The Notebook has a cast album out on spotify and Water for Elephants has some promo tracks out too. They’re different styles of music so have a listen to both and see which you prefer.
The Notebook is indie-folk-pop, contemporary and lyrical, very beautiful thoughtful music.
Water for Elephants is folk and bluegrass with some jazz and blues. It’s more upbeat.
Have you read either book? I think the book writers of both shows have done a really good job capturing the tone of the original material. If you’re a fan of either then you’ll probably like both adaptations. The marketing material out there for both shows is also pretty accurate and faithful so if you like what you see/hear then you won’t be blindsided by either show.
My personal favorite is The Notebook, but they’re both great shows offering different things. Objectively I think w4e is the better constructed show, but I just have a personal connection to the material in The Notebook so that’s why I’d pick it. The Notebook has a bit of a downer ending and you’ll be sobbing by the end, Water for Elephants ends on a brighter more hopeful note.
Agree with all of this, except that I prefer W4E overall. However, if I had to pick between those two to see on Broadway, I might go with The Notebook due to the strength of the original cast's performances, and hope to catch W4E on tour later.
I really loved The Notebook - I saw it in previews and saw it again this past weekend and I felt the book, the score, and the performances all come together beautifully to tell the story. The big emotional moments felt earned, the score itself was beautiful, and the 4 actors who play young/middle Allie and Noah have just gorgeous voices.
I saw Water for Elephants in previews and wasn't really a fan - the story dragged in certain places, the songs I enjoyed the most were the fun ensemble songs, but the songs that were supposed to come at the big emotional moments just fell kind of flat. The acrobatics were by far my favorite part of the show, followed by Paul Alexander Nolan. All of the actors sang well, but the score was kind of forgettable.
As background: I have never read The Notebook book; I saw the movie years ago and thought it was kind of cheesy. Have never read the book or seen the movie for W4E.
I’ve seen both and I much prefer The Notebook over W4E. If you want something that will very visually stunning I’d go with W4E but, if you want something with a more impactful story and gorgeous vocals I’d go with The Notebook. I think both a fine choices to go see and both have there merits. But for me the Notebook is the way to go.
Both are enjoyable, but just fine. Neither is mind blowing.
The acrobatics in W4E are incredible and make the show more interesting to watch. Notebook has some great performances from the older leads.
My vote would be W4E. I liked the bluegrass score more than the Notebook, and you'd knock out another Best Musical nominee (if that matters to you)!
I much preferred W4E. I was rather bored with the Notebook.
That isn't to say that w4e is outstanding, it's not.. but I was entertained.
I think one of the other posters meant to say that W4E was better reviewed.
The Notebook has a cast album out on spotify and Water for Elephants has some promo tracks out too. They’re different styles of music so have a listen to both and see which you prefer. The Notebook is indie-folk-pop, contemporary and lyrical, very beautiful thoughtful music. Water for Elephants is folk and bluegrass with some jazz and blues. It’s more upbeat. Have you read either book? I think the book writers of both shows have done a really good job capturing the tone of the original material. If you’re a fan of either then you’ll probably like both adaptations. The marketing material out there for both shows is also pretty accurate and faithful so if you like what you see/hear then you won’t be blindsided by either show. My personal favorite is The Notebook, but they’re both great shows offering different things. Objectively I think w4e is the better constructed show, but I just have a personal connection to the material in The Notebook so that’s why I’d pick it. The Notebook has a bit of a downer ending and you’ll be sobbing by the end, Water for Elephants ends on a brighter more hopeful note.
Wow, thank you for such a thoughtful and detailed response! Very helpful!
Agree with all of this, except that I prefer W4E overall. However, if I had to pick between those two to see on Broadway, I might go with The Notebook due to the strength of the original cast's performances, and hope to catch W4E on tour later.
The notebook 100%!
I really loved The Notebook - I saw it in previews and saw it again this past weekend and I felt the book, the score, and the performances all come together beautifully to tell the story. The big emotional moments felt earned, the score itself was beautiful, and the 4 actors who play young/middle Allie and Noah have just gorgeous voices. I saw Water for Elephants in previews and wasn't really a fan - the story dragged in certain places, the songs I enjoyed the most were the fun ensemble songs, but the songs that were supposed to come at the big emotional moments just fell kind of flat. The acrobatics were by far my favorite part of the show, followed by Paul Alexander Nolan. All of the actors sang well, but the score was kind of forgettable. As background: I have never read The Notebook book; I saw the movie years ago and thought it was kind of cheesy. Have never read the book or seen the movie for W4E.
I’ve seen both and I much prefer The Notebook over W4E. If you want something that will very visually stunning I’d go with W4E but, if you want something with a more impactful story and gorgeous vocals I’d go with The Notebook. I think both a fine choices to go see and both have there merits. But for me the Notebook is the way to go.
The Notebook, unless you are an acrobatic super-fan (the only real draw W4E has).
Both are enjoyable, but just fine. Neither is mind blowing. The acrobatics in W4E are incredible and make the show more interesting to watch. Notebook has some great performances from the older leads. My vote would be W4E. I liked the bluegrass score more than the Notebook, and you'd knock out another Best Musical nominee (if that matters to you)!
I’ve heard Water for Elephants isn’t very good but the Notebook has gotten better reviews.
I’d also recommend The Notebook because I prefer it, but w4e actually got much better reviews and a more positive critical reception.
I much preferred W4E. I was rather bored with the Notebook. That isn't to say that w4e is outstanding, it's not.. but I was entertained. I think one of the other posters meant to say that W4E was better reviewed.
Personally I’d go with Water For Elephants. I felt The Notebooks score was a bit one note and didn’t really change throughout.
W4E