Parfumerie Review
Parfumerie, originally created by E.P. Dowdall, and adapted by The College Park Theatre Department, made its debut this past Wednesday night. Directed by Katja Rivera Yanko, this romantic comedy play set in 1937, Budapest takes place in Hammerschmidt’s Parfumerie.
In the very first scene, Mr. Hammerschmidt, played by junior David Schwartz, can be seen yelling at his employees during the Saturday rush at the shop. After a back-and-forth argument about his work ethic, George Horvath, played by junior Andrew Brown, decides to quit his job after being belittled by his boss for the last time. The news of his leave instantly spreads to the other employees. Shop assistant Amalia Balash, played by junior Bella Blanco, returns to the shop and is informed of her long-time rival’s resignation by Mr. Sipos, played by sophomore Robin Aguirre-Casas. The two of them agree that George should show up to work on Monday, apologize to Mr. Hammerschmidt, and go back to the way things were. As the employees clock out for the week, Mr. Hammerschmidt stays behind at the shop. We then see a detective, played by freshman Will Labonski, enter the shop after hours with a briefcase full of documents. It’s revealed that Mr. Hammerschmidt hired this detective to dig up evidence about the supposed affair his wife had been having with George. Although the detective did confirm his suspicions, he informs Mr. Hammerschmidt that it was not George who had betrayed him; instead, it was his employee, Steven Kadar, played by junior Logan Gonzales. This is a major turning point in the story because it signifies the beginning of the grudge he holds against Kadar.
In Act II, we find out that after confronting his wife about the affair, Mr. Hammerschmidt has been living in his shop for the past two nights; the only person who knows about his secret is the erratic assistant, Arpad Novack, played by freshman Aryan Aggarwal. When George arrives before the rest of the employees, Mr. Hammerschmidt explains his story to George, who then forgives him and agrees to continue working at the shop.
Shortly after, George reveals to Sipos that he will be meeting the woman that he has been sending letters to for over a year and a half. He explains that because he has never seen this woman, they will both wear a rose to identify each other. The next time George sees Sipos, he admits that he did not end up meeting her. This leads to a comedic conversation between the two about George building up the courage to finally meet his pen pal.
Towards the end of the day, we watch a chaotic sequence of events as Mr. Hammerschmidt confronts Kadar about his affair with his wife. After things escalate, Mr. Hammerschmidt suffers from a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital; in the mean time; Kadar is thrown out of the shop by George.
In Act III, the shop is closing down for the holidays, along with preparing for Mr. Hammerschmidt’s return. When he comes back to the shop, he explains that he and his wife have reconciled after realizing he had devoted his life to his shop rather than his family. The rest of the employees return home except for Amalia and George. It’s at this point that George finally confesses to being the one Amalia has been writing letters to throughout the several years of working together. The play ends with the two of them leaving and Mr. Hammerschmidt closing the shop with Arpad.
Overall, I thought the play was very well adapted. The actors did a great job embodying their characters in a way that felt comedic but still captivating.
