Displaying items by tag: Jessica Naimy

Try to remember a time before the Internet, before dating sites, before personal ads and instant cameras and you will eventually discover the age-old path of finding love and dating for men and women called "Lonely Hearts Clubs". 

In Marriott Theatre’s “She Loves Me", a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock, two co-workers at the quaint Maraczek’s Parfumerie shop have unwittingly fallen in love with each other by the “Dear Friend” letters they have sent and received through their lonely hearts club connection. Though Georg and Amalia have not seen even a single photo of the other they each are certain by the written words of the other that they are truly in love and are ready to finally meet. 

Alex Goodrich’s Georg, the male half of this love match starts out as a bit of a jerk. Goodrich, who puts forth a very strong performance, makes Georg very sympathetic, albeit a bit of a boor though he is likable to his co-workers. He is earnestly content with his fifteen-year-plus job at the store. Although he has lots of girls who are real friends, it turns out Georg is completely insecure and out of touch with his feelings towards the opposite sex when it comes to romance. 

When Elizabeth Telford enters the store as Amalia (who is both seeking employment and unsuspectingly the other half of the lonely hearts club love letters), Georg is utterly irritated by her natural instinct for sales. Georg treats her with disdain even though she is cute and eminently qualified for the job she gets from the boss after selling a new product, a musical cigarette box, in record time. 

Both Goodrich and Telford endear you to their stubborn characters over the course of the show. As delivery boy, Arpad, played with youthful cheer, by Grant Kilian says to another clerk at the store with wonder, "Do they like each other?” The other clerk says, " Yes, they like each other very much," to which Arpad says, "Well shouldn't someone tell them?"  

Elizabeth Telford really knocks it put of the park emotionally and vocally with the number “Will He Like Me?", as she muses about all the different qualities he may or may not find attractive about her once they finally meet. Also, her genuinely joyous and girlish rendition of "Vanilla Ice Cream" lifts the audience to believe in true love again as Georg, who has already stood her up once, breaking her heart so badly that she cannot return to work that day, delivers a pint of Amalias' favorite vanilla ice cream. The thoughtful gesture makes her happy at his consideration in a way that begins to dimly realize what might be real love despite his earlier disdainful and brutish treatment of her feelings at work.  

Yes, it's like a period piece version of " You've Got Mail" that plays with a very modern feel as couples STILL face these challenges trying to find their mate today despite the Internet dating revolution. 

(Above) Jessica Naimy as "Ilona" and Jame Earl Jones II as "Sipos"

Jessica Naimy as Ilona steals the show with two of her numbers as the sexy, single gal at the Parfumerie who lets her desire for Mr. Right get in the way of finding her Mr. Right. In “I Resolve”, Naimy sings with genuine force and power that she resolves to let go of her destructive purely sexual relationship with the lothario of the drugstore and rather stand up for the truly lovable and deserving-of-respect woman she really is. In the number “Trip to the Library", Ilona seems to unconsciously know that a trip to a place of higher learning for the evening instead of to the local drinking hole will eventually lead to her meeting a man of substance and intelligence who loves her the way she was meant to be loved. 

James Earl Jones II as Sipos, the clerk with a family who will kiss anyone's butt to save his boring but dependable job, delivers a very funny, dry performance and his singing voice is both comical and deeply resounding. Great job!  And David Schlumpf as Steven Kodaly, the womanizing and insensitive clerk who'll sleep with anyone, really makes you want to slap him in the face, but his number “Grand Knowing You" shows the audience his sexist honesty is what finally pushes Ilona over the brink to find her own self-respect again, even if it means being alone for a while. 

Shop owner Mr. Maraczek is also well played by Terry Hamilton, as he is able to finely capture both the character’s storminess as that of a demanding boss and the good heartedness that hides beneath his exterior. 

The slicked back hair and black tails of The Headwaiter who serves Georg and Amalia at their very first meeting at a "romantic hideaway" is hysterically portrayed by Steven Strafford who has great physical comedy skills with his spot on facial expressions and timing. 

Directed and choreographed by Artistic Director Aaron Thielen, “She Loves Me” is a cute love story that features many charming characters and fun numbers including the adorable “Thank You, Madam” a goodbye the store employees sing together whenever a customer leaves the shop.

Thank you, madam. 

Please call again. 

Do call again, 

Madam

I highly recommend this heartwarming, fresh and fun production which is brought to life by Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s sets, Jesse Klug’s soft and lovely period lighting and especially Sally Dolembo’s really delicious, color-rich costumes for both the leads and the wonderful ensemble of players who portray shoppers in the store. Altogether with this superb cast, "She Loves Me" brings the art of lovemaking in this long past period to life in a delightful modern way. 

“She Loves Me” is being performed at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire through June 18th. For tickets and show information click here. 

Wouldn’t it be great if we were given a simply written book to tell us how to succeed in whatever it is we wanted to pursue so long as its easy steps were followed? Supposing we were unqualified and the book taught us how to beat the system in ten or so easy steps? Well, such would be the case in Marriott Theatre’s latest production How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

In this latest Marriott musical, we are taken to the “Madmen” era of the early 1960’s, thrust back into a day when women in the business world were either secretaries or sex objects – or both - and men lacking professional skills could save their jobs simply by reaching out to the brotherhood of man, even getting women to join in their argument. We’ve all heard the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it” and in some ways everyone adheres to such advice conscious of the fact or not, meaning we can all relate. In How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, based on Shepherd Mead’s 1952 book of the same name, we get a highly exaggerated example of such a philosophy as well as a humorous satire of a sexist corporate structure.     

In the heart of fast-paced New York City we find window washer J. Pierrepont Finch. He immediately shows a strong desire to become something bigger – someone important. Taking a break, he reads from a book in his hands, “How to Succeed in Business”. The audience hears what he is reading – shortcuts and tricks to quickly climb the ladder in a company. One of the first steps is to “find a company big enough where no one knows what the other employees are doing”. Finch may lack the qualifications to be a business professional but has no shortage of enthusiasm or ambition. Thanks to the book’s instructions, Finch “unwittingly” bumps into the right people and quickly lands himself a job in the mailroom of a large New York company. Referring to the book as often as possible, Finch butters up important decision makers in his path and, as the book predicts, is unceasingly promoted to higher positions. When Finch first arrives at the company he is met by Rosemary, a secretary, who has eyes for the young, determined newbie. Though her advances are obvious, Finch is dismissive having his eyes firmly fixed on succeeding within the company. Naturally, his plan does not proceed without a few hiccups along the way, the book always nearby for reference on what to do in such situations. As the quick-witted newly hired employee tries to climb to the next level, company owner Biggley’s nephew Frump (who was reluctantly hired by the big boss in the first place), jealous of the attention the newcomer is getting, always finds himself scheming to bring Finch down.        

Seinfeld fans are reminded of George Costanza who cheats the system at work to always appear busy by acting annoyed at all times, continuously saying “five minutes” if someone asks for your time, keeping unkempt piles of paperwork on your desk, always having a document in hand while walking and sighing loud enough for fellow employees to hear to seem stressed. 

Ari Butler admirably takes on the role of fast talking J.P. Finch, creating a likeable go-getter that we can back as he sidesteps company protocol to better his success. Gifted with fine acting chops and a pleasant voice that holds it own, Butler is exciting to watch from the musical’s opening number “How to Succeed”. Due to Butler’s energy-filled personality and charismatic nature that he injects into the character, we can easily overlook the fact that Finch is really just a transparent status-seeking kid who, rather than working hard, wants to cut all the corners he can in order to leapfrog those who really deserve it. We still like him – and the cast is filled with goodies. Jeff Award winner Alex Goodrich, who many may remember from his leading role as “Buddy” in Elf, takes his role as Biggly’s envious nephew and knocks it out of the park garnering most of the show’s biggest laughs. Terry Hamilton as Biggley is also a delight, perhaps making his biggest splash in the duet he shares with Finch “Grand Old Ivy” to which Finch of course is lying about his alma mater to appease his superior. And while a talented and hard-working ensemble is pivotal in moving the story along in a most entertaining fashion, Jessica Naimy naturally seizes audience attention as Rosemary who is constantly vying for Finch’s attention. The striking young starlet who has in the past landed a Broadway role in Honeymoon in Vegas and has hit the road for a national tour of South Pacific, is genuinely funny as she sings and dances her way into everyone’s hearts. In the now obviously sardonic number “How to Keep His Dinner Warm” near the show’s beginning (not so sure that was the case at the show’s inception in 1967), Naimy clearly lays the groundwork for a strong performance to come.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying has several big song and dance numbers that come with a large amount of pizzazz and lines that will probably be stuck in one’s head for a while afterwards. A light comedy that can’t be taken seriously with lots of laughs and snappy numbers, Marriott’s latest production is a fine escape from life’s rigmarole if just for a night, as the early 1960’s are nicely recreated helping us lose ourselves in an charming story that comes with fine acting performances.     

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is being performed at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire through October 16th. For tickets and/or more show information, visit www.MarriottTheatre.com.