Chances are, if you are an movie fan, you’ve seen the basic story of “She Loves Me” unfold before on Big Screen or little screen, featuring actors such as Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Van Johnson, Judy Garland, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks and others. The movie versions mentioned vary from musical to no music, love letters to email notes, and involve differing retail shop settings.
My wife, Theresa, and I caught opening night this weekend, and it turned out to be a fun date night for us, despite the slowed traffic and slightly treacherous roads during our first area “snow storm”. Well-attended, in spite of the weather, it was immediately apparent that the talented cast of this clever musical were having great fun, and so had we in the audience. The fun was due in no small part to those in the orchestra pit who energetically and skillfully delivered the lively score throughout the performance.
As mentioned, this was a whole new take on the story, turned musical, with clever lyrics and wonderful music by Jerry Bock. Theresa whispered to me before the performance that the composer had also written the music for Fiddler on the Roof, which whetted my appetite for the evening offering. I won’t tell you exactly where in the performance they seemed, for one song, to be channeling Tevya and friends, but you’ll know it when you see it. Great comedy, fervent dance, and soaring vocals, here on the stage of St. Dunstan’s in Bloomfield, in the middle of the the lovely “old-England” setting of the Cranbrook Property!
Tender, funny and terrific effort from a great community theater group in Oakland County, in their 80th season of entertaining. If you can, catch one of the remaining six local performances for an enjoyable evening or Sunday afternoon.
by Richard Dalton
St. Dunstan’s Theatre presents: SHE LOVES ME, originally uploaded by FatherDalton.
