"(and to think what a loss it would have been NOT to have Zachary Levi as Georg - replacing Josh Radnor who went to PBS's Mercy Street. Nothing against Josh, but Zachary is just perfect here. I can't imagine anyone other than Laura doing this show to perfection the way she does."
Kathy, I saw Radnor and O'Hara and with all due respect to Levi - a sympathetic and nicely played Georg, with an appealing Jimmy Stewartish quality, but vocally not nearly as interesting as Radnor, and neither as funny nor as charmingly humble - and Benanti- as terrific an Amalia as O'Hara (high praise!) if not nearly as perfectly cast (Benanti does everything she can and more to make Amalia her own, but she is still too sophisticated and glamorous for the part; it matters little for me (and many others) but to some it does matter) - Radnor and O'Hara were the best Georg and Amalia I have ever seen (and I'd even include Stewart and Sullivan and Johnson and Garland in that estimation, and certainly Hanks and Ryan), they had unmatchable chemistry, totally carried the show in a cast of stars, and they aced the challenging rhythms of the delicate final scene (which, as others have stated, Levi and Benanti do not).
StandingOvation, I disagree vehemently with you on the quality of She Loves Me as a show. To me the book remains perfection (yes, I know Gaveston, you and I agree to disagree about what you feel are certain second act problems) and the score among the very best in the American theatre, both rhapsodically melodic and exquisitely lyrical. It's a classic romance with a story that is far from weak; this well explains why it has been repeatedly committed to great success on film (The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summer Time, You've Got Mail) and why a recent Paris production of Lazlow's original play, Parfumerie, was a huge hit (winning five Moliere awards, including curiously "best new play"....guess unlike the Tony's, the Molieres don't treat classics as revivals just because they haven't been staged in Paris before). Perhaps this explains why someone else posted that it seems far less dated than many recent revivals of classic musicals.
This is an excellent revival. In fact, I think in many ways it's much better than the last revival which was also excellent. It has some problems, which others have mentioned here. The balance between the orchestra and the vocals often makes hearing these fine performers and these peerless lyrics a strain. For some members of the cast (gratefully including Benanti!) this is never a problem (at least for my center mezzanine hearing) but for others it is. I could always make out the vocals from everyone but it was all too often a chore to do so. And it shouldn't be a chore.
You may be right about the set. During the show, I recall being relieved that the set, rather than looking oppressive and charmless as it did in some of the publicity stills, was instead impressive and sumptuous. But now reading your very finely written critique, I agree that it all too often clashes with the intimacy of the material. Blissful moments as once perfectly focused as Krakowski's mistaking her right glove for her left during "I Resolve' (a brilliant comedic coup in the concert) are now all but lost among the staging and the now expansively fine appointments of Maracek and Company and of what sometimes seems like all the glory of MittelEuropa surrounding it.
I also agree, that, as someone else stated, the huge set pushes the Cafe Imperial too far downstage, and the staging and choreography of Romantic Atmosphere loses much because of it. And the same might be said for other scenes (including Will He Like Me and with it our first experience of Amalia sustainedly alone on stage, the hospital scene) that take place in front of the closed doors of Maracek's. These scenes suffer both from a kind of referred claustrophobia and by being upstaged by the grandeur of central Budapest.
Because of a combination of all of these factors, as good as Krakowski and Bartlett are here they were far more effective in concert.
On balance, this is a great show being given a strong if imperfect revival.
Some else posted that like a first kiss, one's feelings about She Loves Me, depend so much on whom one was kissing. Not for me. I first saw it on tv, the British version. I immediately fell in love with the show itself. The book and the score. The performers were all fine, but the show was the thing.
Perhaps the takeaway here is that She Loves Me isn't for every one. As many have stated it's a special brew. There are those, like myself, who cherish it. To me, and I am far from alone, it is the perfect musical. It not only has everything Lehman Engel insisted a great musical should have - plot, subplot, romance, comedy, conflict, lyricism and feeling - but it serves them all up as tasty and filling as many of us could possibly hope for. But clearly there are others for whom it's just not their favorite kind of dish.
Updated On: 3/10/16 at 10:32 AM
