In a collaboration between Biola Music and Theatre, the Biola Conservatory of Music presented the musical “She Loves Me” from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9. This romantic story is full of humor and sweetness but reveals a common problem in human relationships: letting first impressions dictate your opinions of others.
SYNOPSIS
“She Loves Me” is set in 1930s Europe that follows the lives of several employees at Maraczek’s Perfumery. It particularly focuses on two employees, Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash, who develop a bitter rivalry against one another. Ironically, it is revealed that the two unknowingly are secret pen-pals who found each other through an anonymous lonely-hearts ad. As the musical progresses, the tension of this irony plays out in many hilarious, but also emotional scenes, until they both eventually discover their love for one another.
THEMES
In the show’s playbill, director Rachel Tracie commented on how idealizations, exaggerations and misrepresentations can often cause people to ignore those close to them, just like how the two characters Georg and Amalia treated one another.
Luke Bona, who played Ladislav Sipos, noted that throughout the show, characters often assume things of one another, which leads to confrontations. It’s a problem that’s not unique to the show.
“I think it’s very easy, especially in this day and age, being like, ‘Oh, you’re that kind of person,’ or, ‘I’m this kind of person,’” Bona said.
Zion Viana, who played Steven Kodayl, said that he liked how the musical expounded on the idea of how first impressions can go awry. He talked about how Georg and Amalia, despite both having good intentions, start a contentious relationship due to a bad first impression.nship.
What is the solution to these problems? “Get to know someone before you actually make an opinion,” Sipos commented.
This, of course, means being vulnerable. Jessica Moses, one of the actresses for Amalia Balash, said that she related a lot to her character. One relevant area was the fear of opening up to people.
“Opening yourself up to be vulnerable with somebody else is scary,” Moses said.
If you want to hear more about the behind-the-scenes of the musical’s production as well as more thoughts about the story from the cast members, check out the most recent podcast episode from The Chimes Weekly.
