Editorial Reviews

Though Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's She Loves Me was not a hit during its 320-performance original Broadway production in 1963, the show, based on the play Parfumerie that is also the source of the films The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and In the Good Old Summertime (1949) (and, in 1998, You've Got Mail), retained a cult following largely because of its two-LP cast album, which preserved Jack Cassidy's Tony Award-winning performance and Barbara Cook's outstanding singing. Nevertheless, no New York revival was attempted for 30 years, until the Roundabout Theatre Company opened one on June 10, 1993. The show attracted strong reviews and, that fall, transferred to Broadway, where it ran almost as long as the original and inspired a subsequent London production. This cast album is enthusiastically performed by a cast led by Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines. Sally Mayes is no Barbara Cook, but she sings well in the same register, her performance virtually an homage to her predecessor. Unusual for the CD era, this album is actually shorter than the original. It has also been performed with smaller orchestrations. It is an excellent recording of the show, even if the 1963 version is preferred. William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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