When I start thinking about the next musical our school could produce (and I do this nearly constantly), a big part of the selection process comes down to, “is there anything in this show that excites me and could provide a nice challenge?” She Loves Me did both of those things to a T.
For our Technical Theatre students, the original show is a real testament to the sorts of things you can do with design in a live theatre setting. The show’s original run on Broadway (and its subsequent revivals, such as 2016’s version by Roundabout Theatre) featured an ornate rotating Faberge egg of a set, and while we could never attempt to match the intricacy of that design, the lower-budget version WE could attempt would be a fun challenge to overcome (which was, unfortunately, scuttled once our original performance space flooded over the Christmas break). As well, with the show being written in 1960 in New York, but set in 1930s Budapest, we found that there were so many ways to approach the design of the show that a design competition would be in order - we had pitches for everything from a version of the show set on a cruise ship in the 1980s, to Soviet Russia, and everything in between (we settled on early ‘60s Manhattan in the end).
And for our actors, many of whom have been in the program for a couple of years, the show offers a fantastic opportunity to highlight real, complex characters in a fun, beautiful production. The characters of She Loves Me feel not like the oversized caricatures standard in musical theatre, but like honest examinations of working-class people; almost like a prototypical version of The Office. Again, excitement and challenge - this is the first year where we have had two casts for a show (come see another show if you can for a totally different experience!)
Over and over again, this cast and crew has risen to the challenge of this text and have imbued the show with so much love, honesty and humour, which has made my job extraordinarily fun and enjoyable. I couldn’t be more proud of the work they’ve put into this show, and we all sincerely hope you’re entertained by this, our fifth musical production at J. Percy Page.
Please enjoy the show!
