PicksInSix Review: She Loves Me - Dunes Arts Summer Theatre

At the Dunes, Love Conquers All!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The Chicago-based Artistic Director Steve Scott has been creating a unique and highly developed string of productions, youth programs and cabarets in recent years at the Dunes Arts Summer Theatre in Michigan City. Scott, with the able leadership of Managing Director Elise Kermani, has attracted and developed talent during the summer season at the theater in the woods on Shady Oak Drive that now guarantees a level of entertainment unmatched in the region. It is all translating into higher visibility, a growing subscriber base and a long range plan that has been enhancing the nearly 75 year-old venue just in time for next season’s Diamond Anniversary.

The facility has gone through a steady transformation that is immediately apparent when you settle into the comfortable and cool theater that is now featuring the Scott-directed musical “She Loves Me” which is running on select dates through August 10. Based on the 1937 Miklos Laszio play “Parfumerie,” it is a familiar story for those romantics among us, adapted and starring James Stewart in the 1941 film “The Shop Around the Corner” and in 1998 was the basis for the hit film “You’ve Got Mail.”  

And it was in 1963 that the story of star-crossed lovers who meet through the Lonely Hearts Club and end up coworkers in Maraczek's Parfumerie became the Broadway musical “She Loves Me,” with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The show was revived in 2016 and has been widely produced in recent years—a mid-sized musical that fits perfectly in the Dunes on a wonderfully functional set by longtime designer Michael Lasswell, whose investment in the quality of the Dunes stagecraft is one of the theater’s signature elements, along with stunning period costumes by Emily Chidalek and Arturo Pozos lighting design.

At the heart of the story is the budding relationship between Mr. Maraczek’s right hand, Georg Nowack (Tristan Haberland) and a new, strong-willed salesperson, Amalia Balash (Kate Turner), each yearning to meet the mysterious special friend they know only from the letters that they write to each other. We quickly learn that something is troubling Mr. Maraczek (Khyel Roberson) and with no one to turn to except the ambitious delivery boy Arpad Laszio (Jackson Mikkelsen), he looks elsewhere for the answer. Along the way, there is another on again, off again relationship between two other coworkers: the womanizer Steven Kodaly (Tommy O’Brien) and the steamy Illona Ritter (Emmie Reigel). Of course, nothing happens in the shop or gets by Ladislav Sipos (Jake Busse) who has a keen eye for the young lovers especially as the truth about another relationship emerges.

Director Scott has brought together two fine performers in Haberland and Turner. Haberland’s charming demeanor and superb vocal range is perfectly, right-sized for the Dunes stage. He is a terrific singer/actor, light on his feet with a sincerity that effortlessly alarms, then charms, Turner’s Amalia. Turner, who has matured into an amazing vocalist and actor of considerable talent, matches Haberland at every turn, glowing with innocence and displaying a magnetic stage presence. The chemistry between these two is something to see.

Mikkelsen, Reige, Busse and O’Brien each have strong featured numbers. Music Director Katelyn Leonard-White leads the talented ensemble and musicians expertly through the score to the heartwarming Christmas Eve revelation that confirms love conquers all.

PHOTO|Tony Martin

Dunes Arts Foundation
Summer Theatre
She Loves Me
288 Shady Oak Drive
Michigan City, Indiana
through August 10, 2025
(219) 879-7509

WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

PicksInSix Review: Fiddler on the Roof - Drury Lane Theatre

Even “Old Ways Were Once New.” 
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

Drury Lane Theatre winds up its 2023/2024 season with a heartfelt production of the Tony Award-winning classic “Fiddler on the Roof” featuring music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein. Set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905, this cherished musical centers on Tevye (Mark David Kaplan), an endearing milkman with five daughters, facing challenges to his Jewish religion and cultural traditions as change approaches the village of Anatevka. 

Director Elizabeth Margolius describes “Fiddler on the Roof” as a “memory play” and decided to approach the tale completely from Tevye’s memory. In the program notes, Margolius writes: “This new, evocative approach to Fiddler on the Roof puts the focus on the people in hopes of illuminating this story as never before and inspiring us to question who we are and what we will leave behind for future generations.”  

The minimal yet highly effective scenic design by Jack Magaw combined with the beautiful projection design of Mike Tutaj creates a deeply imaginative space for the audience to truly see the depths of the characters and the legacies that shape them. The projected images and video artfully transform the set to Tevye’s dreamscape in the musical number “The Dream” as he convinces Golde (Janna Cardia) that Motel (Michael Kurowski) is the right husband for their daughter Tzeitel (Emma Rosenthal). Kaplan and Cardia are an absolute delight. 

Other notable musical numbers include Kurowski’s spirited performance of “Miracle of Miracles” and the celebratory “To Life” by Kaplan, Lazar Wolf (Joel Gelman) and the company of villagers. Yael Chanukov shines as Hodel, and as a whole, the cast sings, moves and dances well together on stage with a warm chemistry. 

Fiddler on the Roof at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook through March 24, 2024.

Kaplan plays Tevye with excellent comedic timing and whimsy. He also skillfully portrays a father being tested by the actions of his three oldest daughters. The asks from his daughters become increasingly difficult (“unthinkable!”) as they each seek modern, non-arranged but different marriages. Tevye must grapple with first being asked for permission to marry, then his blessing and lastly only for his acceptance. Where does a father draw the line and what does the good book say about evolving relationships with those you love? 

Embrace these questions and more in this beloved show now playing through March 24, 2024 at the Drury Lane Theatre. 

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO|Brett Beiner

Drury Lane Theatre
presents
Fiddler on the Roof
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace
through March 24, 2024

WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC