SHE LOVES ME Reviews — Page 4

I adore SHE LOVES ME and this revival; though it does seem like this musical holds an especially fond place in theatre lovers' hearts, that perhaps the public at large doesn't exactly get. I've recommended the show to everyone, and frankly, a number of my friends who are not weekly theatre goers, thought it was just "fine." One was even fascinated about why I thought it was such a great musical. And I guess that's why the show has never really had a commercially successful run, but how lucky are we that it has been presented on Broadway in near perfect productions each time.

Well said Queen Alice and Joey. It is fascinating how SHE LOVES ME divides audiences. For some, like myself, it's everything a great musical should be and more. Poignant, funny, charming, warm, romantic, subplots and plot in delicious balance, sophistication without pretense, and perhaps best of all, a love story with protagonists who seem singularly suited to each other, both ideally and ironically. In so many musicals we are asked to simply take as an article of faith that the romantic leads are destined for each other. But Georg and Amalia are a completely different kind of pair. Theirs is a meeting of hearts and minds before they even set eyes on each other; before they do all the things they ultimately do - meet cute, fight, bat eyes, flirt, exchange gifts, surprise, provoke and beguile each other, and finally fall in love in the flesh.

For many others, it's just an ok show. It's never been a huge hit yet it's a show that is so fervently beloved by so many people that it has a very special place at the top of the canon and is now getting its second highly acclaimed Broadway revival.

The two camps were very much apparent at the preview performance I saw. There was palpable enthusiasm mixed in with an equally palpable reception that might be labeled nonplussed - in both the correct but uncommon and incorrect but common senses of that word. In short, it seems that many of us simply value everything SHE LOVES ME offers far more than many others do.

Which is, as has been said, fine. It is what it is. Like oysters, it's not for everyone. And it doesn't need to be. But oh the pleasure it gives those whom it is for!

What surprises me, however, is that some posting here seem to have a low to modest appreciation for the score. I simply find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't respond to these sublime melodies and exquisite lyrics. Try as I might to accept that, it's a real challenge.

Updated On: 3/24/16 at 12:31 PM

Well, it was delightful for me to discover him for the first time--and at the same time see the stage door thronged with kids (who weren't even born when the last revival was on Broadway!) discovering this wonderful old musical just because they came to see him.

Could the disappointment some people feel about this wonderful show (count me among the people who love it to bits) have to do with changing times and the expectations that go along with them? I mean, if your favorite current musical brings down the first act curtain with this:



Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap!
It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!



You might not know what to do with a musical whose first act ends with the heroine, abandoned and alone, singing forlornly:



Charming, romantic, the perfect cafe
Then as if it isn't bad enough, a violin starts to play
Candles and wine, tables for two
But where are you, dear friend?
Couples go past me
I see how they look
So discreetly sympathetic
When they see the rose and the book
I make believe nothing is wrong
How long can I pretend?
Please make it right, don't break my heart
Don't let it end, dear friend.



Mind you, I *like* Stephen Schwartz and don’t mean to “pull him down”! (Though I admit I don’t care for Wicked and find these particular lyrics really generic and terrible.) I’m just pointing out that most of the megabits on Broadway nowadays are in a style very different from the intimate and specific She Loves Me.

I think you're referring to the palate of a particular generation, Peter2. And in that context, you're observation is most definitely a valid one, but I think music plays a larger part than lyrics in determining what resonates with younger people. Scores with a modern, pop sound are the ones that more often appeal to that demographic. Regardless, it's great to read that Zachary Levi is incentive for younger audiences to take in this production of She Loves Me. Perhaps it'll open their eyes to a genre they never knew they'd enjoy, which is most definitely something to celebrate.

Ljay, I am right there with you. I discovered "Ice Cream" when I read that list of Sondheim's favorite showtunes and saw it on there. I remember checking out the OBCR from the campus library my first semester away in college, and didn't think much of it--I was 18 and was into stuff like CHICAGO, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, and FOLLIES. SHE LOVES ME seemed kind of small when I was that young and so unaware of the artistry that characterizes some of the best musicals. But I still downloaded the music and once in a while, "Ice Cream" or "I Don't Know His Name" would come on, and once I remember paying attention to the actual lyrics and the performances and I fell in love with those two songs but didn't listen to anything else from it. Little by little, I started listening to more and more songs over the years, and by the time the revival was announced--basically a decade later and all that comes with that--I was completely charmed by the score and was so excited to see it live.

However, I had no idea what the book was like or how the songs emerged, and I definitely wasn't prepared to be so floored by its beauty and joy and artistry and by how melancholy it is. I certainly can't see how it could be described as saccharine for the reasons you mentioned. Not sure how it is usually played but Amalia's takedown on Georg during the dinner scene is harsh and cuts deep. When he sings "yesterday I loathed her," you believe it; when she sings "I was so nasty...well, he deserved it...but even so..." we, as the audience, believe those lyrics because we have seen it. I thought the cast and especially Scott Ellis did a fantastic job at grounding every scene in emotions and sentiments that felt very real to me without sacrificing the sweeping romanticism and charm that permeates every single moment (no let's make things dark or gritty or silly for the sake of it--I will never get over that god awful Broadway revival of GUYS & DOLLS). When Krakowski sings "I Resolve" in tears, I was surprised since Barbara Baxley sings it as more of a comedic song in the OBCR. So personally I was as enamored by it (to borrow your word, Ljay) as I was surprised by how touched I was by all the emotions. And I will unabashedly admit that my eyes got misty at the end, I loved the way Benanti and Levi play the finale.

Oh and can we stop acting like mattyp4 needs to be in some sort of support group? Can people not take criticism anymore? This is the kind of silly mentality that drove some of the great posters of the board like Phyllis and Namo away.

I discovered "Ice Cream" when I read that list of Sondheim's favorite showtunes and saw it on there.

Off topic, but does anyone have a link to that list? I'd very much like to read that.

Thank you, gypsy!

mattyp4 said: "Well, I'm like one of the only people to express my disappointment in She Loves Me on this board. So you're probably referring to me. But I didn't really care for Wicked either. I can appreciate the lyrics in She Love Me, but as a whole the show was a little too saccharine for my tastes. "



Actually, I didn't have any one person in mind--nor did I mean to impugn your taste or anybody else's. In, fact, I was most of all thinking of a couple young relatives, high school girls, who visited me here in New York a while back and saw several performances. They loved Wicked, but thought The King and I was boring. Fine about enjoying Wicked (my aversion to it is my loss, I'm sure), but I just can't comprehend finding The King and I boring, either dramatically or musically, especially in such an excellent production.



I think Cupid Boy2 is right--pop-based musicals are the thing today, ready-made for amplification, and it's only natural younger audiences would respond to this; whereas traditional shows like The King and I and She Loves me were written for an acoustical world (even if amplification is used nowadays), with a more classical (old-fashioned) sound coming out of the orchestra. With traditional shows like this, I think you have to lean in a little more--they're not meant to wipe you out.



But sorry, I'm getting way off the topic of this thread, so let me come back to She Loves Me. One of the things I love about it is that every single song is specific to the character and the dramatic moment. Each one is placed just so, and a song in the first act might not have a payoff until the second act. Bock & Harnick didn't even try to create a standard, a big hit. I also love the structure--to me, it's even better than the great old movie--with the first act where all these nice, likable people for some reason argue and become more and more disagreeable. You don't really understand why until you get towards the end of the act. Then comes that utterly wonderful second act, where misunderstandings are cleared up, friendships renewed, and romances blossom. The warmth and charm of it are just irresistible. It's my dream of how real life should be.

Saw this tonight- it was absolutely delghtful in every way. It deserves best revival- I hope we get a cast album so bad!

I fear that charm and sophistication are somewhat lost on general audiences nowadays. They're used to their entertainment being fast paced and tightly packaged and have trouble relaxing into the more leisurely, thoughtful qualities of a gem like this one.

I know this will sound snobbish, but I think the thing is that the mainstream 'romantic' musicals are bombastic, shouting their emotions in Andrew Lloyd Webber belt-style, so that the audience gets spoon-fed every character's arc. 'She Loves Me' allows the audience to meet the characters half way. Sadly, a lot of the popular audience just isn't that clever. (Don't want to get political, but just look).

I enjoyed myself Wed. night March 23rd - but did find the lyrics for the bright uptempo group numbers to be unintelligible. In other words, I think you will find yourself enjoying this show more if you do some homework and listen to the cast albums a few times first. IMHO, that's part of the reason that this is being called a musical for music theater enthusiasts...people who have already analyzed it's music are going to be the ones who hear and comprehend it clearly.