When theater teacher Jamaal Solomon described the musical “She Loves Me,” he used three words: “Warm, sweet, special.”
The theater program will perform this musical from Sept. 25–27, starting at 7 p.m. each night. Auditions and plans for this musical have been in the works since the end of May last school year.
“She Loves Me” is a romantic comedy that takes place in 1930s Budapest, where two people, Amalia and Georg, write each other love letters without knowing who the other is. The twist: the two of them do not realize that they do know each other (as coworkers) and despise each other. Senior Sabria Sego and junior William Lange, play Amalia and Georg respectively. For Sego, playing as Amalia has given her a chance to broaden her range as an actress.
“This role has definitely made me a better actor in a way where I can portray human-like qualities,” Sego said. “In theater, it’s normally over the top. But this character’s so human, and it’s been a challenge to feel these emotions as an actor.”
While the actors face the challenges of embodying their roles, Solomon faces the challenge of time management. “She Loves Me” had to start rehearsals and be performed earlier than usual in order to create time to work on the next production in line, “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Solomon had this production in heart and mind for a few years. He believes that this story is made for everyone to enjoy, as it features the beloved enemies-to-lovers troupe.
“Four years ago, I designed a set piece for our show ‘Something Rotten’ with the hope that eventually I would use that same set piece for ‘She Loves Me,’ and here we are,” Solomon said.
Solomon, the cast and the crews are all feeling the love for this production.
“The second I saw the musical, I fell in love with it instantly,” assistant director Kaitlyn Barry said. “And I do really love my job a lot. I love helping people, and I really like being able to see my vision on stage.”
Barry has the jobs of blocking, directing and helping actors with their characterizations in the scenes. She goes from crew to crew to offer her help, and keeps all 70 members of the production afloat on their tasks.
Everyone has put in their share of effort to get this musical ready for the spotlight, especially Sego, who looks forward to performing the final product of this musical on stage.
“I hope [the audience] will appreciate the small things in life,” Sego said. “This show is very romantic, and it romanticizes life. It shows the beauty in small things, which is really sweet. And I hope the audience sees that.”
Tickets for “She Loves Me” can be bought on teachtix.com/hagertyhightheatre/she-loves-me.
