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She Loves Me - A musical from the Golden Age

A brief look at production history

She Loves Me is a musical with a book written by Joe Masteroff (Cabaret), and music by the duo Harnick and Bock (Fiddler on the Roof, and Fiorello!). This is one of many musicals written during the time period known as the Golden Age of musical theater.

She Loves Me, original Broadway cast
Photo by On the Aisle: Broadway at its Best

During this time period we are welcomed by musicals where we can go and escape the troubles of our own daily lives and just sit and enjoy a wonderful show. The golden age features many musicals that you may already know such as Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, West Side Story, and many more. The shows from this time period are consistently done, time after time, seeing as a variety of these shows have had recent revivals on Broadway.

She Loves Me, 2016 Broadway Revival
Photo by Joan Marcus

The question remains though, why do we still choose to do these shows when they were written and produced over 50 years ago? On important answer is that they feel timeless, and they had a massive impact on the future of musical theater. These shows left such a strong impact, where we still choose to put them on our stages, because of the timeless nature of the stories.

This musical follows the budding love story of Amalia and Georg, as they are writing anonymous love letters to a "Dear Friend," while they are also coworkers who despise each other at Maraczek’s perfumery. This musical provides a moment for the audience to step in and forget their troubles and be transported into this love story. As an audience, we want to connect to an enduring love story while also recognizing that there are portions of love that we choose to keep hidden and sealed away until the moment arises to release them. She Loves Me shows us the ways in which we can connect with others, and the beauty of human connection is something we need in this modern day.

She Loves Me, original Broadway Cast
Photo by New York Public Library, Digital Collection

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