A second She Loves Me Review

ICCT - The advertising for Iowa City Community Theatre’s production of She Loves Me claims that the show is considered by many to be "one of the most underappreciated musicals ever written." That’s truly unfortunate, as She Loves Me is an absolute delight, and ICCT’s production more than does it justice at the community theatre level.

Based on Ernst Lubisch’s movie adaptation of Miklós László’s Parfumerie, She Loves Me follows the story of Georg Nowak (Jon Meadows), a longtime employee at a perfumery who is angered when Amalia Balash (Megan Sands) walks in off the street and quickly obtains a job by ingeniously selling a "musical candy box" as a diet aid. Unbeknownst to either of them, Georg and Amalia are also anonymous pen-pal lovers, each completely unaware that their "Dear Friend" is in fact the co-worker they dislike so much in person.

László’s Parfumerie yarn has been retold not only as She Loves Me, but also in the movies The Shop Around the Corner (1940), In the Good Old Summertime (1949), and You've Got Mail (1998). Theatergoers needn’t be wary, though; the familiarity of this tale will not breed contempt. It’s a story that has remained surprisingly delightful through its multiple incarnations, and the musical version is no exception.

The major strength of ICCT’s She Loves Me is its two lead performers. The role of the thirty-something perfumery clerk Georg Novak is competently portrayed by a boyishly handsome Jon Meadows, whose charm and amiability serve the audience well as a centering, narrative force, while Megan Sands’ portrayal of love interest Amalia Balash is, in a word, phenomenal. Of particular note is Ms. Sands’ exemplary, near-operatic work during Vanilla Ice Cream, perhaps She Loves Me’s most memorable song. Though the show’s tepidly written romance is not its greatest strength, this production is extremely well served by its talented lead performers, and while the overall chemistry between Meadows and Sands tarries more on the side of goofily uncomfortable than amorously tense, their frequent terse interplays remain endearing.

The two biggest highlights of the show for this review are, however, not its leads. The first is Jim Verry’s scene-stealing take as the Head Waiter, which is positively uproarious. From his costume to his hair to his body language, Mr. Verry turns what could be a throwaway role into a persistently memorable performance. The second highlight is Nora Schershel’s ingratiating characterization of the looking-for-love Ilona Ritter, specifically in her song A Trip to the Library. Ms. Schershel’s tone and expressions embody the role nicely, and she unfailingly brings a smile every face in attendance.

Though these are the highlights, make no mistake: every role in this performance is strong and well cast, from the fatherly shop owner Mr. Marazcek (Howard Meadows) to the excitable employees Arpad (Rex Van Dorpe) and Sipos (Chuck Dufano). Even the unlikable Kodaly (Zakary Morton) is portrayed with aplomb.

In addition, Josh Sazon’s direction exhibits an expert knowledge of timing and space utilization that only comes from experience. Sazon reigns in a tightly-paced musical that doesn’t leave the audience looking down at their wrists every five minutes.

That tight pace, however, chiefly contributes to one of the production’s few missteps: its scene changes. As gorgeous as the set is, there are a couple of during-show scene changes that become so loud they actually interfere with (and even drown out) the dialogue being spoken elsewhere onstage, an awkward distraction that effectively removes the audience from the moment. Luckily, these distractions are relatively minor; the outstanding, singing, acting, and live orchestra capably pull the audience back in. And, with the exception of one-too-many instances of breaking the fourth wall, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many additional flaws in this production.

If you happen to be on the fence about seeing this show, get off the fence and buy a ticket. And do so quickly because I hear they’re selling faster than musical candy boxes.

--Andrew R. Juhl

Andrew R. Juhl is an area author and director. He has been recently active with both the City Circle Acting Company of Coralville and Rage Theatrics.