San Diego Musical Theatre Presents SHE LOVES ME

This year San Diego Musical Theatre opens the 2020 season with a show to deliver on old world charm and affairs of the heart. From the creative team behind Fiddler on the Roof and based on a play that became both the Jimmy Stewart movie, The Shop Around the Corner and the '90s classic You've Got Mail, She Loves Me is a charming romantic comedy about idealism and the promise of true love, guaranteed to lift your spirits and leave you grinning.

Set in a 1930s European perfumery, we meet shop clerks, Amalia and Georg, who, more often than not, don't see eye to eye. After both respond to a "lonely hearts advertisement" in the newspaper, they now live for the love letters that they exchange, but the identity of their admirers remains unknown.

She Loves Me was nominated for five Tony Awards in 1964. The 1993 Broadway revival won the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and the 1994 Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. She Loves Me is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance.

This heart-warming musical will be musically led by critically acclaimed, Don LeMaster but welcomes some new creative experts to the team including Director Richard Israel and Lauren Haughton. Richard Israel has been a member of the Los Angeles theatre community for over 20 years and is the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Milton Katselas Award for Career Achievement in Direction, as well as multiple LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. During the past 10 years, Richard has directed a wide array of plays, musicals and new works but he is particularly excited to be a part of this show!

"She Loves Me is a classic of American musical theatre - and it's truly in the top tier of the genre. It's been a bucket list show of mine for years - having seen multiple productions, and even appeared in a production in LA, I am drawn to the sheer joy of the storytelling. She Loves Me is a musical that appeals directly to the heart, and it's a beautifully wrought valentine to the highs and lows of human relationships. Bock, Harnick and Masteroff use the art of musical theatre to bring us into the story with great gentleness and sweetness, and I look forward to sharing that joy with our audience."

Also joining the team for the first time is Choreographer, Lauren Haughton. Lauren has directed, choreographed, and produced concerts for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS and traveled across the country with the Broadway National Tours of Wicked, Hamilton, Beautiful, and The Book of Mormon. She brings her expertise to the creative team to share a story she believes is worth telling.

"In the secrecy of George and Amalia's love, we see how love and attraction is not just about the physical. Their relationship is based on the words in their anonymous letters. We see two people who fall in love because of who they are, not what they look like or what they do. This is a universally human story: to be loved for who you are on the inside. It will never grow old or stop being relatable."

The music for She Loves Me was part of our inspiration in picking this musical to open the season. It is reminiscent of the old MGM comedy musicals and is truly some of the best Harnick and Bock compositional writing. All the songs are enchanting little gems. There are fun comedy numbers along with sweeping romantic ballads that you just find yourself humming as you leave the theater.

Cast

Allison Spratt Pearce*-Amalia Balash

Joshua David Cavanaugh-Georg Nowack

Sami Nye-Ilona Ritter

David Sasik*-Steven Kodaly

Jeffrey Arnold Wolf*-Mr. Maraczek

Steven Freitas-Ladislav Sipos

Lucas Blankenhorn-Arpad Laszlo

Dylan Pass-Headwaiter

Christopher Szabo-Mr. Keller

Wyatt Rhinehart-Busboy

Cassie Bleher-Ensemble

Morgan Carberry-Ensemble

Alexa Querin-Ensemble

Chase Fischer-Ensemble

Evan Borboa-Ensemble

Aaron Jerry Skipper-Ensemble

*Indicates member of Actor's Equity Association

Creative Team

Director - Richard Israel

Choreographer - Lauren Haughton

Music Director - Don LeMaster

Set Design - Mike Buckley

Lighting Design - Michelle Miles

Sound Design - Jon Fredette

Costume Design - Janet Pitcher

Property Master - Heather Longfellow

Wig & Hair Design - Peter Herman

Stage Manager - Hannah May*

ASM - Paul Morgavo

Tickets range from $30 - $70. Tickets for She Loves Me are on sale now. Phone: 858-560-5740, Online: www.sdmt.org. Tickets can be purchased at SDMT's Administrative Office located at 4650 Mercury Street, San Diego, CA 92111. Also, one hour prior to performance at the Horton Grand Theatre.

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