Long Wharf Theatre presents She Loves Me at The Lab at ConnCORP in Hamden, CT. Under the direction of Jacob Padrón, this classic musical is given new life that emanates a quiet dignity. There’s something to be said about a production that can make a person nostalgic for a time they hadn’t experience. She Loves Me captures the simplicity of a time before left or right swipes and the complexities of love that exists without regard for the era from which it’s being pursued.
Set in the 1930s, Mr. Maraczek’s (Raphael Nash Thompson) Parfumerie finds itself the backdrop of several unfolding love stories with his employees at the center. Ilona Ritter (Mariand Torres) is a simple girl just looking to be loved and taken care of, but finds herself misjudging the character of the men she finds herself attracted to. Steven Kodaly (Graham Stevens) is somewhat of a smooth talker, helping himself to the virtue of women. Ladislov Sipos (Danny Bolero) is a family man, a hard-worker, and a voice of reason in the parfumerie. Georg Nowack (Julius Thomas III) is a young bachelor not so subtly looking for a love of his own.
The team works together to help each other with each of the personal and professional issues as they arise. But tension grow high for one clerk in particular when newcomer, Amalia Balash (Alicia Kaori)—a hopeful romantic in search of striking a balance in love and friendship—presses her way into Mr. Maraczek’s Parfumerie. Mr. Maraczek (Thompson) and Ladislov (Bolero) are catalysts for the unfolding of the story and pivotal in pushing forward the plot.
The chorus of shoppe girls, their contribution to the ensemble, the ensemble’s contribution to the scene transitions and musical harmonies of the production are delightful. Stevens is convincing in both the villainy and the charm of his duplicitous character offering us both someone to love and hate simultaneously. Felix Torrez-Ponce is the every-man that holds each scene together. Torres is a joy in her comedic simplicity. Kaori manages to stun us vocally while still characterizing a relatable Ms. Balash in the emotional highs of her joy and depths of her despair. Thomas is believably smitten in his rendition of bumbling and speechless. His stoicism creates such a stark contrast between pre-love struck Georg and the Georg we see after he falls.
The scenic design of Emmie Finckel, an intimate boutique with a simple aesthetic that sets the stage for seamless scene changes, additions to the core set elements, and a bit of an immersive experience for audiences. Jiyoun Chang’s lighting design contributes to the cool of the winter, warmth of emotions, the hues of the progression of love, and the tints of courtship’s uncertainty—the mood lighting, if you will, plays along with color’s psychology to tell parts of the story that only lights can. Miles Plant and Alex Neumann’s respective music and sound design play the game of love too— the medley of accordion, violin, piano, and flute, among other instrumental sounds provide sonic essences of the same elements the lighting contributes. Each technical element plays their own key role in the layered telling of this story. Sarita P. Fellows’ costume design is another exploration of the time that adds to the quiet dignity of the story and the characters that tell it.
This production explores themes of authenticity and vulnerability in life and in love. It compares the naïveté of youth and that of age, reminding us that time doesn’t always make us wiser in the way we wish it to mitigate our susceptibility to being made a fool of. The musical numbers are mirrors that show us versions of our most vulnerable selves when we come face to face with our desires to belong—be it somewhere or to someone. We’re not ourselves when we’re in love. But perhaps, there’s value in that version of us anyway.
She Loves Me is showing at The Lab at ConnCORP in Hamden through to December 30th. For tickets, visit https://www.longwharf.org/.
