'She Loves Me' a subtle, old-fashioned treasure
At a time when so many musicals are marketed as big-budget spectacles, "She Loves Me" remains a subtle, old-fashioned treasure.
With music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and an engaging book by Joe Masteroff, "She Loves Me" is well respected among serious musical theater fans but little known by casual audiences. That's a shame, a point driven artfully home by Writers' Theatre's enchanting current production.
The story takes place in 1932 in a Hungarian parfumerie run by owner Mr. Maraczek (Ross Lehman) and right-hand man Georg Nowack (Rod Thomas), who spends his off hours pining for a pen pal he has never met. Working with them are the biting but big-hearted Miss Ritter (Heidi Kettenring), her caddish boyfriend Mr. Kodaly (James Rank), steadfast Ladislav (Kevin Gudahl) and earnest delivery boy Arpad (Bernard Balbot).
One day a whirlwind of a woman named Amalia Balash (Jessie Mueller) comes into the shop seeking a job. She wins Maraczek over by selling a musical cigarette box promoting it, rather cleverly, as something else entirely.
From the start, Georg and Amalia clash royally. Unknown to either one of them, though, Amalia is Georg's beloved pen pal. They have fallen for each other through their "Dear Friend" letters and dream of the day they finally meet.
If the plot sounds familiar, it should. "Parfumerie," the 1937 play on which it is based, also inspired the 1940 film "The Shop Around the Corner," 1949's "In the Good Old Summertime" and, more recently, the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan e-mail comedy "You've Got Mail."
Clearly, the story has staying power, and Writers' version masterfully directed by Michael Halberstam shows why. The songs, while hardly showstoppers, nudge the story forward. The characters are memorable. The dialogue is light yet witty, offering a steady stream of well-earned laughs.
Throughout, Halberstam's "She Loves Me" retains a certain charm all too rare in flashier musicals. It does so by getting the details right: from the sharp comic timing to the simple but well-executed changes that provide maximum mileage from Jack Magaw's set.
The performances mesh together beautifully. As Georg and Amalia, Thomas and Mueller make both the known and unknown facets of their relationship work. Their chemistry evolves, and their cafe scene together is a treat.
Kettenring makes for a flawless Miss Ritter, Amalia's more romantically experienced co-worker. She makes expert use of every comic expression, as well as her lovely voice. Also a delight are newcomer Bernard Balbot as the endearing, eager-beaver delivery boy and Jeremy Rill as a waiter with an extra helping of attitude.
The characters, as well as the writing, make it awfully easy to love "She Loves Me." Here's hoping more theater goers give it a go.
<p class="factboxheadblack">"She Loves Me" </p>
<p class="News">★★★½</p>
<p class="News"><b>Location:</b> Writers' Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. (847) 242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and/or 6 p.m. Sunday; 2 p.m. Wednesday matinees on Oct. 13 and Nov. 17; through Nov. 21</p>
<p class="News"><b>Running time:</b> About two hours 30 minutes, with intermission</p>
<p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $45-$70 </p>
<p class="News"><b>Parking:</b> Free street parking</p>
<p class="News"><b>Rating:</b> For preteens and up</p>