By Chelsea Reil
We all saw “You’ve Got Mail,” even though we won’t admit it. The story was awful. Replace Tom Hanks with a pathetic shop employee, and you have the musical “She Loves Me,” currently being put on by the Longwood Players.
The story focuses on a European-style parfumerie in the 1930s. Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash are two feuding clerks at the shop. Both secretly find solace in the anonymous romantic pen pals they met through lonely-hearts ads. Of course, they are completely unaware that they are each other’s secret pen pal.
In the end, Georg finds out, falls in love with Amalia and everyone ends up happy.
Other central characters are the employees at the parfumerie. They include Ilona Ritter, whose unfortunate romantic entanglements include one with a fellow worker and another with arrogant playboy Steven Kodaly (who has an affair with his boss’s wife). Ladislav Sipos, a clueless and self-proclaimed fool, also works there along with a young messenger named Arpad Laszlo, who dreams of being promoted to clerk. In charge of everything is Mr. Maraczek, a Hungarian immigrant who owns the store.
The storyline is weak and the characters are even worse. Amalia is the typical stage heroine: pretty, blonde and without a clue. Her na’vet’eacute; would almost be endearing if she weren’t so infuriatingly stupid. Georg is a pushover who wants to please everyone. Steven is so utterly ridiculous that his believability as a person was shattered halfway through the first act.
The musical’s premise itself is not the greatest, but some excellent acting and stage direction probably could have saved it. Unfortunately, there is none to be found. Between April Pressel’s (Amalia) over-acting and abysmal choreography, the two-and-a-half hour production felt like it lasted a lifetime.
A saving grace in the cast was Katie Pickett, who played Ilona Ritter. Delightfully cynical and with just enough sex appeal to be convincing, she was a nice change from the rest of the cast. Her pretty but not terribly strong voice was enhanced by a charismatic personality and excellent stage presence.
Praise is also due to the orchestra, under the direction of Paul Mattal. In a group of 15 talented musicians, the principal violinist, Sonja Larson, stood out with her clear passion for the instrument she played so well.
The original story comes from a 1937 straight play by the Hungarian writer Miklos Laszlo titled “Parfumerie.” It was then adapted to film for 1939’s “A Shop Around the Corner,” which was then refilmed as a musical for Judy Garland in 1949, called “In the Good Old Summertime.” “She Loves Me” was first performed on Broadway in 1963 with a revival in 1993. “You’ve Got Mail,” a modern film version of the play, was released in 1998.
The 1963 production won a Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and was nominated for four more. The revival in 1993 also won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, and was nominated for eight other Tony awards, as well as five Drama Desk Awards.
Songs include “Vanilla Ice Cream,” “A Romantic Atmosphere” and “A Trip to the Library.”
The Longwood Players, a community theatre group celebrating its 10th anniversary, put on the production. Other productions this season have included “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “A Night at the Cabaret.”
The mission of The Longwood Players is to “foster personal and artistic growth among its participants while simultaneously enriching the cultural community through the art form of musical and theatrical productions,” according to the group’s informational pamphlet. It said the group strives to provide community development by providing a place where people can come together to create and appreciate theatre. They also look to enrich the culture of the local community by providing affordable theatrical productions, according to the pamphlet.
“She Loves Me” runs through April 12 at the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre. It is directed by Kaitlyn Chantry, produced by P. Kirstin Newby and features April Pressel and Ethan Butler.