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She Loves Me is a Broadway musical.
The show's billing indicates it was adapted from the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Lazslo. In fact, the 1940 film The Shop around the Corner (starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan), based on Lazslo's play, is the closer model.
The plot revolves around two employees of a small Budapest shop who are constantly at odds with each other at work, unaware that each is the other's secret pen pal.
She Loves Me, which opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theater in Manhattan on April 23, 1963 with Barbara Cook, ran 301 performances in its original run, winning a Best Supporting Actor Tony for Jack Cassidy's Kodaly. (Its 1993 Broadway revival ran for 42 previews and 354 performances.) The book is by Joe Masteroff, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. (The following year, the latter two had a far greater success with Fiddler on the Roof; Mr. Masteroff would also triumph a few seasons later with his book for Cabaret.)
Parfumerie also served as the inspiration for another musical, the 1949 Judy Garland film In the Good Old Summertime, as well as the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy, You've Got Mail.
Major characters
- Georg Nowack - Georg, the main male character, works at Maraczek's Parfumerie and is an anonymous pen pal of fellow employee Amalia Balash. Even though they despise each other at work, they eventually develop a good relationship with each other by the end of the play (last name pronounced "No'-vack").
- Amalia Balash - Amalia, the main female character, joins Maraczek's Parfumerie after she persuades a customer to buy one of the new musical cigarette boxes. She is the secret pen pal of Georg, though they can't stand one another at work. Halfway through Act Two, she begins to reconsider Georg after he brings her vanilla ice cream while she was at home with a fever.
- Ladislav Sipos - A fellow employee of Maraczek's Parfumerie, Sipos is a true friend to Georg Nowack. He's very concerned with having a true "perspective" at work. He's also equally firm on his creed, which is (in the final line of his Act One solo): "Do not lose your job."
- Arpad Laszlo - Arpad is the youngest employee at Maraczek's Parfumerie. He rides a bike to work as a messenger for the shop. By Act Two, he gains Mr. Maraczek's respect and is promoted to the post of salesman.
- Ilona Ritter - As one of the female employees at Maraczek's Parfumerie, Ilona is a dedicated worker. She has an off & on relationship with Steven Kodaly, but in the end, things just don't work out. She does find true love in the form of an optometrist she meets at the library.
- Steven Kodaly - Steven Kodaly works at Maraczek's Parfumerie for most of the play. He has a relationship with Ilona Ritter for most of the play, but in the end, he can't live up to her expectations. He is fired and leaves before the Christmas season.
- Mr. Maraczek - Mr. Maraczek is the boss of a parfumerie that bears his name. He watches over everything at his store, seeing that every cosmetic is sold. In the Act One song, "Days Gone By," he relives his youth by teaching Georg how to dance.
Songs
ACT ONE
- Overture (Orchestra)
- Good Morning, Good Day (Arpad, Sipos, Ritter, Kodaly and Georg)
- Sounds While Selling (Clerks and Customers)
- Days Gone By (Mr. Maraczek)
- No More Candy (Amalia)
- Three Letters (Georg and Amalia)
- Tonight at Eight (Georg)
- I Don't Know His Name (Amalia and Ilona)
- Perspective (Sipos)
- Goodbye, Georg (Clerks and Customers)
- Will He Like Me? (Amalia)
- Ilona (Kodaly, Sipos and Arpad)
- I Resolve (Ilona)
- A Romantic Atmosphere (Headwaiter and Patrons)
- Tango Tragique (Georg)
- Mr. Nowack, Will You Please... (Amalia, Georg and Waiter)
- Dear Friend (Amalia)
ACT TWO
- Entr'acte (Orchestra)
- Try Me (Arpad)
- Where's My Shoe? (Amalia and Georg)
- Ice Cream (Amalia)
- She Loves Me (Georg)
- A Trip to the Library (Ilona)
- Grand Knowing You (Kodaly)
- Twelve Days to Christmas (Carolers, Shoppers and Clerks)
- Finale (Georg and Amalia)
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