Rediscovering Joy: She Loves Me at the Cape Rep Theatre

The Cape Rep has a talent for finding the exact right thing to say at exactly the right time. Last year, at a moment when the country found itself sharply divided after the presidential election and many in our community were feeling a desperate fear, Cape Rep brought us Tickle Me Pink, perfectly timing its offering of an opportunity to reconnect and spend time together simply having fun.

And they’ve done it again with She Loves Me, a funny, fast-moving, delightful musical, playing now through December 7^th and featuring an absolutely top-flight cast with Cape Rep’s signature perfect vocalists.

It’s the 1930s at a perfume-cosmetics emporium called Maraczek’s, and the clerks who work there all have interesting and entertaining problems. Georg (played with gusto by Anthony Teixeira, who just keeps getting stronger with every performance) is a manager longing for love; he’s been corresponding with a special “friend” via a lonely-hearts column and is in the throes of anticipating meeting her in person. Ilona (the irrepressible Trish LaRose) has been seeing her coworker, womanizer Steven (Jakov Schwartzberg), though her heart is clearly more in it than is his; anyone who’s ever fallen for the wrong person can immediately sympathize with her.

Unlike the other clerks, Ladislav (Ari Lew) has one goal: stay employed (it is, one recalls, the ‘30s). He has a family to support, and the brisk pace of sales (to customers played by Izzy Scampoli, Lynne Ruberti Johnson, and Holly Hanson) keeps him trying frantically to prove his worth to the parfumerie owner, Mr. Maraczek himself (Brian Farrell).

Enter Amalia (Chelsey Jo Brown), an applicant for a nonexistent position, who immediately enchants the owner and clerks—with the exception of Georg—with her stellar sales prowess. She is, of course, more than just the new employee—she’s Georg’s correspondent, as much in love with her penpal as he is with her. Enough said about that; the rest of that thread is filled with the confusion inherent in moving them ever-closer to the realization of their mysterious connection.

Another confused connection happens when Mr. Maraczek hires a private detective (Cam Torres) to determine who in the shop is having an affair with his wife; he erroneously identifies the culprit as Georg (by now my readers as well as the audience know to place the blame rightfully on Steven) and dismisses him just as the Christmas rush begins.

There to take his place is Arpad (Bróedy Geary), the bicycle-riding office boy who’s promoted to clerk after saving Mr. Maraczek from a suicide attempt; but it’s not long before the affair is sorted and Georg is back in place.

Enough about the plot, which is of course great fun; but the airtight script, the fabulous songs, and the stellar production perfectly complement the onstage talent. Director Maura Hanlon has a sense of timing that is spot-on; neither she nor the cast miss a beat.

The scenic design—I cannot say enough about the set by Ryan McGettigan. It’s very art deco, as befitting the time, and enormously flexible, moving seamlessly from the shop entrance to the shop itself to a local wonderfully sketchy café. Robin McLaughlin’s costumes, also, are art deco in their own way, and they work.

There’s a lot of humor in the story and some of the scenes are just this side of slapstick—and very, very funny.

One of the later scenes between Georg and Amalia (in which she sings the wonderful “Where’s My Shoe?”) gives us an interaction clearly reminiscent of Tracy and Hepburn; all I can say is bravo. And during the intermission an audience member passed by me and remarked, “isn’t this the best play ever?!” so my enthusiasm certainly is shared!

This is the production that we need right now. Go; enjoy; laugh. It will do you good. Cape Rep is again outstanding in every aspect of the production: this shouldn’t be missed.

review by Jeannette de Beauvoir

photos by Bob Tucker/Focalpoint