SHE LOVES ME run dates: 2/1/2008 - 2/10/2008 Iowa City Community Theatre, Iowa City, Iowa ____________________________________________________________________________
The musical SHE LOVES ME is a tale about a pair of feuding salesclerks who fall in love with their pen pals, only to discover that they have been writing to each other. Based on the Miklos Laszlo play PARFUMERIE – which also spawned the films "The Shop Around the Corner," "In the Good Old Summertime" and "You’ve Got Mail" – this romantic comedy for the musical stage features several charming characters and clever songs.
While the production of this show currently playing at the Iowa City Community Theatre isn’t a perfect one, there are plenty of enjoyable elements that allow this sweet little musical to provide a pleasant diversion.
Chief among the production’s assets is a pair of great leads.
Jon Meadows is an adorable Georg Nowack, the head clerk in what is the 1930s Central European equivalent of Bath & Body Works, and his generally sunny portrayal is wonderfully appealing. A fine singer, especially on "Tonight at Eight" and the title song, Meadows brings a fresh-faced glow to the role. Never cloying or overdone, his delivery of perfectly-nuanced sweetness and enamoured agitation is spot-on, and he is also a gifted comic actor.
In fact, my single favorite part of this particular show involves Georg visiting Amalia Balash (the other feuding clerk, played by Megan Sands). There are a couple of cute songs bracketing the scene, but it is otherwise pure stage comedy. Sands does work on par with that of Meadows – and both have nice vocal chops – but they rely completely on spoken lines to make this scene work. A tough assignment for singers, this part of the show is superb because they pull it off completely.
Sands’ best vocals are on "Vanilla Ice Cream," "No More Candy" and "Will He Like Me," and she employs a glorious soprano throughout the musical, lending this role a loveliness that is much appreciated. Her Amalia is sensitive and sometimes emotional, but the portrayal never strays into the sappy end of the pond. Altogether a beautiful performance, Sands makes her ICCT debut a fine one in this well-done role.
Nora Scherschel is a SHE LOVES ME standout, playing Ilona (another clerk) with lively energy and a snarky sense of self that expands as the musical progresses. By the time she gets to "A Trip to the Library" in the second act, she has nearly stolen the show – and her delivery of that song is hands-down the best musical number in the entire production.
As yet another clerk, Chuck Dufano gets a crowd-pleasing number, too. His timid Sipos is none-too-bright, and "Perspective" is a genuinely funny song that makes you wish he had more time on stage. As the Head Waiter, Jim Verry also does great work on his only song, enriching the comedy of "A Romantic Atmosphere" with an uber-Continental suavity that makes it quite comical.
Other actors and ensemble members did not fare quite so well. There is too much (and on a male character here, inexplicable) eye makeup and shoes that do not fit, ill-fitting or not-quite-matching costumes, questionable choreography (if you can even call it that), and even some weaker singers in the chorus. A couple of violins -- in an otherwise fine orchestra -- even squawk every once in a while.
There are, in fact, a handful of smallish issues that keep the show from its full potential, but the enjoyable performances at the center of this SHE LOVES ME make it a nice enough show just the same.
