She Loves Me a Delight at 4 Community Theatre

She Loves Me tells a story that by now feels familiar: Two rivals each develop a romantic relationship with a pen pal – not knowing that they’re actually writing to each other. The first iteration, the play Parfumerie, premiered in 1937 in Hungary, and in the years that followed it was adapted into film versions starring Jimmy Stewart and Judy Garland (in two separate movies), then into the musical She Loves Me, and most recently into the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Whether the characters are writing letters or shooting off emails, the premise remains irresistible. How long can they hate each other at work and love each other in writing, and which will win in the end?

4 Community Theatre has certainly been busy lately, as I imagine they started rehearsals for She Loves Me right on the heels of their summer show. But they’ve found a nice spot in the year for an uncontested show weekend; after multiple crowded weekends this summer it was nice to have just one show opening at once. 4CT has been moving around to different theaters, and while Rockford High School’s auditorium is a nice theater space, it does have the downside of feeling pretty far away from the cities. It’s been my experience that many people around town are unwilling to drive to places they think are far away (even if they aren’t actually very far away). For me, Rockford wasn’t really a longer drive than some other suburban theaters, but it didn’t help my mental geography to drive past farms to get to the theater.

Overall, 4CT delivered on She Loves Me’s charm. Under director Anna Olson, the relationships between the characters came through strongly, which was essential for balancing out and contextualizing the negative aspects of the story (like Maraczek’s increasingly unfair treatment of Nowack). Olson kept the scenes moving, and the humor came through easily. Olson presumably also vocal directed; the show was full of strong vocal performances. 4CT used pre-recorded music, which I don’t always agree with, but this is a show that’s actually very well suited for it. Cindy Novy’s choreography was charming and used the space well, especially in the playfully and silly “Romantic Atmosphere.” Other highlights were “Sounds While Selling,” which had a nice classic feel, and the increasingly frenzied and chaotic “Twelve Days to Christmas.”

The set, designed by Dan Sherman and Amelia Shaffer, made good use of the stage space with rotating pieces that established the inside and outside of the perfume shop. I would have liked a little more decoration on the interior walls of the shop, which were a pleasant color but felt a little bare. The skyline of other buildings was a nice backdrop to the other scenery. Alex Peck’s lighting design was mostly naturalistic; a highlight for me was the cozy feel he gave “Vanilla Ice Cream.” Unfortunately, a flickering stage light caused a repeated distraction. Mark Johnson’s sound had one or two problem microphones, while the rest of the cast was loud and clear. The music could have been louder in the full-ensemble numbers. Christy Branham’s costumes included lots of period-appropriate touches, and I was happy to see the follow-through of matching hats and gloves. Overall, Branham’s costumes met the tone of the period nicely and the entire cast was dressed in put-together, becoming looks (which is rarer than it should be). The top look for me was Amalia’s amazing matching pink pajamas.

Jessica Halverson was pitch-perfect as the spirited Amalia Balash. Her bright soprano tone and her vocal skill shone throughout, and her comedic timing was spot on in the abrupt shifts of “Vanilla Ice Cream.” As Georg Nowack, Sean Barker delivered a strong character progression as his character dealt with confusing situations at work and in love. I particularly enjoyed the nervous and frenetic “Tonight at Eight,” but Barker was at his best in the irrepressibly charming “She Loves Me.” Halverson and Barker delivered a satisfying build of antagonism, egged on by Nowack’s increasing stress and Amalia being overly quick to jump to conclusions. They both balanced well the needs of the conflict with letting their characters still be sympathetic. Hanna Stegman had a lot of fun with Ilona’s dramatic ups and downs, and she sounded good on the belts in songs like “A Trip to the Library.” Michael Wesley’s Kodaly had a diva’s confidence and the smarminess of a pick-up artist; despite his villainous actions, it was hard not to be won over by his over-the-top goodbye in “Grand Knowing You.”

Thomas Branham brought a nuanced performance to Mr. Maraczek, preventing him from feeling like a villain even as he became inscrutably meaner to his employees. After realizing his mistake, Maraczek’s focus is on rebuilding his relationships, and Branham’s warmth and sincere connections with the other actors made Maraczek easy to forgive. The relationship was especially engaging and sweet between him and Micky VanDrehle’s delivery boy Arpad. VanDrehle had some very funny moments of playing with the fourth wall, and he was seamless in the fast-paced patter song “Try Me.” As Sipos, Joshua Cabrales-Robles was self-deprecating and ruefully self-aware, and his playfully practical “Perspective” was a delight.

Mack Armbruster gave a very funny performance as the overly intense headwaiter, and an uncredited ensemble member briefly popped in as a detective with some accent work I thought was very interesting (a touch of inspiration from Poirot, maybe?). The shop-goers of “Sounds While Selling” (Casey Barker, Emma Knapik, and Lydia Nynas) had a lovely sound as a trio and as a sextet with the salesmen. This show is not what one would call “ensemble-heavy,” but I enjoyed the scenes where the whole ensemble was featured; the café scenes had a lot of delightful details from the cast, and the Christmas shopping scene was very wild and entertaining.

All in all, this was a delightful show that really showed why She Loves Me, although not one of the most well-known of the Broadway canon, is remembered and cherished by many. It’s a lovely way to spend an evening, and it would have been worth an even further drive!