She Loves Me

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courtesy Madison Opera

Madison Opera is keeping the romance alive post-Valentine's Day with She Loves Me, a musical following the comical, unexpected romance of two perfume shop clerks who disdain each other. Little do they know they are also secret pen pals. Taking place in 1930s Hungary, She Loves Me has some familiar vibes for You’ve Got Mail fans, though the play was created long before that film — in 1963, by Pulitzer Prize-winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, better known for Fiddler on the Roof. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Feb. 18 and 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 20, with talks by Madison Opera general director Kathryn Smith one hour prior.

press release: Tickets: $27-$122. Student and group discounts available.

Madison Opera brightens up winter with performances of She Loves Me on Friday, February 18 at 8pm and Sunday, February 20 at 2:30pm in the Capitol Theater.  In this romantic comedy from the golden age of American musicals, young couples exchange witty barbs, emotions are expressed in song, and happiness is just around the corner

PRE-OPERA TALKS: Friday, 7 PM; Sunday, 1:30 PM; FREE to ticket holders, Wisconsin Studio. Join General Director Kathryn Smith one hour prior to performances for an entertaining and informative talk about She Loves Me.

Set in 1930s Hungary, She Loves Me tells of the denizens of a perfume shop. Two of the clerks, Amalia and Georg, hate each other, not knowing that they are secret pen pals on their way to falling in love. Two other clerks, Ilona and Kodaly, are having an affair, but Kodaly is not playing by the rules.  As fall gives way to winter, will love prevail?

She Loves Me was the fourth musical by the song-writing team of Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics), who had already won the Pulitzer Prize for their 1959 musical Fiorello.  One year after She Loves Me, their musical Fiddler on the Roof premiered to global acclaim.

With bookwriter Joe Masteroff, the pair adapted the popular 1940 movie The Shop Around the Corner, which itself was based on the 1937 play Parfumerie by Hungarian writer Miklós László. The play had also been adapted into the film musical In the Good Old Summertime (1949), and decades later would be adapted into the non-musical film You’ve Got Mail (1998).

When She Loves Me premiered in 1963, critics hailed its music and charm; The World-Telegram & Sun called it “a musical play with which everyone can fall in love.”  It has since become a favorite work of audiences everywhere, with wonderful music, intelligent humor, and genuine heart.

“She Loves Me is a delectable piece, and it’s one of my favorites,” says Kathryn Smith, Madison Opera’s General Director. “The score has an almost Mozart-ean level of ensemble writing, with individual songs for every character, as well as varied duets and ensembles. It’s the perfect piece to cheer up audiences in a Wisconsin winter.

Madison Opera’s production features Susannah Biller in her Madison Opera debut as Amalia, a new clerk at the shop. Ben Edquist (Fellow Travelers) plays Georg, the shop’s head clerk and Amalia’s unknowing pen pal. Emily Glick (A Little Night Music) plays Ilona, a clerk who is having her own romantic troubles with fellow clerk Kodaly, played by Andrew Bidlack (The Magic Flute). Alan Dunbar (Fellow Travelers) plays Sipos, a clerk who tries to keep the peace, with varying levels of success. Jeff Mattsey (The Marriage of Figaro) is Mr. Maraczek, the shop owner with domestic concerns. Walker Stephenson debuts as Arpad, the delivery boy with greater ambitions, and Robert A. Goderich plays the Headwaiter trying to preserve the romantic atmosphere of his café. Rounding out the cast are ensemble members Tyrese Byrd, Quinn Middleman, Laura Muller, Anja Pustaver, Alannah Spencer, Ryan White, and Alexandra Zulauf.

Doug Scholz-Carlson returns to direct this new production. The artistic director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival, his most recent Madison Opera production was A Little Night Music in 2018. The design team from A Little Night Music returns, with sets by R. Eric Stone, costumes by Karen Brown-Larimore, and lighting by Martha Carter. John DeMain conducts members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

Madison Opera’s production of She Loves Me is sponsored by Lau & Bea Christensen Charitable Foundation, Sally & Mike Miley, David Flanders & Susan Ecroyd, and Fran Klos.