Musical comedy She Loves Me coming to Mayfield

December 2, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
A musical romantic comedy is set to hit the stage at Mayfield Secondary School.
She Loves Me will be opening tonight (Thursday) and will be performed tomorrow and Saturday evenings.
Kyle Leonard, one of the cast members, said the story involves two clerks in a Budapest store, Georg Nowack and Amalia Balash. Despite being at odds with each other, they unknowingly become close through their anonymous letters.
Leonard said there are about 100 students involved in this production, adding they have been working on it since the start of the school year. The actual auditions were in May, and the cast list was posted in June.
He also said the play is based on a book by Joe Masteroff, and it opened on Broadway in the 1960s. There was a revival at Studio 54 earlier this year, and he said it was a “modernized production.”
Leonard commented that the Mayfield production is a little more faithful to the original work.
Taurian Teelucksingh said his character George is the main clerk in the store, adding the story is set in the 1930s. Amalia is a girl who applies for a job at the store. The anonymous communications go on through out the play, although George realizes who he’s dealing with at the end of the first act. It takes longer for Amalia, played by Katie Pound, to clue in.
Teelucksingh said the play contains “classical Broadway” music, complete with introspective numbers, along with some boisterous ones.
“It’s hard to learn,” Leonard added.
Despite that, it’s a great experience for Teelucksingh, who’s a Grade 12 voice student in the school’s arts program.
“It fits my voice like a glove,” he said.
“I’m more opera oriented,” Pound commented.
She added it’s been a bit of a challenge over the last several weeks, with rehearsing (they even rehearse Saturdays) and keeping on top of school work.
And while they’re looking forward to hitting the stage, they know there’s going to be a let down when it’s all over.
“I think it’s going to be incredibly heart-breaking to leave the show,” Pound reflected. “It’s really, really special.”
Teelucksingh observed a lot of the people involved in the production really love music theatre, so it’s a real honour to do something like this with people they love.
“We have such natural chemistry,” he declared.
Pound agreed, not even objecting to the Saturday rehearsals.
“It’s motivating to come here on a Saturday,” she said.
“We all really love what we’re doing,” Leonard added.
And they are looking forward to continue performing after their time at Mayfield is complete.
“I want to be on the stage somewhere in Europe, performing in an opera,” Pound said.
Curtain is at 7 p.m. for all three performances. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students. They will be available at the door.