She Loves Me a Charmingly Delightful Throwback at Lakeshore Players in White Bear Lake

She Loves Me has a rich pedigree starting as a Hungarian play titled Illatszertar AKA Parfumerie in 1936, it has been adapted to film as The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and In the Good Old Summertime (1949) as well as serving as the inspiration for the film You’ve Got Mail (1998). The musical premiered on Broadway in 1963 was revived on Broadway in 1993 and again in 2016, each production being Tony Award nominated for Best Musical or Musical Revival and winning for the 2016 revival. So how was I unfamiliar with it, I’d heard the title within the last 5 to 10 years and though getting my hopes up that it was a Beatles Jukebox musical, I quickly realized that wasn’t the case. I am a fan of The Shop Around the Corner from Director Ernst Lubitsch but wasn’t aware of the connection until I read up on this show before seeing it. It seems only fitting that I close out 2023 checking off another fairly large theatrical blindspot, it’s been a very good year for that. The Lakeshore Players Theatre has staged an excellent production of She Loves Me and it’s everything I hoped after learning it was based on the same source as the much cherished film. It has the charm and style of a 1940’s film including the wonderful performances from the leads down to the ensemble players.

The musical contains a book by Joe Masteroff with music by Jerry Beck and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. It’s a weird thing about the songs. For a much beloved musical, there isn’t a single song in this 60 year old show that I’d ever heard before. There also isn’t a single song I can see becoming one of those songs you’d sing out at the bar when you’d had too many in college, or was that just me who did that? But, There isn’t a song in the moment that I didn’t completely enjoy. It’s a musical without a breakout hit but also without a bad song. I’ve often had the feeling that many musicals seem to have strong first acts filled with great songs and driving narratives, then the second acts seem slightly less stellar. Like the writers started strong and then had to rush to make the opening. This is a rare show where the first act is really good and then the second act is even better. The plot synopsis from the Lakeshore Players website is “Set in 1930s Europe, two feuding perfume store clerks begin to unknowingly exchange letters after responding to a “lonely hearts advertisement” in the newspaper and have no idea they are falling in love—with each other!” What that doesn’t hint at is the richness of the world in which the story takes place. The setting is Maraczek’s Parfumerie and aside from the leads, the story is filled out with the other employees and owner of the establishment. Each one has a story and motivation of their own and like all the best stories whether they be books, plays, movies, or even TV shows, we come to care about them all. No one is merely a plot device and like the classic films like The Shop Around the Corner, this has been cast so that each character has someone who can breathe individuality into the role.

Thomas Friebe and Sarah Shervey play the leads Georg and Amalia and both but particularly Shervey have wonderful voices. Together they carry the main plotline, the classic “will they or wont they/lovers too wise to woo peaceably”, confidently and by the time Georg shows Amalia some tenderness we are like putty in their hands. They are everything you want in romantic leads. For some productions that would be enough but what Director Kyle Weiler realizes is that the leads only look better when you surround them with stellar support. It makes the entire show richer when you find yourself thinking you’d be happy to see a show that followed any of these characters on their own. That comes from the writing to some extent, but when it’s combined with the right actor who understands the characters purpose and how they fit into the tapestry of the show as a whole, that’s when a stage becomes a world. Inhabiting this world are some wonderful supporting actors whom with weaker leads would have stolen the show, but as it is they do exactly what they should, enrich the story and the audiences experience. I only have space to name a couple but to be sure everyone in supporting roles and every single member of the ensemble is terrific. Faith Winship plays Ilona the other female employee who is carrying on a love affair with one of the other clerks at the start of the show. What is it about Winship that is so engaging? She has a fantastic voice, but there is something more. My wife says she’s just so cute, and I think that’s as good a term as any to describe her performance. What I mean, it’s not just her appearance, but it’s the facial expressions, the eyes that just beam with wit and a love of life, and the comedic timing. It’s all just so damn cute, that you just love her to death and root for her character. Josiah Fagerstrom has a similar quality as Sipos, a fellow Clerk and Georg’s best friend, I wouldn’t use the word “cute”, but steady. He perfectly plays that character that you just wish was your best friend, he’s so even keeled and supportive. I also felt that both Winship and Fagerstrom really captured the performance style of those fun screwball comedy 1940’s movie supporting characters.

I have to hand it to Director and Choreographer Kyle Weiler, this is one of the more cohesive productions I’ve seen recently. The approach definitely feels like he was going for a classic film vibe and everything falls in line with that objective perfectly. Every Actor understands the tone and achieves it. The Costumes by Meghan Kent are wonderful and perfectly fit the look and style of the production. Mark C. Koski’s set design is effective and the scene transitions that occur are able to do so rapidly allowing for the flow of the show to always continue smoothly forward.

She Loves Me will be charming audiences through December 20th at Lakeshore Players Theatre in White Bear Lake through December 20th. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lakeshoreplayers.org/she-loves-me

This Holiday season why not start a new tradition of taking in a live theater production with family and friends? It’s a great way to create lasting memories and will give you something to look forward to every year as you experience the magic of live theater. Whether your budget is large or small, there is a show for you. Looking for gift ideas? Don’t we all have enough “stuff”? Give the gift of live theater, go to your favorite theaters website, see what shows they have coming up in the new year and give the gift of an experience over material.

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