She Loves Me

She Loves Me (1963), a musical comedy by Joe Masteroff (book), Jerry Bock (music), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics). [Eugene O'Neill Theatre, 301 perf.] The Budapest bachelor Georg Novack ( Daniel Massey), a clerk at Maraczek's Parfumerie, has been writing to a girl he knows only as “Dear Friend,” so when Amalia Belash ( Barbara Cook) obtains employment in the same shop and the two constantly quarrel, he has no reason to suspect she is his correspondent. But Georg discovers the truth after a rendezvous at the Café Imperiale that goes awry, and he leaves the restaurant without disclosing his identity. When Amalia reports in sick for work and Georg appears at her apartment, she is furious at first, thinking he is checking on her excuse. But a gift of ice cream alters matters and soon she sees Georg differently. By Christmas Eve Georg has identified himself to her and they walk away from the store in a happy embrace. Notable songs: Dear Friend; Ice Cream; She Loves Me; I Resolve; Tonight at Eight; Will He Like Me? A musical version of Ernst Lubitsch's film The Shop Around the Corner and the Hungarian play on which that film was based, Miklos Laszlo's Parfumerie, the show failed to chalk up a long run despite almost universally glowing notices. Stanley Green suggested that the reason for the failure may have been that this charming bonbon was “too gentle, too intimate, and too free from Broadway razzle‐dazzle to attract the customers.” Hal Prince produced and directed the charming piece, which boasted a sterling cast and one of the decade's finest scores. The musical became a cult show among aficionados, but after a Roundabout Theatre revival in 1993 that was popular enough to transfer to Broadway, She Loves Me has seen many more mountings across the country.