Well, well, well, well, well …
Everything about the production of She Loves Me by the Seattle Musical Theatre at Magnuson Park sings “fun.” Originally produced on Broadway by Harold Prince, Joe Masteroff penned the book, and Seldon Harnick and Jerry Bock provided the music (their next musical was Fiddler on the Roof).
Director Alan Wilkie has honed all of the considerable talents of the cast and crew to a sharp edge. The set (designer Norm Spencer) opens and closes like the wings of a religious triptych. Costumes (designer Rachel Wilkie) are very much evocative of the late 1930s. There’s a story that holds a secret the audience is fully in on but the characters have to work out, plus most of it is performed with singing and dancing (choreography by Taylor Davis).
Josh Zimmerman leads a competent 10-piece orchestra that lays down the musical backdrop behind 26 songs, 17 in the first act and 9 in the second. There’s so little “book”—the talky part between musical numbers that move the plot along—that the original cast recording from the 1963 Broadway original run required two albums—a first for a Broadway musical.
Even if you have never heard of She Loves Me, you may still know the plot from another work. Here’s a list of the plays and movies that use the same plot structure.
- Parfumerie, 1937, the original play by Miklos Laszlo, produced at the Pest Theatre in Budapest.
- The Shop Around the Corner, 1940, movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, directed by Ernest Lubitsch.
- In the Good Old Summertime, 1949, semi-musical starring Judy Garland, Van Johnson and S.K. Sakall.
- She Loves Me, 1963, Broadway musical.
- She Loves Me, 1993, revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company which ran for 354 performances.
- You’ve Got Mail, 1998, movie written by Nora and Delia Ephron, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
Wait. what’s a parfumerie? It’s a shop that makes its own perfumes, creams, soaps, etc. An example in Seattle is Kiehl’s in University Village.
The plot is straight forward enough: Georg (Brian Lange) works at a perfumerie, has problems with his boss, Mr. Mariczeck (Bill Higham), and takes an instant distaste to Amalia. Amalia (Laura Medford), shows up at the shop seeking work, and demonstrates her skills as a salesperson by selling a musical cigar box. At once she secures herself a job and, unbeknownst to her then, loses Georg his bet with Mariczeck that they would not sell one of those boxes in the first hour the store was open.
Well, that awkward start launches their sniping at work, yet meanwhile, each anonymously corresponds with someone with whom they are falling in love. This all began when one of them answered the other’s lonely hearts ad. You know where this is going: the person they are anonymously falling for is the person at work causing them grief.
The main subplot is the not-so-secret affair and break-up of two other clerks at the shop (Ilona played by Jorie Jones and Kodaly played by Paul Gauger). Jones’s duet with Medford in the “I Don’t Know his Name” number and Gauger’s singing/dancing “Grand Knowing You” exit from the employment of the shop near the close of the play are among the many gems of this show.
The shop’s owner, clerks, and errand boy are featured in at least one song, and the 8 member ensemble have a couple of fun turns singing and dancing as restaurant diners (“A Romantic Atmosphere”) and Christmas shoppers (“Twelve Days of Christmas”).
Beyond their superior musical talents, the leads have some acting to do as well: curiosity, confusion, hope, dejection, shame, arrogance, surprise, etc. For example, when Lange’s Georg sings the title song “She Loves Me” he skillfully manages to convey the growing certainty of that sentiment as the song builds while singing and dancing.
Medford’s Amalia has to act with the widest range as she is kept out of the secret the longest and has to show the truth slowly dawning upon her, but not too fast. If you have heard “Vanilla Ice Cream” its from this show and Medford skillfully manages the mix of speech, business, singing and dancing in this pivotal solo performance.
This show will enchant you. There is plenty of free parking near the theater.
She Loves Me, book by Joe Masteroff with music by Seldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, directed by Alan Wilkie. Produced by Seattle Musical Theatre at Magnuson Park, 7120 62nd Ave NE. Runtime: 2.5 hours with one intermission. Tickets: seattlemusicaltheatre.org/she-loves-me/ Evening and matinee performances Dec 4 – Dec 20.