She Loves Me Leaves Me Smitten!

She Loves Me is a story of sworn enemies turned lovers that is so sugary sweet it might give you a cavity. But when we attend the theatre, we are asked to suspend disbelief, and after twenty minutes or so you'll be swept into the charming little world of 1930s Budapest and you'll deal with the sugar hangover tomorrow. It's this season's version of On The Twentieth Century, another classic show long overdue for a revival and was also produced by Roundabout Theatre Company. In this, their 50th season, they've brought together Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Gavin Creel, Byron Jennings, Michael McGrath, and Jane Krakowski in this Bock and Harnick classic with Scott Ellis at the helm.

The above mentioned players work in Mr. Maraczek's (Byron Jennings) Parfumerie and things are running exactly as planned until Amalia (Laura Benanti) arrives. This charismatic salesgirls butts heads with head clerk Georg (Zachary Levi) from the moment she arrives. Little do they know, they have something very important in common. They've been writing to one another anonymously under the pseudonym "Dear Friend." While they've been hating each other in person, they've been falling in love on the page, and as we've learned from every romantic comedy, love always wins.

Highlights include Benanti's vocally virtuosic "Vanilla Ice Cream," Levi's exuberant "She Loves Me," an astutely choreographed hurricane of actors and props in "Twelve Days to Christmas," and the melodramatic "Ilona" featuring a crooning Creel and a Krakowski crash split. Speaking of Ms. Krakowski, she was born to play the comedic characters in these classic musicals and she absolutely shines in this production. If we could go back in time, I would give anything to see her take on Ado Annie or Carrie Pipperidge.

In addition to outstanding performances, David Rockwell's' set is a star. Forced perspective creates the illusion of a real Budpest street and the opening and closing of Maraczek's Parfumerie is like that of a supersized dollhouse. Appropriate words to describe Rockwell's designs as well as Ellis' staging are 'charming' and 'delightful'. This show is a welcome addition to Studio 54 and anytime we can see such a stellar cast performing the work of one of history's best composing teams, we should all be happy.

Fun Fact of the Day: Shortcuts Through the Theatre District

Have you ever tried to walk through Times Square on your way to a Broadway show, but hoards of people between Broadway and Eighth Avenue got in you way? Well, here is the path that the actors take to get to their theatres by half-hour call and avoid the crowds. Locals and theatrefolk know this as the "Broadway Shuffle".

41st-42nd Streets: Cut through the lobby of the Times Square Hilton on the McDonalds
44th-45th Streets: The famous Shubert Alley behind the Shubert and Booth theatres serves as the shortcut between these two streets, which also happen to contain the greatest concentration of Broadway theatres
45th-46th Streets: Walk beneath the Marriot Marquis' underpass where you will not only find an entrance to the hotel, but also a Starbucks and various theatrical gift shops
46th-47th Streets: Continue on to 47th street via the Edison Hotel lobby
48th-49th Streets: The Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza provides yet another walkway to cut through the block and avoid Broadway and Eighth
53rd-54th: If you are seeing shows at the theatres furthest uptown, the Broadway Theatre or Studio 54, you can cut through the parking garage next to the Studio 54 stage door

And that, theatre fans, is how the Broadway stars get to work unnoticed!