News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 12/18/02   SLU ANNOUNCES CAST FOR SPRING MUSICAL, “SHE LOVES ME”       HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University’s Opera-Music Theatre Program has announced the cast for its spring production of “She Loves Me,” a romantic musical by the creators of hits such as “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Cabaret.”       The production is scheduled for February 26-28 at Southeastern’s Pottle Music Building Auditorium, said Opera-Music Theatre Program interim director Charles Effler.       Set in an elegant European parfumerie in the 1930s, “She Loves Me” opened on Broadway in April 1963. Based on the 1936 play “The Shop around the Corner,” the musical is a collaboration by composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and writer Joe Masteroff. Bock and Harnick created the music and lyrics for “Fiddler on the Roof,” while Bock wrote the book for“Cabaret.”       Americans first came to know the charming story in 1940 through the movie of the same name, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. The 1993 Broadway revival of “She Loves Me” was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical Revival.        The would-be lovers in “She Loves Me,” George and Amalia, quarrel by day at work, but are “secret” pen pals by night – “secret” in that neither is aware with whom they are corresponding. Also populating the perfume shop are a slick womanizer, his worldly-wise girlfriend, a jealous proprietor, and customers bustling about because there are only “Twelve Days to Christmas.” Rounding out the score are “Tonight at Eight,” “Vanilla Ice Cream,” and the title song, “She Loves Me.”       Matthew Packard of Arabi has the lead role of “George Nowack,” while Jacquie Brecheen of Ponchatoula and Sarah Osterberger of Baton Rouge will share the top female role, “Amalia Balash.”       The cast also includes Patricia Ramirez of Hammond and Amanda Tarver of Gonzales,  who have been double-cast as “Ilona Ritter”; James Flick of South Charleston, W.Va., as “Steven Kodaly”; Bradley Barrios of Larose as “Mr. Maraczek”; and Cameron Bishop of Oak Grove as “Ladislav Sipos.”       Wendy Kinchen and Marsha M. Scott, both of Ponchatoula, have been double-cast as “Arpad”; Christopher Siren of Lighthouse Point, Fla., will play the“Head Waiter”; and Dimitri Trush of Hammond will appear as the “on stage violinist.”       Chorus members are Christina Babin, Prairieville; Krystal Boothe, Chalmette; Darell Haynes, Luling; Michelle LeBlanc and Rondell Parker, Gonzales; Jonathan Moore, Zachary; Clifford Moore, Opelousas; and Betty Turner, Hammond.       For additional information about “She Loves Me,” contact Charles Effler at 985-549-2249 or ceffler@selu.edu. Return to News Releases