The folks at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse have outdone themselves. Their new production, “She Loves Me,” is cute, funny and smart, and it will go down in my mind as one of my favorite Candlelight shows.
I attended a Sunday matinee with my friend and her fiancé’s 12-year-old daughter. It was their first time at the venue and they were amazed at the beauty of the place. As a reminder, your meal is included in the price of your ticket at the Candlelight and this dinner theater has never disappointed when it comes to their culinary skills.
We started out with stuffed mushrooms and each of us ordered the House Made Hungarian Sausage served with a mild horseradish sour cream sauce alongside green beans and potatoes. The sausage was moist and the horseradish sauce was delicious on everything. I definitely recommend this dish.
The stage sets at Candlelight are always top notch, but this set blew me away. Many of the play’s scenes occur inside a parfumerie shop, and the set design was lovely. Everything was perfect, from the lightening to the color on the walls and the fleur-de-lis details on the cabinetry.
“She Loves Me” premiered on Broadway in 1963, and tells the story of Georg Norwak (Scotty Shaffer) and Amalia Balash (Lindsey Coleman) who have been corresponding via letters. Through these letters, the two have fallen in love, but have never met – or have they? They do, in fact, work with one another at Maraczek’s Parfumerie. This play was the catalyst for the popular Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie, “You’ve Got Mail.”
I realize that words like delightful and funny are overused in play reviews, but this show truly is a delight. The musical numbers are witty, and the few dance performances are dazzling. Honestly, I couldn’t stop smiling.
I enjoyed all the performances in this production, but I think Scotty Shaffer as Georg Norwak was perfect in this role. He has one of those expressive faces so well suited to live theater. When he walks out into the audience during his musical number, “She Loves Me,” we could feel the happiness radiating from him.
During intermission, our table’s 12-year-old indulged in the spiced walnut crème brulee and she gave it two thumbs way up. My friend noted that sometimes it seems like good singers can’t act and good actors can’t sing, but this theater seems to do everything really well. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Candlelight does do it all really well.
You shouldn’t miss the current production of “She Loves Me,” because it will put a smile on your face. It is on stage now through November 3rd. You can find Candlelight Dinner Playhouse online at ColoradoCandlelight.com.
Review also appearing in the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor. All photos courtesy of Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.