Crowded Kitchen Players continues its tradition to discover and produce forgotten plays with the Lehigh Valley premiere of "Parfumerie," Nov. 30 - Dec. 16, McCoole's Arts and Events Place, Quakertown.

While the original 1937 Hungarian play, "Illatszertar," by Miklos Laszlo (1903 - 1973), might be unfamiliar to you, you may know of the films and a stage show based on the 1930's play, including the movies "The Shop Around the Corner" (1940) with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan; "In the Good Old Summertime" (1940) with Judy Garland, Van Johnson; and "You've Got Mail" (1998) with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and the award-winning Broadway musical, "She Loves Me" (1963). There was also a film, "Illatszertar" (1987), released in Hungary.

The romantic comedy, which takes place during the 1930s in Maraczek's Parfumerie, a Budapest, Hungary, shop, was adapted in English by Edward P. Dowdall, a nephew of Laszlo, in 2009.

"It's seldom-produced," said Ara Barlieb, who's directing "Parfumerie." Barlieb and Pamela McLean Wallace are CKP Co-Producers.

Previous United States productions of the Dowdall adaption include: Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota, Fla. (2009), and 1st Stage Theatre, McLean, Va. (late 2011-early 2012).

In the comedy, George Horvath (William Alexander, Jr.) is an employee of a Parfumerie in pre-war Budapest. Right before Christmas, the shop owner, Mr. Hammerschmidt (David Oswald) fires him after mistakenly suspecting him to be the lover of his unfaithful wife.

Meanwhile, Horvath discovers that the stranger he's fallen in love with through a secret correspondence is Amalia Balash (Kelly Herbert James), a co-worker with whom he didn't get along.

The cast includes Brian Keller, James Dziedzic, Meghan LaVerne, Sara Filson, Frank Garon, Pamela McLean Wallace, A.J. Stein, Nancy Mikkelsen, Elizabeth Buss and Sharon Ferry.

"It's set at Christmas," Barlieb says of "Parfumerie."

"Christmas represents a climax for the calendar year. People have certain expectations, many of which go unfulfilled at Christmas. There's always a sense of urgency about relationships and shopping.

"This play is a nice little story that addresses some of these anxieties, doubts and self-recriminations that plague people at Christmastime.

"In the play, the employees are very fearful for their jobs, and the shop owner is constantly holding the threat of unemployment over their heads. It isn't all that different form the way things seem today."

The play takes place in the Parfumerie shop and the street outside. Costuming is by Nancy Mikkelsen. Nora Oswald is set painter.

"Nora [Oswald] went to great pains to paint a streetscape outside the windows that is very, very accurate and depicts Vaci Street.

"We're trying to incorporate as much Hungarian seasonal music as part of the show as we can.. It's actually very interesting music. It's very unfamiliar. It's instrumentation and singing is very Eastern European," Barlieb says.