Beginnerâs Guide to She Loves Me
She Loves Me is a musical from 1963 based on the play Parfumerie by MiklĂłs LĂĄzlĂłs, which also inspired the more well known movies The Shop Around the Corner and Youâve Got Mail. Â Anonymous pen pals fall in love through letters, but cannot stand each other in real life at work. Â Itâs classic and you know you love it. Also the music/book work beautifully together, itâs perfect for what it is: a romcom musical.
A recording of the 2016 Broadway revival was done in June 2016 that was livestreamed. Â Weâve been told it will be edited and put back on BroadwayHD in a few months.
You can search for a production near you here if you look under the âupcomingâ tab at the bottom.
A 1978 BBC TV movie that isnât completely faithful, but still enjoyable, is here.
A delightful 1995 stage production is here. Â Itâs from a worn copy, but the leads are wonderful.
Rumor also has it you can find a bootleg of the 2016 revival. I can neither confirm or deny such a thing at this time.Â
Which is the best cast recording?
Well, of course, thatâs a matter of personal taste.
1963 Original Broadway Cast - includes the incredible Barbara Cook as Amalia, and Daniel Massey as Georg. Classic, of course, and slightly different lyrics than most later productions.
1964 Original London Cast - Anne Rogers as Amalia, Gary Raymond as Georg, and Rita Moreno as Ilona. Many lyric/song changes and cuts across the pond (more on this later).
1993 Broadway Revival Cast - Boyd Gaines won a Tony for his Georg, and it was deserved. Â Diane Fratantoni is Amalia on the recording, but it actually opened with Judy Kuhn.
1994 London Revival Cast - Ruthie Henshall is Amalia and she has been my favorite Amalia for many years (and is now tied with one other), and John Gordon Sinclair is Georg.
2016 Broadway Revival Cast - beautifully orchestrated and recorded. Â Laura Benanti was born to play Amalia (sheâs now tied with Ruthie for my favorite), and Zachary Levi deserved his Tony nomination for Georg. Â Just about the whole cast is amazing, honestly.
Any great videos I need to see?
Judy Kuhn performing âVanilla Ice Creamâ
Boyd Gaines performing âShe Loves Meâ
Sally Mayes performing âA Trip to the Libraryâ
Ruthie Henshall performing âVanilla Ice Creamâ at the Olivier Awards (the video is low quality, but definitely worth watching)
2016 Tony Award Medley of âIlona,â âShe Loves Me,â and âVanilla Ice Creamâ (featuring Gavin Creel, Jane Krakowski, Nicholas Barasch, Tom McGowan, Zachary Levi, and Laura Benanti)
Jonathan Groff singing âTry Meâ just âcause.
How about some great audios?
Goddess Kelli OâHara was Amalia at the 2011 Roundabout concert, alongside Josh Radnor (Georg), Jane Krakowski, Gavin Creel, and Rory OâMalley. Here are the audios. And hereâs just Vanilla Ice Cream, because duh.
Judy Kuhnâs run of Amalia was never recorded in a studio, but there is an audio from her run, which can be found here.
In 1977, there was a concert with Madeline Kahn (!), Barry Bostwick, and Rita Moreno. Â All audios here, Vanilla Ice Cream here.
In 2013, Santino Fontana and Alexandra Silber led a great cast in a 2-3 performance run and thank goodness there is audio.
Has the show changed much over the years?
Honestly, itâs hardly changed!  But there are a few fun differences between productions (âŚand a lot in the London one).
The lyrics to âWill He Like Me?â have changed slightly - in 1963, they were âitâs absurd for me to worry so this wayâ and are now usually sung âcarry on this way.â Â
A portion of the lyrics to âTwelve Days to Christmasâ were removed.  Original here, later incarnation here.
After the original production, a song called âTango Tragiqueâ was cut - Iâve heard (but never seen it substantiated) that it was cut because it was difficult for the men to sing. Instead of Georg telling Amalia about his âfriendâ in a lonely hearts club through dialogue, it was a song. I love the song a lot. Hereâs off of the OBC, and hereâs Santino Fontana in 2013.
The 1964 London production has a whole mess of differences, many of which made it into the 1978 TV movie, largely due to pronunciation and choosing to use words more common to England. They can be found here, but the most notable is that âI Resolveâ was replaced with âHeads I Winâ and itâs definitely worth listening to. I mean, itâs Rita Moreno.
And here is the composers demo! Many songs with little differences, many cut songs, a lot of fun to listen to.
For the 2016 Broadway Revival, Josh Radnor was originally announced as our Georg - but Zachary Levi replaced him in September â15 due to Radnorâs scheduling conflicts.
The writing process for this musical was a little different than most. Â Masteroff wrote the book, then gave it to Bock and Harnick to turn into music - this is why the songs flow so well with the dialogue!
Judy Kuhn was Amalia in 1993 for the entire original scheduled run, but the show proved popular enough that it was granted an extension, which is when Diane Fratantoni replaced her and the album was recorded.
Rumor has it there was talk of a Hollywood She Loves Me movie back in the â60s, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.  The fact that this didnât happen still makes me want to cry.
Julie Andrews did record a couple of songs from the show though! - âDear Friendâ and âHe Loves Meâ
Actors cast very rarely match the descriptions from the 1963 libretto.
There is at least one English translation of Parfumerie available to buy. Â Here are some highlights, itâs fascinating to see the differences!
If there are any dead links or outdated information, click here or go to the original post for more current info.
tangentwithtanner
vaporwave
stormborns
blakekathryn
discoholicmusic
pixelskylines
andulkaphoto
