From Hungary, with love: CLOBC brings ‘She Loves Me’ to the warm climes of the South Bay
In “She Love Me,” Mr. Maraczek (John Hall) demonstrates new products to his employees, l-r, Georg (Jason Webb), Kodaly (Mark Edgar Stephens), and Arpad (Ryland Dodge). Photo by Alysa Brennan If the plot of “She Loves Me,” the musical currently being performed by Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities (CLOSBC) at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, seems familiar, think Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in “You’ve Got Mail.” The CLOSBC play is actually the fifth adaptation of a 1930s play, “Parfumerie,” written by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo. Other incarnations include the 1940 film “The Shop Around the Corner,” and 1949’s “In the Good Old Summertime.” It’s a simple story: Boy meets girl, boy and girl hate each other, boy and girl fall in love. There’s a bit more drama in Laszlo’s original and the script of “She Loves Me” than in the feel good celluloid offerings, plus there’s music. Much music. Much good music. Much complicated music, albeit all accessible to the ears of the populace. Joe Masteroff wrote the book for the 1963 Broadway opening; music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (“Fiddler on the Roof”). The show also serves as a social history lesson. Set in…
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