Stage Review - She Loves Me (Centerstage Theatre)

Stage Review - She Loves Me
Presented By: Centerstage Theatre - Federal Way, WA
Show Run: May 22 - June 14, 2026
Date Reviewed: Friday, May 22, 2026 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 40 Minutes (including a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed by: Breanne Jensen

There is nothing I love more than a good ole-fashioned musical that you can tap your toe to and giggle the evening away and that is exactly what “She Loves Me” at Centerstage Theatre delivers! Taking place in the 1930’s in a parfumerie, the audience gets a peek into the daily life of the employee’s at Maraczeke’s. With a mixture of characters as vibrant as the scents in the store, chaos ensues when a new employee, who is beautiful and sassy, gets hired onto the team.  Amalia Bolish, instantly becomes a threat with her excellent sales skills and grating personality to golden boy and constant “employee of the month type”, Georg Nowack. Nowack, we find out, has been writing letters back and forth with a love interest, “Dear Friend”, he has yet to meet face to face or even know the name of. One evening, when Georg is about to meet his unseen love, he chickens out (for reasons I don’t want to spoil!) and asks his co-worker to tell his blind date, he won’t be able to make it. Upon entering the café, the co-worker realizes based off the marker mentioned by Georg, that his one true love is in fact, Miss Amalia Bolish, his one true hate…. Without breaking the news to Georg or Amalia. 

The direction by Michelle Blackmon is hysterical, deliberate and successful with her casting choices and vision to tell the story. Vocal Direction by Lindsay Delmarter, is executed perfectly, with every single person sounding beautiful, elegant and distinctive in their talent with their character. Choreography by Ashley Roy-Simpson is some of her best work yet, with great ballroom technique, strong frames and every scene being elevated by her movement creating fluidity whilst also adding physical comedy to the music. Every performer felt grounded, polished and prepared in their vocals, blocking and movement. A wonderful job to all other technical areas back/on stage that helped elevate this show to its highest story telling potential with such success! Costumes (by DCM Costumes) are all flattering, enticing to the eye in color pallets and hoist each scene into era appropriateness with romantic choices. The orchestra, lovely in sound and professionality and the numerous and efficient set changes went together well. Being that I saw opening night, these were the only two areas I felt needed a bit of tightening up, but as the show finds its perfect groove, these will too, and will be even better than the evening I was lucky enough to see this gorgeous production!

Leading lady Amalia Bolish played by Sophia Emanuel has the voice of an angel and the face of Bernadette Peter’s doppelganger! Her curly natural red locks give her character even more bounce and accentuates the feisty personality that Bolish possesses. Every note Emanuel sings is like sugar floating on a cloud-sweet and effortless leaving you at peace and with a giant smile on your face. Her performance of “Vanilla Ice Cream” is equal parts impressive and endearing. Her bio states that she is professionally trained in opera (trust me, you can tell) and our area is so fortunate to have found a gem in her!  Bolish’s opposite Mr. Georg Nowack, played by Travis Tingvall, is dapperly brought to life by his boyish charm and polished vocals. Tingvall’s acting is adorable and princely, his voice lovely and like a warm hug with his comedic timing and facial expressions consistently delivering. The duo’s voice merry well together and their chemistry is wholesome and infectious. Arpad Laszlo played by Brad Alemao is the errand/delivery bike boy who just wants to be noticed and eventually be promoted. Alemao delivers his character in the most precious way, with adorable insight and gentle warm vocals, leaving you rooting for his success the whole way through!

Co-worker to Georg and Amalia, Ladislav Sipos, is wittily brought to life by Mandela Gardner. Gardner’s character is as if the cast from Winnie the Pooh is smashed into one person. He is equal parts anxious, pessimistic, kind, jovial, spastic, friendly, hilarious, paternal and a bit messy. Gardner’s vocals are beautiful and he was pure joy to watch on stage. Ilona Ritter (my personal favorite character) played by Elizabeth Fuller, is the cash register girl at the front of house in the parfumerie. Ilona is boy crazy, flirtatious, easily gullible and one who bends her morals and personality to fit with each new beau she collects. Fuller embodies Ilona as a sassy hopeless romantic who’s smarter than she lets on and her power house vocals solo, let alone with Sophia Emanuel in their duet, are stunning to say the least. I wish her character had more stage time, so we could hear her sing more often! Opposite of Miss Ritter is bad boy sales clerk, Steven Kodaly who is her on and off again non-committal “man friend” who is stringing her right along with about three or four other women concurrently (to paint the picture). Steven Kodaly, is dashingly played by Guy Simpson, who delivers smarm, charm, ridiculous ideology often displayed with a large side of mellow drama and that annoying thing that makes you say, “man that guy is a jerk, but why does he have to be so handsome?!”. Simpson’s vocals are his best yet in this production as is his dancing/ partner work, I look forward to seeing what he does next.  The entire cast of “She Loves Me” is equally as impressive as the leads themselves, with some portraying easily eight or nine different characters. What sets this cast apart is their comedic timing and trust within one another. The timing in every scene got better than the last and the more we laughed, the better they did, which is truly what performing is all about- the energy- the comaraderie.

The café scene was my favorite of the entire show! At certain points, I was laughing so hard I had to stop myself from tears coming out. During the café scene where I previously mentioned Amalia and Georg almost realize they are each other’s secret pen pal, the waitress played by Atlas Peck, the busboy played by Jonna Nguyen and paying customers Big Anderson and Jake Nix is a master class in physical comedy just like the golden age of entertainment intended for it to be. Anderson and Nix perform a very impressive tango involving lifts and splits that brings the heat to the dance floor. Peck and Nguyen are the dynamic comedy duo that could be seen on your favorite sitcom or mocumentary- these two could honestly be on television with what they created opening night in this scene.

“She Loves Me” is a heartwarming, unexpectedly funny, romantic enemies to lover’s classic tale. Centerstage’s production will transport to you to the days when things were just simpler and far more enjoyable. Whether you have seen the movie (which the musical is based on), or going into it with fresh eyes like myself, you will not be disappointed spending your evening with this show. The cast is immensely talented and hilarious, the crew and design teams’ dedication prevail in its quality and the visual, auditory and emotional experiences are a testament to a job well done by all. Tell everyone you know, “She Loves Me” is an overall fragrant success I’d gladly purchase time and time again.

The Centerstage Theatre presentation of She Loves Me runs through June 14 in Federal Way. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://centerstagetheatre.com/.

Photo credit: Michelle Smith-Lewis