‘She Loves Me’: a review of a modernized rom-com musical

On Friday, March 29, the musical “She Loves Me” opened in Wallace Theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts. In lieu of a traditional paper program, QR codes on poster boards outside the theater led to a website. The welcome page opens to a note from Madeleine LeBeau ’24, the production concept and creative director, who explains, “Our updated portrayal of the Broadway classic ‘She Loves Me’ through a post-pandemic lens not only speaks to the unique “virtual” realities of the Class of 2024’s Princeton experience, but also transforms this golden-age Broadway musical into a modern commentary on our increasingly online world.”

LeBeau is a former staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’

Most of the play was set in Maraczek’s Parfumerie, with some scenes taking place in a cafe that has a very romantic atmosphere. The sets are simple and allow for the focus to be placed on the actors and their delightful portrayal of their characters. The costumes and prop cellphones are a tasteful blend of modern and old-fashioned.

The play began with a musical number about wishing for a break from responsibility. From the beginning, the cast stole the audience’s hearts. Casey Beidel ’24, especially, had the entire audience laughing with his exaggerated frowns and expressions of great concern whenever his character, Georg Nowack, had any comedic inconveniences. The cast had great chemistry, and I found myself completely captivated by their performance.

Opening night had technical difficulties with the audio, which started around 8:55 p.m. and was resolved at 9:08 p.m. The on-stage orchestra all wore headphones, which stopped working, and the keyboard audio cut out. It was handled quite professionally, and LeBeau — who plays Amalia Balash and was the only actor on stage during this shortcoming — gracefully engaged with the audience and directed everyone to the online program.

The first half had a slow and steady pace where the audience members became acquainted with the cast of characters. A notable aspect of the show were the silent conversations that were happening on stage. Such details reflected the cast’s commitment to the portrayal of their characters, even if the attention was not meant to be on them. Here we learned about Georg’s “Dear Friend” who he had been corresponding with and was smitten with. In keeping with the modernization of the play, the letters were texts that were displayed for the audience to read along.

We are then introduced to Ilona Ritter, one of the clerks at Maraczek’s, played by Charlotte Kunesh ’24, who is involved with one of her co-workers, Steven Kodaly, portrayed by Jay White ’24. Anyone in the audience who has ever fallen for the wrong person or has been involved in the infamous situationship can immediately sympathize with Ilona. I wanted to yell at her that she was too good for Steven and that she deserved a partner who truly cared about her. White did a great job of portraying a narcissistic, overconfident womanizer, who was also a horrible coworker and employee as Mr. Maraczek came to find out.

The second half had me on the edge of my seat, especially with how quickly the climax of the story line was approached. Based on how the play was advertised, I knew Georg and Amalia had to end up together, but it seemed like it would never happen! Georg refused to reveal his identity as “Dear Friend” to Amalia, but dropped hints Amalia didn’t pick up on. She was too caught up in her emotions to realize there were too many similarities between Georg and Dear Friend to be a coincidence. LeBeau gave a stellar portrayal of a feverish and lovesick lady in her performance of “Where’s My Shoe?” While the audience is watching Amalia and Georg fall for each other, we are also cheering on Ilona, as she sheds good-for-nothing womanizers and becomes a more empowered woman. We also can’t help but pity Mr. Maraczek, and think back to when he danced with Georg and how his life has been turned upside down by his wife.

“She Loves Me” was a feel-good play with plenty of quippy humor and relatable characters. It was clear seeing the love and devotion of the cast members, pit members, stage, sound, light crew, and anyone else involved. While the story for the play ends in the winter, with spring in the air now, we might just have our own love stories blossoming on campus.

The show will go up for a second weekend on April 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. in the Lewis Center’s Wallace Theater.

Donaji Mendieta-Silva (she/they) is a member of the Class of 2026 and is a contributing writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ They can be reached at dm4466@princeton.edu or on Instagram @donaji_ms.