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56-540: The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklós László , following the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner and the 1949 musical version In the Good Old Summertime . (It surfaced again as 1998's You've Got Mail ). The plot revolves around Budapest shop employees Georg and Amalia, who, despite being consistently at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each

112-406: A 9:30 date that he previously scheduled. He postpones his date with Ilona, and she angrily declares that she will never fall for a man like him again ("I Resolve"). Georg is nervous and asks Sipos to give "dear friend" a note explaining that Georg could not come. Mr. Maraczek's private investigator enters the shop and tells him that Kodaly is having an affair with his wife. Maraczek had assumed it

168-612: A great satisfaction that his first three-act play, A "legboldogabb" ember , The Happiest Man , a play about an embittered factory worker and the dream world to which he escapes for solace, won him the prestigious Hungarian Royal Academy Award for Literature in 1934, the Hungarian equivalent of the American Pulitzer Prize – quite an achievement for a man barely into his 30s. László could have stayed in Hungary, but World War II

224-482: A limited run at Studio 54 from February to July and was nominated for 8 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, with David Rockwell winning for Best Scenic Design of a Musical . In 1998, the play was used once again as the inspiration for a screenplay, by Nora Ephron , which became the motion picture You've Got Mail , with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan . In 2001, the László/Raphaelson MGM script

280-469: A limited run through March 5, 2017. Directed by Matthew White, the cast starred Scarlett Strallen as Amalia Balash. The June 30, 2016, performance of the Roundabout revival of She Loves Me was presented via BroadwayHD live stream, marking the first time a Broadway show had ever been broadcast live. The historic broadcast was screened in cinemas on December 1, 2016. A limited run of concert performances

336-399: A major company restructuring and focus shifting to more youth oriented films, the musical was among the many projects abruptly dropped. Parfumerie Miklós László (May 20, 1903 – April 19, 1973; born Nicholaus Leitner ) was a Hungarian-born American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his play Illatszertár , also known as Parfumerie , which was later used as

392-784: A minor problem. Georg tells Sipos that tonight he will finally meet his "dear friend" ("Tonight At Eight"). Meanwhile, Amalia explains to Ilona that even though she has not met her "dear friend" yet, she knows him very well from his letters ("I Don't Know His Name"). Mr. Maraczek and Georg argue, and when it becomes obvious that Maraczek is about to fire Georg, Sipos knocks over the stack of musical cigarette boxes to distract him. Maraczek reprimands Sipos and leaves. Sipos tells Georg that no replacement would treat him as well as Georg does ("Perspective"). Maraczek insists that everyone stay late to decorate for Christmas, but Amalia says she must leave early for her date. Georg asks to leave too, but Mr. Maraczek refuses to let him go. Georg angrily quits, and

448-475: A new musical cigarette case. Mr. Maraczek insists that they will manage to sell one within an hour. A nervous young woman, Amalia Balash, enters, hoping to obtain a job at the Parfumerie. When Georg tells her they are not hiring, she demands to speak with Maraczek. Amalia takes one of the cigarette cases and convinces a customer that it is really a musical candy box that plays each time it is opened to gently tell

504-584: A production as part of its 2010 season, running from February through October in the Angus Bowmer Theater . A critically acclaimed, small-scale Australian production opened at Sydney's Hayes Theatre Company , which began previews on 22 August 2018. The show featured Rowan Witt as Georg opposite Caitlin Berry as Amalia, with Tony Llewellyn-Jones as Maraczek. The production was directed by Erin James. A production

560-483: A screenplay Katherine which was picked up by MGM and became the motion picture The Big City (1948) starring Margaret O'Brien , Robert Preston , Danny Thomas and George Murphy . The screenplay examined the diversity and underlying unity of human cultures in the microcosm of a New York City adoption. Only one other of Miklós László's plays was ever widely produced in the Americas. Entitled St. Lazar's Pharmacy it

616-640: A season of summer stock productions at the Colonie Summer Theatre in Latham, New York in 1959, but his first major directing assignment came in 1962 with Guys and Dolls and The Most Happy Fella at the O'Keefe Center in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. He returned to Broadway to share a producing credit with Hal Prince for She Loves Me in 1963, then the following year directed Bajour and worked as associate director on Funny Girl , which he directed in

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672-588: A staple of cabarets and concert stages and made "Vanilla Ice Cream" one of her signature performance pieces." Cook began her concert career on January 26, 1975 in Carnegie Hall. The concert included three songs from She Loves Me , but the New York Times review doesn’t name them. The Roundabout Theatre Company produced a Broadway revival, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Rob Marshall (assisted by his sister Kathleen ). It opened on June 10, 1993, at

728-569: A story that he saw an older, bald, fat gentleman looking into the cafe. Georg says the man told him that he had to work and could not meet his date, and Georg surmises that he must be her "dear friend". Amalia is surprised to find she enjoys her conversation with Georg. After he leaves, she begins a letter to "dear friend" but can only think of Georg's kindness and his gift of ("Vanilla Ice Cream"). Georg joyously realizes that Amalia loves him ("She Loves Me"). At Maraczek's, Ilona explains to Sipos that she has gotten over Kodaly; last night, she went to

784-491: Is her "dear friend". Georg sits at Amalia's table and mocks her, singing a "Tango Tragique" about a woman who was murdered on a blind date (the show has been re-structured to where the song is not sung by Georg, but it is a dance number for the ensemble, 8-20-19). They argue, and Georg leaves. As the cafe closes, Amalia, still waiting, begs "dear friend" not to abandon her ("Dear Friend"). The next day, Mr. Maraczek has survived his suicide attempt, and Arpad comes to visit him in

840-418: Is none other than Amalia ("Three Letters"). Their fellow employees observe their bickering, and Sipos explains to Arpad that they argue because they unknowingly like each other very much. Arpad naively suggests they tell Georg and Amalia this, and Sipos retorts that they'd never believe it. Finally, in early December, the two "Dear Friends" arrange to meet in person. Maraczek humiliatingly dresses down Georg for

896-514: Is the other's secret pen pal met through lonely-hearts ads. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1963 and ran for 301 performances, was produced in the West End in 1964, and received award-winning revivals on each side of the Atlantic in the 1990s (as well as numerous regional productions). Although the original Broadway run was not a financial success, She Loves Me slowly became a cult classic, and

952-471: Is the story of a man learning the lessons of the true value of “home” as compared to the many lures of a false and deceiving world of empty promises. The play starred famed actress Miriam Hopkins and toured all over Canada and the United States. (The Juilliard library lists a handwritten manuscript of "St. Lazar's Pharmacy" in its catalogue of collections.) Perhaps the reason we have not seen very many of

1008-614: The Eugene O'Neill Theatre not long after the settlement of the four-month-long 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike . Nevertheless, the show managed to run for 302 performances. The musical was directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Carol Haney , with the cast that featured Daniel Massey as Georg Nowack, Barbara Cook as Amalia Balash, Barbara Baxley as Ilona Ritter, Jack Cassidy as Stephen Kodaly, Nathaniel Frey as Ladislav Sipos, Ralph Williams as Arpad Laszlo, and Ludwig Donath as Mr. Maraczek. The romantic, old fashioned show

1064-569: The Great Depression that was gripping the nation. He was, for a time, the "toast of the town", locally at least. He then called himself Miklós László, a purely Hungarian name giving him full acceptance and cachet within the community. But fame in the insular Hungarian language-speaking community of Yorkville, Manhattan , New York is not the same as making it as a playwright to a larger English-speaking American audience. Miklós, also known as "Miki", would need to further pursue his opportunities. In

1120-663: The Great War was still a few years away. The name " László " was chosen for the Leitner family. No particular reason is known other than that it was a well-known Hungarian name and that it was similar to the original family name "Leitner". Henrik and Ilona Fischer Leitner therefore gave to their infant son on his birth certificate the name Leitner László Nicholaus, last name first as is the custom in Hungary . Nicholaus grew up in Budapest . His family

1176-578: The West End when Barbra Streisand took the show to London in 1966, the same year he helmed Show Boat at the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center . Three years later he returned to London to direct Ginger Rogers in Mame . In 1978, Kasha adapted the 1954 MGM movie musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for the stage. Although the national tour, which he also produced and directed,

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1232-488: The "Ice Cream Musical" because of a signature song and performance by Barbara Cook . She Loves Me was revived in 1993 by the Roundabout Theatre Company and ran for 354 performances. It was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical as well as in all four acting categories, with Boyd Gaines winning for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical . It was revived again in 2016 for

1288-550: The American Tony Award — for Best New Play, Best Adaptation of a Foreign Work, Best Director, Best Set Design, and Best Lighting. In June 2004 Parfumerie was produced for the first time as an English-language play by the theater department of the University of Illinois , after James Berton Harris, the director of the department's Summerfest, found a translation of the original script in papers donated by Samson Raphaelson to

1344-602: The Criterion Center Stage Right and transferred on September 28, 1993, to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre , closing on June 19, 1994, after a total of 354 performances and 42 previews. The cast included Boyd Gaines as Georg, Judy Kuhn (replaced by Diane Fratantoni when the show transferred) as Amalia, Sally Mayes as Ilona, Howard McGillin as Kodaly, Lee Wilkof as Ladislav, Brad Kane as Arpad, and Louis Zorich as Mr. Maraczek. A revival cast recording

1400-644: The Pest Theatre in Budapest in 1937, and shortly after László came to New York. The play was adapted as a movie script by Samson Raphaelson and became the Ernst Lubitsch motion picture The Shop Around the Corner (1940), starring James Stewart , Frank Morgan , and Margaret Sullavan . A few years later it was re-filmed as In the Good Old Summertime (1949), a semi-musical showcase for Judy Garland , starring Garland, Van Johnson , and S. Z. Sakall . In 1963,

1456-508: The accompanying advances though kept Miki and wife Florence able to make ends meet, barely. Again, other jobs became a necessity. Miklós László died in New York City in 1973 at the age of 69. His wife Florence died in 1987. The most famous of all his plays during this time and which was later produced as a motion picture was Illatszertár , known in English as Parfumerie . It had premiered at

1512-485: The day he first met her. He admits that he always thought Amalia was the sort of girl he could fall in love with. Amalia confesses to having similar feelings, and Georg takes one of Amalia's letters to "dear friend" out of his pocket and begins reading it aloud. Amalia finally understands that Georg really is "dear friend" and they kiss ("Finale"). Producer Lawrence Kasha brought the three writers together. The musical premiered on Broadway on April 23, 1963, at

1568-542: The fall of 1939 he married Florence Herman, an aspiring young actress and the daughter of a successful local entrepreneur, a Cunard Line travel agent, landlord and financial exchange merchant. On December 28th, 1944, he completed the transition and became a fully naturalized American citizen and officially adopted the single name now most frequently referenced, Miklós László. During his lifetime he had numerous writing contracts with MGM . A few projects became major motion pictures, while most did not. The writing experiments and

1624-405: The hospital. Maraczek is impressed with Arpad's hard work in his absence, and Arpad begs to be promoted to sales clerk ("Try Me"). Georg also stops by, and Maraczek apologizes and asks him to return to his job. Maraczek tells Georg to fire Kodaly and mentions that Amalia has called in sick. Georg is worried about Amalia and visits her at her apartment. She fears he has come to spy on her and tell

1680-542: The library where she met Paul, a kindly optometrist ("A Trip to the Library"). Kodaly bids everyone goodbye ("Grand Knowing You"). With Christmas fast approaching, the employees are busy helping last-minute shoppers, and Georg and Amalia enjoy each other's company ("Twelve Days to Christmas"). On Christmas Eve, Amalia tells Georg she has invited "dear friend" to spend the evening with her and her mother. She invites Georg as well, and he hesitatingly accepts. Mr. Maraczek returns to

1736-457: The massively successful 2016 Broadway revival became the first Broadway show ever to be live-streamed . On a beautiful summer day in Budapest in 1934, the employees of Maraczek's Parfumerie arrive at work ("Good Morning, Good Day"). Working at the shop are Ladislav Sipos, a fretful middle-aged salesman with a family; teenage delivery boy Arpad Laszlo; thirty-something Ilona Ritter, who is having an affair with suave Steven Kodaly; and Georg Nowack,

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1792-444: The other employees sadly say goodbye to Georg ("Goodbye Georg"). Amalia leaves clutching a copy of Anna Karenina with a rose in it so that her "dear friend" will be able to identify her. She wonders if "dear friend" will like her ("Will He Like Me?") Meanwhile, inside the shop, Kodaly begins seducing Ilona ("Ilona"). They make a date, but when Mr. Maraczek insists they must close the store early, Kodaly realizes that he has time for

1848-411: The others she is not really sick, so she attempts to get out of bed and get ready for work ("Where's My Shoe"). Georg, seeing she is truly sick, forces her back to bed and presents her with a gift: vanilla ice cream. He apologizes for his rudeness the previous night, but Amalia tells him that he was right about her date; if "dear friend" really loved her, he would have come. Georg, meaning well, makes up

1904-412: The owner "no more candy" ("No More Candy"). Maraczek is impressed and immediately hires Amalia. As summer turns into autumn and then into the early days of winter, tension grows in the shop. Ilona and Kodaly are at odds, Mr. Maraczek is increasingly short-tempered with Georg, and Georg and Amalia bicker constantly. Georg finds solace in his anonymous romantic pen pal, not suspecting that his correspondent

1960-467: The play was produced as a full Broadway musical called She Loves Me , with book by Joe Masteroff . She Loves Me had music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock ( Fiorello! , Fiddler on the Roof , The Apple Tree ) and was nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical , with Jack Cassidy winning for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical . She Loves Me is also often referred to as

2016-612: The plays Miklós László wrote in his early career and during his life is because they were never effectively translated from Hungarian to English and as such have never really had an opportunity to be viewed by American audiences as they were viewed in the country of his birth. Translations exist for many of his works in French and even German, but few in English. The original Hungarian works continue to be performed to this day throughout Hungary on an ongoing basis. Lawrence Kasha Lawrence Kasha (December 3, 1933 – September 29, 1990)

2072-489: The shop for a happy reunion, and Ilona announces her plans to accept Paul's proposal that night, even though he does not know he is going to propose yet. Sipos leaves to join his family's Christmas party, and Maraczek takes Arpad for a night on the town. Georg helps Amalia with her packages as she leaves the shop, and they accidentally drop one of the musical cigarette boxes. Amalia intends to give it to "dear friend", but Georg says he really would like it; it will remind him of

2128-411: The shy assistant manager. Mr. Maraczek arrives to open the store, and soon business is under way ("Sounds While Selling"/"Thank You, Madam"). Georg has been exchanging letters with an anonymous woman he knows only as "Dear Friend", and he shares today's romantic letter with Sipos. Maraczek advises Georg to get married and recalls being a bachelor ("Days Gone By"). Arpad begins stocking the shelves with

2184-529: The storyline for three movies: The Shop Around the Corner , In the Good Old Summertime , and You've Got Mail , which was released posthumously. The play was also adapted for the Broadway stage as the musical She Loves Me . Leitner ( László ) was born in Budapest , Hungary, on May 20th,1903 to a family of German Jewish descent. Emperor Franz Josef ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire , and

2240-650: The university's Rare Book and Special Collections Library. A new adaptation of the play by E. P. Dowdall, a nephew of Miklós László, premiered in December 2009 as The Perfume Shop at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida . Almost simultaneously, a script adapted by Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins was produced by the Soulpepper Theatre Company in Toronto . In the early 1940s he also wrote

2296-506: Was Georg. The investigator leaves, and Maraczek's wife calls to say she'll be out late. Maraczek points a gun at his own head and pulls the trigger as Arpad enters the shop. Meanwhile, in the Cafe Imperiale, the head waiter is trying to maintain a romantic atmosphere as Amalia waits with her book and rose ("Romantic Atmosphere"). Georg and Sipos enter and are shocked to realize that Amalia is Georg's date; however, Amalia does not know Georg

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2352-653: Was adapted for the stage in France and was produced as a straight play La Boutique au Coin de la Rue ("The Shop at the Corner of the Street"). This production was a faithful adaptation of the MGM movie script The Shop Around the Corner and ran for the 2002 season in Paris at the Théâtre Montparnasse winning top honors. The production garnered five Molière Awards , the French equivalent of

2408-597: Was an American theatre producer and director , playwright , and stage manager . Born in Brooklyn, New York , Kasha began his Broadway career as a production assistant for Silk Stockings in 1955. He joined the show's national tour as stage manager, then returned to New York City to work in that capacity for Li'l Abner (1956), Whoop-Up (1958), Happy Town (1959), and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961). Kasha had directed

2464-556: Was announced that Byron Jennings would play the role of Maraczek, replacing René Auberjonois. The revival's run was extended to July 10, 2016, and Tom McGowan replaced Michael McGrath in the role of Sipos beginning May 10, 2016. Following the huge success of the 2016 Broadway revival, the musical was revived in London's West End at the Menier Chocolate Factory , opening on November 25, 2016, in previews, officially on December 7, for

2520-503: Was approaching, and many Hungarians of Jewish extraction, recognizing the approaching dangers, emigrated. So in 1938, Nicholaus László embarked for the USA. He quickly established himself in the local Hungarian community on the Lower East Side of New York City, bringing his charm and reputation to an immigrant audience clamouring for all things Hungarian and, as everyone else, for relief from

2576-430: Was encouraged to put pen to paper and as a young adult began to produce his own little one-scene plays for the various small theatres and cabarets around the city. These “little plays” became his fame and provided spare income to support his “young man with possibilities” lifestyle. It even afforded him the time to work on some larger more comprehensive works which he would eventually complete as full multi-act plays. Money

2632-573: Was held in March 1977 at The Town Hall in New York City, and featured Madeline Kahn as Amalia, Barry Bostwick as Georg, Rita Moreno as Ilona, George Rose as Mr. Maraczek, and Laurence Guittard as Kodaly. A slightly abridged BBC-TV production was made in 1978 starring Gemma Craven as Amalia, Robin Ellis as Georg, and David Kernan as Kodaly. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival , in Ashland, Oregon , staged

2688-518: Was in the entertainment business, and he naturally gravitated toward a career in entertainment as well. He was a clever and witty lad, always amusing friends and family with his quips and characterizations . He rubbed elbows with the Hungarian literati of the day including the playwright Ferenc Molnár , whose most famous work Liliom is known to English-speaking audiences as the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel . It only made sense then that Niki

2744-434: Was no issue for the young László. His father continued to do very well with his own business endeavours and at one-point, anecdotal information described the father as one of the wealthiest men in Hungary. But tragically, poor management, high living and wild spending brought the family to total destitution. And then unexpectedly his father died and Nicholas was left as the sole provider for his mother and eight siblings. Writing

2800-430: Was not sufficient to feed a family and pay the bills, so Niki turned to a host of jobs, none too small to earn the pay that was necessary to keep the family afloat. As he told it, he worked as a candy-maker, collar salesman, necktie agent, script typist, clerk and even worked as a labourer in a petroleum factory while his siblings grew up and gradually took responsibility for their own lives and livelihoods. It came then as

2856-405: Was now set to direct. Dick Van Dyke was strongly considered for the role of Georg which would have reunited Andrews and Van Dyke for the first time since Mary Poppins in 1964. Maurice Chevalier was among those considered for the role of Maraczek. Production was well underway when Kirk Kerkorian bought MGM and installed James T. Aubrey Jr. to run the studio to make sweeping changes. With

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2912-400: Was released by Angel Records . After the original Broadway production it was 30 years before a major revival. Critic Arthur Dorman, in a review of a production in 2019, says that it was overshadowed by the big Broadway productions of that time. "But," he says, "a small group of fans kept a flame going for She Loves Me , which was further flamed when the original Amalia , Barbara Cook, became

2968-461: Was released by Varèse Sarabande , featuring Fratantoni as Amalia. The production was conducted by David Loud . The West End revival, also directed by Ellis and choreographed by Marshall, opened on July 12, 1994, at the Savoy Theatre , where it ran for one year. The cast included John Gordon Sinclair as Georg, Ruthie Henshall as Amalia, and Tracie Bennett as Ilona. A revival cast recording

3024-603: Was released on the First Night label. The Roundabout Theatre Company presented a revival in 2016, again directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, on Broadway which opened at Studio 54 on March 17 following previews from February 19 in a limited engagement to June 5. The production starred Laura Benanti as Amalia, Zachary Levi as Georg, Jane Krakowski as Ilona, Gavin Creel as Kodaly, Byron Jennings as Maraczek, and Michael McGrath as Sipos. On December 2, 2015, it

3080-620: Was short on big song and dance numbers, and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre was too small to generate a big profit. A two-record original cast recording was released by MGM Records and subsequently re-released on CD on the Polydor label in 1987. The West End production opened on April 29, 1964, at the Lyric Theatre , where it ran for 189 performances. The cast included Gary Raymond , Rita Moreno , Anne Rogers and Gary Miller . A London cast recording

3136-454: Was staged by Artistry in Bloomington, Minnesota from January 26 to February 17, 2019. MGM bought the screen rights for the musical in 1967 with plans to make it into a film starring Julie Andrews and to be directed by Harold Prince . After a year of delays, MGM moved forward with the film with a revised production in 1969. Julie Andrews was still set to play Amalia; however Blake Edwards

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