She Loves Me follows Georg and Amalia, two parfumerie clerks who aren't quite the best of friends. Constantly bumping heads while on the job, the sparring coworkers can't seem to find common ground. But little do they know, the anonymous romantic pen pals they have both been falling for happen to be each other! Will love continue to blossom once their identities are finally revealed?
In celebration of Roundabout Theatre Company's 50th anniversary, She Loves Me returns to Broadway for the first time since it triumphantly launched Roundabout's musical theatre initiative over 20 years ago. This heartwarming musical comedy features a book by Tony Award winner Joe Masteroff (Cabaret), music by Tony Award winner Jerry Bock (Fiddler on the Roof) and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Sheldon Harnick (Fiorello!). Six-time Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis (Roundabout's Harvey, The Mystery of Edwin Drood) directs.
When a production has enough outstanding elements working in its favor -- as the Roundabout's revival of She Loves Me starring Laura Benanti and Zachary Levi certainly does -- your mind can fill in the rest, and more. Benanti, with her thrilling voice and zany self-deprecation, is perfect casting for Amalia Balash...Their lyrics, by Sheldon Harnick, marry gentle wit to character development with the highest technical polish; his rhymes get laughs not because they're tricky but because they're so apt...These nearly prose observations miraculously sit on music, by Jerry Bock, that maintains their contours while flowering into arias of enormous beauty, especially for Amalia, who has a heavy stack of them to sell. This is where Benanti's gifts become crucial. She is, no surprise, a joy to listen to -- even when, as last night, recovering from bronchitis. But she brings to the job of making beautiful sounds the natural comic's instinct of opening herself to heartbreak.
The tremendous revival of 'She Loves Me'...left visions of sugarplums dancing in my head and dreams of vanilla ice cream. The candy fantasies, let's chalk up to Roundabout's cartoonish art nouveau sets, which recreate the streets of Budapest in cheery rainbow hues. The ice cream? That was all Laura Benanti, who, as a lonely salesgirl, cries despairingly into her dessert while singing one of the more delicious confections from the classic rom-com...Benanti...brings an operatic quality to the role, wrenching emotion from songs such as 'Dear Friend.' As with her co-stars, there's a winking and self-conscious quality to her performance. Levi, as the shop's senior employee, has stepped up his game since his nice debut a few seasons back in 'First Date.' His Georg is a solid fellow who wants to make everyone happy...Levi seems to be having fun, and his performance is natural and comfortable.
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