MADISON — The wholeheartedly romantic musical “She Loves Me” tells a romantic tale set in the 1930s in a parfumerie in Eastern Europe.
In its opening week at Rabbit Run Theater, the musical is an adaptation of the play “Parfumerie” by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszio, and was based on the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film “The Shop Around the Corner.” More recently the story emerged in 1998 in the feature film, “You’ve Got Mail,” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
The plot revolves around co-workers Georg and Amalia, who are at constant odds with each other and take solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals, little knowing they are writing to each other.
Nominated for five Tony Awards, the original Broadway production opened in 1963; the show later enjoyed an award-winning Broadway revival in 1993.
The production is under the direction of Brendan Sandham, who has acted and directed in numerous Northeast Ohio theaters including Fine Arts Association, the Beck Center, Geauga Lyric Theater Guild and Rabbit Run Theater. Sandham appeared in the 2008 Rabbit Run production of “Titanic, the Musical” and has directed the theater’s productions of “Little Women,” “The Broadway Musical” and “Cats!”
“I’ve known of the story of ‘She Loves Me’ for awhile,” said Sandham. “I grew up loving the movie ‘Shop Around the Corner’ with Jimmy Steward, so I’m very familiar with the story and consider it a real pleasure to be a part of this production.”
“The cast members have put their whole heart into the show. Each actor has put their own unique touch to their character adding a lot of depth to the show. It’s been rewarding to watch each of them develop as rehearsals have progressed.”
Musical direction is provided by Beth Johnson, staff music instructor at Rabbit Run, and Nick Carlisle, a dance instructor at the University of Akron , is the show’s choreographer.
Brian Altman as Georg plays opposite Lindsey Sandham as Amalia. Altman, no stranger to Rabbit Run appeared in last season’s “Titanic, the Musical” as the ship’s architect, Andrews, as well as the 2006 production of “Forever Plaid.” Altman has performed at numerous community theaters including not only Rabbit Run but also the Erie Playhouse and the Beck Center.
Lindsey Sandham, a vocal performance major at Baldwin Wallace College, has performed at Fine Arts Association, the Beck Center, Geauga Lyric Theater as well as Rabbit Run.
Other performers include Paul Felden as Kodaly, Tom Jessup as Sipos, Sandy Kosovich Peck as Ilona and Michael Crowley as Arpad, all as store employees. Greg Gnau portrays the store owner, Maraczek.
Based on the book for the production by Joe Masteroff with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Bock, “She Loves Me” runs through Aug. 2.
All shows begin at 8 p.m. at the historic Rabbit Run Theater is located at 5648 W. Chapel Road and is one of the few remaining barn theaters in Ohio.
Tickets may be reserved by calling the box office at 440-428-7092, Wednesday through Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased on line at www.rabbitrunonline.org. Special rates and packages are available for groups of 20 or more and may be reserved by calling RRCAA at 428-5913.
Show dates are today through Sunday, July 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, Aug. 1, 2.
