Doris – So Much More Than the Girl Next Door (Sydney Season)

Doris Day is one of those enduring figures in pop culture consciousness.


Presented by: Bold Jack Venue: Lyric Theatre, The Star, Sydney Friday, 4 November 2011
Rohan Browne, Melinda Schneider and Sam LudemanDoris Day is one of those enduring figures in pop culture consciousness. If I even mention the words ‘Que Sera Sera’, there’s a good chance the song is going to be stuck in your head for days, even if your memories of the song are going to be from Ned Flanders’ crooning version in the classic Simpsons episode Bart’s Comet rather than Hitchcock’s 1956 thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much (also a classic, albeit for different reasons).  It almost seems incongruous, given the legacy we now have of Doris Day, that her signature song could come from a Hitchcock movie. Wasn’t she the quintessential girl next door, beautiful and a little sassy and perpetually virginal? Wasn’t she the delightful star of Pillow Talk, The Pajama Game, Calamity Jane – and a whole string of romantic comedies to boot? What was she doing in a thriller with James Stewart?  Well, Melinda Schneider, our guide on this musical journey of Doris’s life, tells us that what she was doing was acting superbly. In just one of the anecdotal gems Schneider shares with us, she relates that Doris never received any feedback from Hitchcock during her whole shoot. When asked about it, he simply told her that he had no criticisms to give; she was doing a fine job on her own. That Doris Day was considered a skilled actor on more levels than frothy rom-coms is a piece of Hollywood history we’ve lost, but Schneider and her show are here to restore it. To hear Schneider tell of us, that was Doris in a nutshell: a dark horse with a bright public image. And it is Schneider talking to the audience through the show. One of the first things she tells us as she takes the stage is that she’s not going to embody the character of Doris Day. It’s not that kind of tribute, she says, “there’s only one Doris Day.” And luckily for those of us in this more modern era, there’s only one Melinda Schneider. An acclaimed country singer with some pretty serious dancing chops (thanks in part to her bout on Channel 7’s Dancing with the Stars), she has presented a heart-warming tribute to a cultural icon without threats of an overdose of sentimentality. Schneider’s unique vocal timbre prevents her from mimicking Doris’s sound exactly and that is a blessing; Schneider’s take on these songs is long-perfected, gently individualised, and familiar without diving into impersonation.   Backed by a lively and infectious big band under the eye of Musical Director Michael J Harding, Schneider has a conversation with us, like a True Hollywood Story without a hint of spite and with a constant thread of old-Hollywood glamour. In a show she has co-written with David Mitchell (of Shout! fame), Schneider takes us through the story of Doris’s life that begins in small-town Ohio and zig-zags across the United States with stories of big bands, multiple marriages, tragedy, and triumph.  Bringing a crucial element of comedy, vocal variety, and innovative choreography are Schneider’s castmastes Sam Ludeman (Xanadu, Fame) and Rohan Browne (West Side Story, The Drowsy Chaperone). Acting as sound bites from Doris’s producers, critics, love interests, co-stars, but most of all stepping up to the plate as music theatre jacks-of-all-trades, these two steal the show a little bit with their charm and ease of performance, bringing real verve to numbers like ‘There Once Was a Man’ from The Pajama Game.  Doris Day – So Much More Than The Girl Next Door is the story of a life, a collection of greatest hits, a night of nostalgia, yet, but also with a little hope for the future. If Doris truly believed that “whatever will be, will be”, then perhaps we can do. At the very least, it seems possible when Melinda Schneider tells us so, and that is why this show has undeniable heart.

For bookings & more information visit www.dorisday.com.au

Cassie Tongue

Cassie is a theatre critic and arts writer in Sydney, and was the deputy editor of AussieTheatre. She has written for The Guardian, Time Out Sydney, Daily Review, and BroadwayWorld Australia. She is a voter for the Sydney Theatre Awards.

Cassie Tongue

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