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Celeste Legaspi. Handout

Leah C. Salterio

Veteran singer-actress Celeste Legaspi was “very flattered” when she was selected to play the Older Allie in “The Notebook: The Musical.” “I love the role,” Legaspi, who was was handpicked for the role and didn’t have to audition, told ABS-CBN News. “Chris [Mohnani] called me personally and told me about the role, so how can I say no?”Legaspi, who celebrated her 76th birthday in March, is embracing a new chapter in her career with &quot;The Notebook,&quot; set to open in September at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater.Although she has continued to perform in concerts and appear on television, opportunities on the stage have been few and far between. Her last major theater outing was &quot;Saranggola ni Pepe&quot; in 2008, inspired by her iconic song of the same title.“I had a very lovely experience because of ‘The Notebook’,” said Legaspi. “After I was revealed on Mother&#x27;s Day, I was checking my Instagram, and there was the reveal, and there was Sharon Catherine Brown, who commented about how she loved what I had done, etc. And then I stopped to myself, Sharon, okay, she must be a Filipino, I said, thank you. I said the music&#x27;s so great. “And then she said, and I hope you really enjoy playing older Allie, the way I&#x27;ve enjoyed it.’ Then I asked. ‘Who is she?’ I looked her up and then, oh, my God. So I said, thank you. All of a sudden I started being really nice. My God, I know, aside from ‘The Notebook,’ she was in ‘The Good Wife’ and the sequel, ‘The Good Fight.’ Oh my, hello, she’s my friend now.“Then Lea [Salonga] also commented and she commented on Lea&#x27;s comment on me. I said, My goodness, I love her [Brown] talaga.”“About the role, I’m very happy there’s this role that requires the actors in the right age. A 20-year-old Allie to be played by real 20-year-old actor and a Middle Allie to be played by an actor in the right age.“There’s this unique role for an older woman and it’s rich and it’s challenging. She has Alzheimer’s so she doesn’t know what’s happening around. At the same time, what she remembers is not what’s happening. So it’s very complex. It’s very challenging.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781826910433Celeste Legaspi.jpg" style="width:655px" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-dragging" width="655"/>Celeste Legaspi. HandoutLegaspi’s portrayal of Older Allie is shaped by personal experience, since her mother died of Alzheimer’s. “She suffered for 10 years,” Legaspi said. “It was very difficult for us. It was a painful time for our family.” </div>“It was one of the most difficult times in our lives. Although remembering that is painful, it will be my responsibility to honor my mother by bringing understanding and compassion to my role,” she added.“Unlike dying from cancer, Alzheimer’s is very, very cruel. You lose the person, but the person is still around. So it’s a very common thing in the Philippines and in the entire world. It’s not rare. Families go through it all the time.“Alzheimer’s used to be a Western thing. But now, when you talk to anybody, one member of the family is suffering from Alzheimer’s. It’s now easily diagnosed. When my mother had Alzheimer’s, it took a long time before [neurologist] Dr. [Joven] Cuanang diagnosed her.“There are moments with her which I find in ‘The Notebook’ script. It’s interesting’s and challenging. If I cry during the first few performances, please bear with me.&quot;Legaspi joins Morissette and Laurence Mossman as Middle Allie and Middle Noah, respectively, with Sheena Belarmino as Young Allie and Benedix Ramos as Young Noah. The actor who will portray Older Noah has yet to be announced.In stepping into “The Notebook” Legaspi embraces both the artistic challenge and emotional depth of the role. She reflects: “The characters in ‘The Notebook’ are interesting. How it shows their growth and learnings. To be able to portray that is a challenge,&quot; she said.“And as I study the music of older Allie, I learn that the music is modern and exacting; at the same time I will need to get to the heart of her. A great challenge. And I love challenges. Accepting challenges has been my motivation through all my years.” Presented by Theater Group Asia (TGA), “The Notebook” is described as a story that feels distinctly Filipino, recalling the rich girl–poor boy romantic tropes of the Sampaguita Pictures era. “The sad thing is that all those memories are disappearing even if they are all colorful and very passionate, because somebody is forgetting it,” Legaspi said. “That’s frightening because the memories will be incomplete. That’s the most powerful thing in this musical.”Legaspi is bracing herself for the forthcoming rehearsals of “The Notebook” that will start in August. “I’m looking forward to looking for the quiet that I imagine essential to the character of the Older Allie,” Legaspi said. “I think that’s a big challenge because how do you do that and how do you communicate that to the audience.“She has words, but they don’t mean anything. There’s just this huge quiet in her thoughts and in her heart. That’s an immense challenge for me. This story is about family and that will resonate with the Filipino audience because we love our family.”

For Celeste Legaspi, ‘The Notebook’ role feels deeply personal

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For Celeste Legaspi, ‘The Notebook’ role feels deeply personal

Leah C. Salterio

Published June 20, 2026 04:00 PM PHT

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Celeste Legaspi

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