My main event of the day was going into the city to see "She Loves Me" at Arena Stage. This is a Bock and Harnick musical which I've always liked a great deal. The music is very well-integrated with the book and there's plenty of wit - always good things for a musical. The songs are not easily separated from the story, though, which is one of the reasons it isn't better known. But almost all of them are very good, which is surprisingly rare for a musical. (The most obvious exceptions are "Guys and Dolls" and "West Side Story" which are as close to perfect as a musical can get.) Unfortunately, some of them are addictive and I fear I will be walking around humming "Days Gone By" all week.
Anyway, I'd seen the Broadway revival of "She Loves Me" a few years back and, while this wasn't up to that standard, it was still enjoyable. I'd been concerned about the staging since it was at the Fichandler, which is theatre-in-the-round, but they worked it out so no section of the audience was obstructed or deprived. The biggest weakness was the orchestra. It's hard to say whether it was the musical director or the conductor, but I felt that they rushed several of the songs. They also used the abbreviated version of "Tango Tragique" (i.e. just a bit of music at the cafe, instead of George singing it to Amalia), but that's the common decision these days. Overall, I had a good time and, from the comments I overheard as I was leaving the theatre, so did other people.
One interesting thing was that there were a large number of children there. I'd estimate that they were mostly junior high school age and I believe there's some program that arranges for children in the city to go to the theatre. I even heard positive comments from some of the boys, which was pleasing as this isn't the sort of thing I'd expect boys that age to appreciate.
By the way, I only just recently learned that Roundabout has a production on of another obscure Bock and Harnick musical - namely, "The Apple Tree." I'm seriously contemplating a trip up to see that. There's plenty of other stuff I want to see, so I could do a reasonably intense weekend excursion. If I use some of my Hilton points, I could even stay in the city and not waste time commuting out to my Mom's.
Copyright 2006 Miriam H. Nadel