This always was and always will be an utterly charming musical. It is much loved in certain corners, and deservedly so. The score by Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) beautifully demonstrates how to be simultaneously sophisticated and light-hearted – this is my kind of sugar sweet show.

She Loves Me follows Georg and Amalia, two parfumerie clerks in 1930s Budapest who get off on the wrong foot and are constantly sparring. Amalia, however, has been writing to a “lonely hearts” pen pal who sought correspondence in a newspaper ad…but, unbeknowst to both of them, that pen pal is Georg.

Director Scott Ellis’s nimble staging flows like champagne out of a bottle: shimmering and effervescent. David Rockwell’s candy-colored jewel-box set design is packed with surprises. Laura Benanti is perfectly cast as Amalia, capturing both the character’s charm and the steely determination underneath. In the vocal department Benanti finds just the right balance between operetta-like pyrotechnics and musical comedy expressiveness.

But we knew Benanti had this in her. The bigger surprise is Zachary Levi as Georg – he’s well known as an affable and good-looking comic actor. He’s proven he can do musicals with the Disney movie Tangled and his Broadway debut First Date. But both those pieces are in a more contemporary pop/rock vein; She Loves Me is as classic musical comedy as it gets, and he handles this arguably more difficult genre with effortless aplomb. This is particularly true in the title song – he finds and lands all the emotional beats and comic bits in it, and even gives us a cartwheel to boot!

The leads’ work is made all the easier by the sterling supporting cast. To me the names Byron Jennings, Peter Bartlett, Michael McGrath, Jane Krakowski and Gavin Creel all symbolize a joyful professionalism and they do not disappoint here (they never do). This is first class fun and highly recommended.

For tickets, click here.

To learn about Jonathan Warman’s directing work, see jonathanwarman.com.