Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! In August, I featured a show near and dear to Neil Patrick Harris, so this month it’s time to celebrate another How I Met Your Mother star — namely, Josh Radnor, who appeared opposite Kelli O’Hara in the 2011 Roundabout concert production of She Loves Me, Bock & Harnick’s (and Masteroff’s) brilliant 1963 musical version of the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie (which of course was adapted to the screen several times as well).
Roundabout’s benefit concert was the basis for the company’s eventual 2016 Broadway revival, in which Radnor was initially slated to appear. It’s actually too bad he didn’t make it to that production (which similarly featured Gavin Creel and Jane Krakowski as the supporting couple), because he’s quite charming in the role of Mr. Novak. And he’s perfect for this kind of show — after all, he had lots of experience as the quirky lead of a charming romantic comedy about a main character whose lady paramour is initially shrouded in some degree of mystery. I mean, can’t you just hear the heart-eyed Ted Mosby singing a song like this?
That’s taken from a tracked audio of this 2011 concert performance, which I’m offering to subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest. And, heck, while I’m here, I’ll also throw in a full tracked audio of something I’ve already spotlighted before — the 1977 Town Hall concert production, with Barry Bostwick, Laurence Guittard, Rita Moreno, and the divine Madeline Kahn (another sitcom star, come to think of it). If you don’t have this yet — or your version is not complete — don’t miss it!
Come back next month for another musical treat! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Mother!