UNL Opera presents ‘She Loves Me’
calendar icon18 Feb 2022
Lincoln, Neb.--The Glenn Korff School of Music’s opera program presents the musical “She Loves Me.”
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 4 and 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 in Kimball Recital Hall. Tickets are $20 adults and $10 seniors/students, available in advance from the Lied Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or at the door.
“Audiences should expect an enchanting balance of comedy and romance,” said director Alisa Belflower, coordinator of musical theatre studies in the Glenn Korff School of Music and Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. “It is a fast-paced musical score filled with beautiful love songs and dazzling comedic numbers.”
The romantic comedy told with sparkling music features a cast of 20 of UNL’s award-winning students directed by Belflower and conducted by Professor and Director of Orchestras Tyler White.
“She Loves Me” takes us back to the 1930s to meet the savvy clerks working for Mr. Maraczek (played by Larson Professor of Voice and Director of Opera William Shomos) in his elegant parfumerie. The newly hired Amalia and the aspiring head clerk Georg take a competitive aversion to each other.
But where’s there is friction, there’s fire. Perfume, love letters between lonely hearts, a library, a romantic restaurant, and more—tell the story of love lost and love found in the most unexpected places.
“I love that ‘She Loves Me’ features an ensemble cast of ordinary characters with which everyone can relate,” Belflower said. “The show is a musical valentine celebrating the extraordinary ordinary. If you love romantic comedy films, you will love this production.”
“She Loves Me” features a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Bock. It premiered on Broadway in 1963.
The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play “Parfumerie” by Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 film “The Shop Around the Corner” with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan and the 1949 musical version “In the Good Old Summertime” with Judy Garland and Van Johnson. It’s also the basis for the 1998 film “You’ve Got Mail” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
“You will leave the theatre with a song in your heart,” Belflower said.
Currently, UNL no longer requires face masks inside our campus buildings, but we encourage masking indoors, especially if social distancing cannot be maintained. Details, exclusions and updates can be found on the UNL website at https://covid19.unl.edu.