Five things Nicholas Sparks told us about ‘The Notebook’ — and Minnesota
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Nicholas Sparks returned to Minnesota last week to see the touring production of “The Notebook: the Musical” at the Ordway. He also revisited the state where some of his earliest memories were formed. Here’s what we learned.
1. Sparks spent part of his childhood in Minnesota
His family lived in the Watertown area, outside of the Twin Cities, while his father earned a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, and some of Sparks’ first memories come from those years.
“My parents were young and married and having babies, and my dad was pursuing a future as a professor… And yeah, my earliest memories are actually here in Minnesota, which are not detailed, they're not intense, but, right? They're just images that you have, and they're the first ones, the first ones that I can recall.”
2. One of those early memories involves a moving van covered in butterflies
Sparks remembers a farmhouse, a yard, and the surprising sight of color on the grill of a truck.
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“There was a moving van in the front yard of our little farmhouse… and there were all these butterflies that had been killed on the grill of this truck. I remember going there and looking at them… When you're three or four years old, bugs are fascinating — especially when they're all laid out right there and they're so colorful.”
3. The stage adaptation was delayed for years by a complicated rights issue
When he sold “The Notebook” in 1995, he was a first-time author signing a boilerplate film contract — one that split up different rights.
“It took a while to work out the deal… I did maintain the stage rights, so they were mine to sell, but New Line Cinema got the rights to the music. So it was a really big deal just to get the rights.”
4. Sparks is still surprised the story resonates nearly 30 years later
He’s both grateful and a little amazed that The Notebook continues to find new audiences through a book, a hit movie, and now a musical.
“I’m really happy about it — let’s start with that. And let’s start with part two, which is: boy, I'm glad I'm the one who wrote that book! … It’s nothing one can imagine or hope for, but I had a lot of blessings along the way, and good fortune. And yeah, touch that, that the story still can resonate and really excited for the idea that this is a new way for people to enjoy the story.”
5. The Alzheimer’s storyline remains the emotional center of the work
Sparks says the story endures because it treats memory loss with clarity and compassion while keeping the focus on a lifelong bond.
“It's certainly one of the more resonant aspects of ‘The Notebook’… In the end, ‘The Notebook’ is a very simple story — about a guy who loves a girl no matter what. It explores Alzheimer’s in a way that really hasn’t been done on film or onstage… I hope it brings audiences to realize that even if someone is lost, they've had a full life.”
“The Notebook: the Musical” runs through Nov. 30 at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.
