By Alessandra Djurklou for Long Beach Press Telegram
A Nice - and Simple - Romantic Comedy

There's something charmingly old-fashioned about the musical "She Loves Me." There's no cynicism, like in "Urinetown." There's no raunch, like in "Rent." And there's no pretension, like in "Ten Commandments." It's fluffy and sweet, but not too sweet, and the cast is not so huge that individual faces are lost.

All this means that, in the wrong hands, it could pretty much become dreck. Fortunately, Musical Theatre West, which is producing the show at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center through Nov. 21, does it justice.

The plot is pretty simple. Boy (Georg) meets girl (Amalia) when she comes to work with him at a perfume shop. There's instant antipathy. But what neither of them knows is that they have been corresponding anonymously through a lonely hearts club. On paper, they're in love. In person, they're not. But that, of course, might change.

By the way, if that plot sounds familiar, it's because it has been made into several movies, including the most recent "You' ve Got Mail" with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

Though the cast is small as musicals go, the actors don't rattle around on the big Carpenter Center stage. And not having so many bodies gives the company a chance to really splash on lavish sets and costumes. The show is set in a European city in the 1930s Europe, and most of the action centers around Mr. Maraczek's perfume shop, both inside the shop and out on the street. William Forrester's scenic design gives the show its cozy feel, as do Todd K. Proto's costumes.

But the show is not just pretty to look at. All the cast members do their part, and though the leads carry much of the action, it is the side characters who have the more interesting stories.

One of the subplots involves perfume shop owner Maraczek's (Nils Anderson) sudden temperament change. While he once seemed to adore his top clerk, Georg (John Bisom), he suddenly starts treating him very badly. The audience eventually discovers why, and Anderson manages to give Maraczek a depth of character unusual for such an otherwise light musical.

Another subplot is between clerk Ilona (Christina Saffran Ashford) and clerk Steven (Stan Chandler). Their workplace romance suffers because of his inability to commit, and Chandler plays the cad nicely while Ashford is endearingly daffy/empowered as the woman who finally says no to him.

Delivery boy Arpad (an amusing Adam Wylie) has his own quest to become a clerk, while clerk Ladislav (well-played by Ira Denmark) hopes no one will fire him because of his age.

And what of the main plot? Both Bisom and Teri Bibb do a perfectly fine job with fairly bland characters, and both have great voices, which get showcased in numbers such as "Vanilla Ice Cream' and "She Loves Me." But there's not a lot of chemistry between them, either when they argue or get along. Maybe a little raunch can be good after all, as long as it is not too cynical and pretentious.

Alessandra Djurklou can be reached at 499-1252

November 12, 2004

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