She Loves Me (2016)

No IMDb plot summary.
Directed by Scott Ellis. Starring Zachary Levi, Laura Benanti, Jane Krakowski, and Tom McGowan.

I really knew very little of this musical before going into it, except that it was written by Fiddler on the Roof's team of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, and that it was based on the movie The Shop Around the Corner. They really should have kept that original title, because it evokes the ensemble feel of this show more accurately, as opposed to "She Loves Me," which made me think it was going to be much more focused on the primary love story. The show is kind of all over the place from a narrative standpoint and doesn't earn its love story at all. There are some good songs, but far too many of them, and about half of them devoted to nonessential subplots that took up precious time needed to flesh out the core story. The production itself is pretty good -- Laura Benanti is delightful as always, and although I find Zachary Levi a little too goofy at times, he pulls off this role pretty well. The supporting cast is excellent, which is good since they're carrying so much of the show. It's a sweet little romantic comedy but at best it's a good production of a half-baked show.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
She Loves Me > Days of Heaven
She Loves Me < American Outlaws
She Loves Me < The Gold Rush
She Loves Me < Wonder Man
She Loves Me < George of the Jungle
She Loves Me > Ratatouille
She Loves Me < The Scarlet and the Black
She Loves Me > Outbreak
She Loves Me < Captains Courageous
She Loves Me > When Strangers Click
She Loves Me < Thoughtcrimes
Final spot: #1193 out of 2489.