"She Loves Me"
==============
Wolran Kim
February 2014
Attending a play on campus was my favorite assignment when I saw the syllabus at the beginning of this course, Trends in Critical Thinking. I had never seen any musical plays on campus yet due to any composure during the last two semesters. To add more, immigrants, including me, are easily accustomed to an isolated life from the cultural benefits of mainstream society. But unusually, I had the chance to watch The Nutcracker by Ballet West in the Capital Theatre last Christmas, and went to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4 by the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall last month. Plays, musicals, or concerts give a very different impression from movies.
Live sounds and stages make me feel something out of the ordinary, compared with Hollywood’s instant entertainment. She Loves Me is based on Joe Masteroff’s book and a Miklos Laszlo’s play Parfumerie, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. It is composed of two acts, 1993 Roundabout Version, and is rated G. This musical was performed first on Broadway in 1963. Also, it would surface as the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s movie You’ve Got Mail in 1998. She Loves Me is considered by many to be the most charming musical ever written, and the day before I watched the play was Valentine’s Day.
Babcock Theatre was inside Pioneer Theatre, opposite Kingsbury Hall, where my daughter performed ballet when she was a little girl. The theatre was small with about 200 seats, and the stage was very dark with an all black setting. The stage setting seemed to be a street with a background of buildings, and two baby grand pianos were on the left corner facing each other. Two pianists entered on the stage very first after a brief announcement about information for the spectators. The pianists played piano the whole duration of the play for two and a half hours with ten minutes of an intermission, and their playing took charge of all the scenic effects.
The play starts outside of Maraczek’s Perfume Store in Hungary on a beautiful summer day in the 1930’s. The setting changed very quickly in a minute in the dark, and the setting changes occurred around ten times during play. All the sets were useful in the front and in the rear, and the properties were fit repeatedly in different settings properly. In the perfume store, there were five workers, Sipos, Arpad, Ritter, Kodaly, and Georg, and they started the musical with the ensemble “Good Morning, Good Day.”
Their songs and lines were very harmonized, and it was almost impossible to recognize whether they were songs or speaking. Their first ensemble represented an active market with colorful costumes in 1930s. A heroine, Amalia, appears wearing a bright orange dress to get a job at the store, and sings “No More Candy” to sell new musical cigarette cases. She was beautiful and attractive, as expected of the heroine, and she starts work with the protagonist.
Intelligent and comic speeches lead to spectators’ laughter and applauses often with the piano sound. Georg’s solo, “Three Letters,” made the audience guess the lovely relationship and affinity between him and Amalia. Georg and Amalia constantly argue at work, finding solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals. Their conflicts and turmoil were more interesting because spectators already knew that they are the ongoing pen pals. Sipos’ explaining to Arpad that their argument was true, because Georg and Amalia’s do not seem to know that they already like each other regardless of their previous relationship through pen pals.
The plot thickens. Maraczek misunderstands Georg related his wife’s affair, and he fires Georg. Maraczek’s wife actually has an affair with Kodaly, and he attempts suicide. Georg returns to work, and their store regains vigorous with the Christmas season. At length, Georg admits that he always thought Amalia was the sort of girl he could fall in love with. Amalia also confesses to having similar feelings, and Georg takes one of Amalia's letters to a "dear friend" out of his pocket and begins reading it aloud. Amalia finally understands that Georg really is a "dear friend" and they embrace.
Their relationship through pen pals is purely a spiritual love regardless of their external appearances, and their affiliation at the store is a realistic love between a man and a woman. This lovely couple confesses their feelings of love before they find out each other’s real shapes. However, they already fell in love through the anonymous letters, and this fact makes their love elevate to the fantastic ideal love. It is funny, intelligent, honest and sentimental, She Loves Me is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance and nostalgia, yet as universal and relevant in this age of plastic love and Internet romances.
There is no stimulus element, but still the stage captivates the hearts of the audience with a solid story, classical melodies, and pleasant music. The 1960s’ music does not sound old at all in the 21st century, rather it sounds as delightful as Christmas carols. In particular, the fast-changing and multipurpose settings, and gorgeous costumes were very impressive. One setting of the store was very functional to change as the inside and outside of the store from just turning.
The costumes of all the characters as customers in the perfume shop and the cafe were highly fashionable and detailed, like movie stars. Two different seasons of summer and winter, and a special Christmas season were well represented on the limited stage with vivid colors, texture, and fashionable designs such as gray, pink, green, red, luxury fur coats, hats, and handbags. The interior inside of the store was gorgeous and delicate, just as shiny perfume bottles and colorful gift boxes. The live piano music was amazing as scenic music and sound effects for the play.
A musical is combined with music, song, and a play, unlike a movie. On that account, the two and a half hour performance was never tedious. The lovely romance and virus were filled in the theatre from She Loves Me despite the outside being full of the winter wind. The amour of Amalia and Georg called honeyed spring already.
==============
Wolran Kim
February 2014
Attending a play on campus was my favorite assignment when I saw the syllabus at the beginning of this course, Trends in Critical Thinking. I had never seen any musical plays on campus yet due to any composure during the last two semesters. To add more, immigrants, including me, are easily accustomed to an isolated life from the cultural benefits of mainstream society. But unusually, I had the chance to watch The Nutcracker by Ballet West in the Capital Theatre last Christmas, and went to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4 by the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall last month. Plays, musicals, or concerts give a very different impression from movies.
Live sounds and stages make me feel something out of the ordinary, compared with Hollywood’s instant entertainment. She Loves Me is based on Joe Masteroff’s book and a Miklos Laszlo’s play Parfumerie, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. It is composed of two acts, 1993 Roundabout Version, and is rated G. This musical was performed first on Broadway in 1963. Also, it would surface as the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s movie You’ve Got Mail in 1998. She Loves Me is considered by many to be the most charming musical ever written, and the day before I watched the play was Valentine’s Day.
Babcock Theatre was inside Pioneer Theatre, opposite Kingsbury Hall, where my daughter performed ballet when she was a little girl. The theatre was small with about 200 seats, and the stage was very dark with an all black setting. The stage setting seemed to be a street with a background of buildings, and two baby grand pianos were on the left corner facing each other. Two pianists entered on the stage very first after a brief announcement about information for the spectators. The pianists played piano the whole duration of the play for two and a half hours with ten minutes of an intermission, and their playing took charge of all the scenic effects.
The play starts outside of Maraczek’s Perfume Store in Hungary on a beautiful summer day in the 1930’s. The setting changed very quickly in a minute in the dark, and the setting changes occurred around ten times during play. All the sets were useful in the front and in the rear, and the properties were fit repeatedly in different settings properly. In the perfume store, there were five workers, Sipos, Arpad, Ritter, Kodaly, and Georg, and they started the musical with the ensemble “Good Morning, Good Day.”
Their songs and lines were very harmonized, and it was almost impossible to recognize whether they were songs or speaking. Their first ensemble represented an active market with colorful costumes in 1930s. A heroine, Amalia, appears wearing a bright orange dress to get a job at the store, and sings “No More Candy” to sell new musical cigarette cases. She was beautiful and attractive, as expected of the heroine, and she starts work with the protagonist.
Intelligent and comic speeches lead to spectators’ laughter and applauses often with the piano sound. Georg’s solo, “Three Letters,” made the audience guess the lovely relationship and affinity between him and Amalia. Georg and Amalia constantly argue at work, finding solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals. Their conflicts and turmoil were more interesting because spectators already knew that they are the ongoing pen pals. Sipos’ explaining to Arpad that their argument was true, because Georg and Amalia’s do not seem to know that they already like each other regardless of their previous relationship through pen pals.
The plot thickens. Maraczek misunderstands Georg related his wife’s affair, and he fires Georg. Maraczek’s wife actually has an affair with Kodaly, and he attempts suicide. Georg returns to work, and their store regains vigorous with the Christmas season. At length, Georg admits that he always thought Amalia was the sort of girl he could fall in love with. Amalia also confesses to having similar feelings, and Georg takes one of Amalia's letters to a "dear friend" out of his pocket and begins reading it aloud. Amalia finally understands that Georg really is a "dear friend" and they embrace.
Their relationship through pen pals is purely a spiritual love regardless of their external appearances, and their affiliation at the store is a realistic love between a man and a woman. This lovely couple confesses their feelings of love before they find out each other’s real shapes. However, they already fell in love through the anonymous letters, and this fact makes their love elevate to the fantastic ideal love. It is funny, intelligent, honest and sentimental, She Loves Me is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance and nostalgia, yet as universal and relevant in this age of plastic love and Internet romances.
There is no stimulus element, but still the stage captivates the hearts of the audience with a solid story, classical melodies, and pleasant music. The 1960s’ music does not sound old at all in the 21st century, rather it sounds as delightful as Christmas carols. In particular, the fast-changing and multipurpose settings, and gorgeous costumes were very impressive. One setting of the store was very functional to change as the inside and outside of the store from just turning.
The costumes of all the characters as customers in the perfume shop and the cafe were highly fashionable and detailed, like movie stars. Two different seasons of summer and winter, and a special Christmas season were well represented on the limited stage with vivid colors, texture, and fashionable designs such as gray, pink, green, red, luxury fur coats, hats, and handbags. The interior inside of the store was gorgeous and delicate, just as shiny perfume bottles and colorful gift boxes. The live piano music was amazing as scenic music and sound effects for the play.
A musical is combined with music, song, and a play, unlike a movie. On that account, the two and a half hour performance was never tedious. The lovely romance and virus were filled in the theatre from She Loves Me despite the outside being full of the winter wind. The amour of Amalia and Georg called honeyed spring already.