Photo by Joan Marcus
In honour of legendary lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who was presented with a Special Tony Award at this month's ceremony for his lifetime achievement, our #ShowOfTheWeek is the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of the classic 1963 romantic musical comedy She Loves Me.
Featuring Mr Harnick's lyrics, alongside a score by Jerry Bock and a book by Joe Masteroff, the musical deservedly picked up both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards this season for "Outstanding Revival of a Musical," and its stars - Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi and Jane Krakowski all received Tony nominations for their respective performances.
Inspired by the 1937 play 'Parfumerie,' (which also spawned the 1940 film adaptation "The Shop around the Corner," the 1947 movie musical "In the Good Old Summertime" and more recently 1998 film "You've Got Mail"), She Loves Me tells the simple tale of two colleagues working in a perfume shop in Hungary, who don't seem to see eye to eye but unbeknownst to them, they have fallen in love through their anonymous love letters to each other.
This production breathes a comforting air of nostalgia into the Broadway season, although still completely relatable with today's society's obsession with online dating. We often ask ourselves if we will connect with that special someone in person, having built up that seemingly perfect online rapport. We are the evolution of Amalia and Georg. Ms Benanti's and Mr Levi's performances are instantly appealing and they do their job in getting the audience right behind them, hoping and wishing for that albeit predictable happy ending. Benanti's range as a vocalist is on tremendous show, especially with the standard "Vanilla Ice Cream," whilst Ms Krakowski and Gavin Creel supply the comic relief and impress with their dancing routines. I, for one, won't soon forget the site of Ms Krakowski in the splits position being dragged across the entire width of the stage. That's not to be sniffed at, folks.
In a year that was dominated by Hamilton, one award that juggernaut failed to capture was the Tony for "Best Scenic Design of a Musical." That honour was bestowed upon David Rockwell for his glorious sets in She Loves Me. There haven't been many times on Broadway, where I have experienced a set change getting a round of applause and that speaks volumes for the inventive and beautifully decorated pieces that completely transform the stage of Studio 54.
She Loves Me stands alone this season as a classic revival of musical comedy and has done exceedingly well at the box office for this reason, but mainly because of the sheer, smooth quality of the production. I urge you to take a trip to this light, charming and life-affirming musical delight!
Click here for tickets to She Loves Me for performances through to 10 July 2016 at Broadway's Studio 54.
Laura Benanti & Zachary Levi in She Loves Me More production photosOriginally published on