LOVE RULES: Douglas McLaughlin as Georg Nowak and Sarah Adams as Amalia Balash head an ensemble cast in Off-Centre Stages production of “She Loves Me,” January 2-11 at the t Theatre on Mercer County Community College’s West Windsor Campus. (Photo by Abigail Acolia Photography)
A musical version of the play that inspired multiple iconic films is being presented at Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) Kelsey Theatre and Off-Centre Stages. She Loves Me will be on stage January 2-11 MCCC’s West Windsor campus.
This musical comedy, set in 1937 Budapest, Hungary, follows the tangled tale of parfumerie employees Georg Horvath and Amalia. As coworkers, the pair dislike each other from the beginning — he thinks she’s stuck up; she thinks he’s arrogant. Meanwhile, both rapturously write to their lonely-hearts pen pal when the work day is done, and it doesn’t take long for the audience to see that they’re in love without realizing it.
Inevitably, through some of the most iconic songs in the musical theatre canon (“Vanilla Ice Cream,” “She Loves Me,” “Will He Like Me?”), Georg and Amalia also discover the truth and rejoice in their love for each other at the story’s conclusion.
She Loves Me is based on the play Parfunerie, which has served as source material for three movies: The Shop Around the Corner (1940), starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan; In the Good Old Summertime (1949), starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson; and You’ve Got Mail (1998), starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. “She Loves Me” debuted on Broadway in 1963 and ran for 301 performances. The original production of She Loves Me, along with the subsequent revivals in 1993 and 2016, collected 22 Tony Award nominations.
Dates and showtimes are Friday and Saturday, January 2, 3, 9, and 10 at 8 p.m.; with matinee performances Saturday and Sunday, January 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 2 p.m. Performances are at the Kelsey Theatre on Mercer County Community College’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.
Tickets are $26 for adults and $24. Visit kelseytheatre.org.