2008 Woodie Awards
Theatre Review: 'She Loves Me' musical not quite lovable
Chelsea Reil
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: The Inside
We all saw "You've Got Mail," even though we won't admit it. The story was awful. Replace Tom Hanks with a pathetic shop employee, and you have the musical "She Loves Me," currently being put on by the Longwood Players.
The story focuses on a European-style parfumerie in the 1930s. Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash are two feuding clerks at the shop. Both secretly find solace in the anonymous romantic pen pals they met through lonely-hearts ads. Of course, they are completely unaware that they are each other's secret pen pal.
In the end, Georg finds out, falls in love with Amalia and everyone ends up happy.
Other central characters are the employees at the parfumerie. They include Ilona Ritter, whose unfortunate romantic entanglements include one with a fellow worker and another with arrogant playboy Steven Kodaly (who has an affair with his boss's wife). Ladislav Sipos, a clueless and self-proclaimed fool, also works there along with a young messenger named Arpad Laszlo, who dreams of being promoted to clerk. In charge of everything is Mr. Maraczek, a Hungarian immigrant who owns the store.
The storyline is weak and the characters are even worse. Amalia is the typical stage heroine: pretty, blonde and without a clue. Her na'veté would almost be endearing if she weren't so infuriatingly stupid. Georg is a pushover who wants to please everyone. Steven is so utterly ridiculous that his believability as a person was shattered halfway through the first act.
The musical's premise itself is not the greatest, but some excellent acting and stage direction probably could have saved it. Unfortunately, there is none to be found. Between April Pressel's (Amalia) over-acting and abysmal choreography, the two-and-a-half hour production felt like it lasted a lifetime.
A saving grace in the cast was Katie Pickett, who played Ilona Ritter. Delightfully cynical and with just enough sex appeal to be convincing, she was a nice change from the rest of the cast. Her pretty but not terribly strong voice was enhanced by a charismatic personality and excellent stage presence.
The story focuses on a European-style parfumerie in the 1930s. Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash are two feuding clerks at the shop. Both secretly find solace in the anonymous romantic pen pals they met through lonely-hearts ads. Of course, they are completely unaware that they are each other's secret pen pal.
In the end, Georg finds out, falls in love with Amalia and everyone ends up happy.
Other central characters are the employees at the parfumerie. They include Ilona Ritter, whose unfortunate romantic entanglements include one with a fellow worker and another with arrogant playboy Steven Kodaly (who has an affair with his boss's wife). Ladislav Sipos, a clueless and self-proclaimed fool, also works there along with a young messenger named Arpad Laszlo, who dreams of being promoted to clerk. In charge of everything is Mr. Maraczek, a Hungarian immigrant who owns the store.
The storyline is weak and the characters are even worse. Amalia is the typical stage heroine: pretty, blonde and without a clue. Her na'veté would almost be endearing if she weren't so infuriatingly stupid. Georg is a pushover who wants to please everyone. Steven is so utterly ridiculous that his believability as a person was shattered halfway through the first act.
The musical's premise itself is not the greatest, but some excellent acting and stage direction probably could have saved it. Unfortunately, there is none to be found. Between April Pressel's (Amalia) over-acting and abysmal choreography, the two-and-a-half hour production felt like it lasted a lifetime.
A saving grace in the cast was Katie Pickett, who played Ilona Ritter. Delightfully cynical and with just enough sex appeal to be convincing, she was a nice change from the rest of the cast. Her pretty but not terribly strong voice was enhanced by a charismatic personality and excellent stage presence.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Anonymous
posted 4/10/08 @ 4:50 PM EST
Wow. Quite a scathing review. Did you see the same production as Beverly Creasey? It seems she was not abused as a child by the author of the show. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 4/11/08 @ 1:23 PM EST
I saw this production and I thought this review was very harsh. Sounded like a young reviewer looking for ways too seem uber-critical. I thought the lead actress was very talented, and I am surprised to hear you say that the script is unbearable. (Continued…)
William Phillip
posted 4/13/08 @ 5:43 PM EST
Interesting to read a review that begins with a disclosure that the critic does not like a very popular story line that has been successful for nearly a century ("The story was awful. (Continued…)
A real theatre critic
posted 4/15/08 @ 1:35 PM EST
Well, well, well. Will wonders never cease? It seems everyone's favorite theatre critic-in-training has had an sordid relationship with the truth. (See http://studentlife. (Continued…)
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