Scarlett Strallen to star in Menier Chocolate Factory's She Loves Me

Scarlett Strallen leads cast of She Loves Me at the Menier

The Menier Chocolate Factory have today officially announced that they will revive Joe Masteroff, Sheldon Harnick, and Jerry Bock's 1963 musical She Loves Me at their south London venue which will run from 25 November to 5 March 2017, with an official opening on 7 December 2016.

Directed by Matthew White, the production will star Scarlett Strallen in the role of Amalia Balash, having previously worked together on the Menier's revival of Candide in 2014.

"Meet Amalia and Georg, who work as clerks in Maraczek's Parfumerie -- and aren't exactly the best of friends. However, they have something in common. They both rapturously write to romantic pen pals. Despite the anonymity of their secret admirers, they live for the love letters that they exchange and the day they will finally meet."

She Loves Me is based on the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, which also inspired the films The Shop around the Corner and You've Got Mail. Featuring a score by Harnick and Bock, the collaborators behind Fiddler on the Roof, the show has been revived multiple times on Broadway and was last seen in the West End at the Savoy Theatre in 1995. A Broadway revival ran at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Studio 54 venue last season where it was nominated for numerous Tony Awards.

This new production will feature set and costume design by Paul Farnsworth, lighting by Paul Pyant, sound by Greg Clarke and orchestrations by Jason Carr.

The score features a string of musical theatre standards including "Vanilla Ice Cream", "A Trip to the Library", "Ilona", "Will He Like Me?", "Dear Friend" and the title song, "She Loves Me".

Scarlett Strallen previously played Cunegonde in Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Her recent theatre credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Barrington Stage Company), A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (Walter Kerr Theater, Broadway), A Chorus Line (London Palladium), Singin' in the Rain (Chichester Festival Theatre and Palace Theatre), Passion (Donmar Warehouse), and Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam Theatre, Broadway and Prince Edward Theatre).

Director Matthew White's previous credits at the Menier include Candide, Sweet Charity (also Haymarket Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (also Duke of York's Theatre), and The Last Five Years.

Further casting for the production is to be announced.

Public booking for the show begins at 9am on Wednesday 14 September 2016.