David Thaxton and Alex Young in She Loves Me at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Picture: Johan Persson
She Loves Me continues at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield until 15 January 2022.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Based upon Miklós László’s play Parfumerie, Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s musical adaptation She Loves Me is an uplifting Christmas gift to us all this year.
Ben Stones’ cleverly designed set combined with smart costuming places us firmly into the 1930s, and allows for a quick and simple change to take us from the provincial Hungarian town streets into the luxurious interior of Maraczek’s Parfumerie. The placement of the band is well done, as the musicians appear on the top floor of the street buildings, seen through the windows, while violinist Andra Vornicu performs on stage at various points throughout the show as any street performer might.
Clear thought has also been given to making the most of the Crucible’s thrust stage, with Robert Hastie’s staging and Ewan Jones’ choreography ensuring that all three sides of the the audience are included throughout the show, and this helps create the effect that the audience is being treated to an unfiltered view of life in the Parfumerie.
The story’s mainly focuses on Georg Nowack (David Thaxton) and Amalia Balash’s (Alex Young) journey from loathing to love, and the discovery that they are indeed ‘Dear Friends’. The chemistry between Georg and Amalia is very well played. At times Amalia doesn’t come across as particularly likeable, which is unusual for a leading role in a romance, but a welcome change, and one that allows the audience to grow to love her as Georg does.
The supporting characters also make a great impression, with Ilona (Kaisa Hammarlund) and Mr Kodaly’s (Andy Coxon) relationship and breakup being put under the microscope during Act I with the songs ‘Ilona’ and ‘I Resolve’ leading to a quite poignant moment for Ilona’s character. Hammarlund plays Ilona throughout with great comic timing, but also with a depth that shows her desire for someone who truly cares.
While She Loves Me has many comedic moments, the story does explore deeper and darker themes, such as loneliness, deep introspection and even suicide, adding a real depth and complexity to balance out what could otherwise be quite a saccharine story.
The presence of the Maitress D’ (expertly played by Adele Anderson) and the song ‘A Romantic Atmosphere’ set in the cafe where the ‘Dear Friends’ are set to meet is a highlight of Act I, with stunning choreography clearly engaging us in the atmosphere of this little cafe.
Whilst Act II is much shorter, it has more standout songs, with ‘Where’s my Shoe?’ expertly executed throughout with vocals and choreography coming together to show the exact moment where Georg and Amalia’s relationship begins to pivot towards one of love, whilst they are mid argument.
‘Vanilla Ice Cream’ and ‘She Loves Me’, which are probably the most well-known numbers from the show, are performed with real warmth, charm and emotion as that realisation sinks in for the main characters. But a mention must also go out to Lewis Cornay, who in the role of Arpad Laszlo suspends disbelief during his performance of ‘Try Me’ as he manages to utterly convince not only Mr Maraczek but every single audience member that he is absolutely capable to step up from lowly delivery boy Arpad to Mr Laszlo, sales clerk!
Overall, this is a really enjoyable production, and while some of the themes explored in the story may not seem particularly Christmassy, the happy ending is clear and provides hope for an audience, members of which may well have experienced these themes throughout the last couple of years. Ultimately, it seems a rather fitting, great choice of a musical to go and see this year.
Sara Smith
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