and John Clancy, orchestrations
Cost: $34.80-$150
Information: 216-241-6000 or playhousesquare.org
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Solon native happy to play swing in Cleveland launch of ‘Notebook’
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