Courtesy of Friends of Eastman Opera
Eastman Opera Department’s production of the quaint Broadway musical, “She Loves Me” by Jerry Bock, was a heartwarming show that brought a full house to its feet last Saturday.
From the very first “Good morning, good day,” to the final “Thank you, please call again,” the stage was filled with color, brilliant characters, and amazing talent. Every actor who walked across the stage in Kilbourn Hall performed their parts with grace and ease.
Senior Matt Moisey and junior Danika Felty were fantastic, especially exemplified by their chemistry in the comical song “Where’s My Shoe” in act two. Moisey could be seen laughing along with the audience in some of the funny moments.
“For me, laughing along was my way of telling the audience that I was having a great time, and that they should too,” Moisey said.
Also notable were some of the secondary characters. While they that did not have as many lines, the characters got to show off a lot more personality. One defining highlight of the show was junior David Gleichman’s performance of the song “Days Gone By” and his heartbreaking moment at the end of Act I. But the actor who received the loudest cheers at the end of the night was senior John Leighton, who played the part of delivery boy Arpad Laszlo. The persevering hope that he portrayed through his character set a positive atmosphere from the first song and created a theme that the whole production floated on.
Stage director Stephen Carr was very pleased with the way the production turned out. The talented cast made it easy for him to “let go” and allow the actors to see the show through to the end.
“I had a wonderful time sitting in the house, laughing, cheering with the audience, and grinning from ear to ear at how much the students had grown as performers,” Carr said.
The musical had the audience rooting for the two leads, and the romantic ending was just what viewers expected, of course.
Fridmann is a member of the class of 2017.
