VIDEO: Watch Ingrid Michaelson Perform 'Words' From THE NOTEBOOK, A New Musical

Ingrid Michaelson announced she's writing music for a musical version of the Nicholas Sparks love story "The Notebook." She revealed that she is writing the music and playwright and "This is Us" writer Bekah Brunstetter is writing the book for the musical.

Michaelson said recently she has been writing the musical for a year and a half now and that she loves writing for these characters. The musical is being produced by Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch in association with Nicholas Sparks. An achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, The Notebook was best-selling author Nicholas Sparks's first published novel (in 1996). It was on The New York Times Best Seller list in its first week of release and stayed a hardcover best seller for more than a year.

Ingrid Michaelson, whose recordings have sold millions of copies, including the Platinum singles "Girls Chase Boys" and "The Way I Am," said "When I was approached about working on the Notebook I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom and cry and come back into the meeting. I have loved the movie and the story for so many years now that the idea of turning it into a musical overwhelmed me. The concept of unending devotion and love wrapped up in memory and family is something very close to my own personal life. The story sings to me so perfectly. I actually started writing that very night of the first meeting, before I even had the job! I cannot wait for the world to hear these characters come to life in a musical way."

Bekah Brunstetter, a supervising producer on NBC's This Is Us, who's most recent play The Cake opens at the Manhattan Theatre Club in the spring of 2019, said "When I first heard about The Notebook potentially being turned into a musical, I was instantly drawn to the idea. The story hits home for me in two big ways: it takes place in my home state of North Carolina, and Alzheimer's runs deep in my family. I was sent a few songs Ingrid had already written for it, and that week, I spent my drives to and from work car-listening, memorizing, imagining the story unfold with music, imagining how I might layer worlds, dramatize memory, and before I even knew that I had to write the book for this, it was already starting to happen in my head. The older you get, it seems, the more invisible you become, and yet, you have SO much to say -- so putting an older couple at the forefront of a musical is thrilling to me. I am so excited to continue collaborating with Ingrid on bringing this beautiful story to life in a new way."

Nicholas Sparks said, "I am thrilled to work with Bekah and Ingrid in order to make The Notebook a reality on Broadway. They are amazingly talented, and obviously, the story is near and dear to my heart."

Producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch issued a joint statement: "The creative process works best when the material finds the artist, and that's exactly what happened with Nicholas Spark's novel, The Notebook. From day one, Ingrid and Bekah have had a clear vision for the show, and even at this early stage, it has proven to be an exceptionally exciting and fruitful collaboration."