Melinda Schneider Brings Doris Day to Melbourne.

Melinda Schneider steps into the shoes of a great musical and cinema icon, American chanteuse Doris Day in Doris – So Much More Than the Girl Next Door, playing its Melbourne premiere season at Her Majesty’s Theatre for a 2-week season from Tuesday 23rd August 2011.  

Melinda traces her love at first sight of Doris Day in the 1953 movie musical Calamity Jane.

“She was such a huge talent” Melinda relates, “a triple threat as they say – she could sing, dance and act. I thought then she was the best of everything a woman can be and when I grew up I wanted to be just like her.”

The clock turns back as Ms. Schneider lovingly recreates Ms. Days “voice” through such popular standards as “Sentimental Journey”, “Que Sera, Sera”, “Everybody Loves a Lover”, “Secret Love” and a whole slew of hits fromCalamity Jane, Love Me or Leave Me and Pillow Talk.

“There will only ever be one Doris. Sadly Doris hasn’t performed for over thirty years but so many great songs are associated with her and I get to sing them in this show.”

Doris – So Much More Than the Girl Next Door is so much more than a re-imagining of truly great songs. Doris Day’s real life story is equally rich and fascinating. Melinda and co-writer David Mitchell (Dusty, Shout!) have unearthed little-known facts about Doris’ journey from small-town Ohio to the heights of Hollywood. Her four turbulent marriages, rife with abuse and finally catastrophic financial ruin, are also revealed. But throughout, the strength and sunny disposition of everyone’s favourite film star shone through.

“The more I’ve found out about Doris, the more I’ve discovered that our lives have run a parallel course”, says Melinda. “We’re both born into German Catholic families, we both love our doggies and both have been through messy relationships and divorce.”

Doris Day is a figure that still connects today. Melinda shares some of her own stories as well as those of her idol. “It’s the universal story of women set to music of the forties, fifties and sixties.”

Ms. Schneider’s most recent album, Melinda Does Doris: A Tribute to Doris Daygrew out of the encouragement of David Campbell (her duet partner on “Love Somebody”).  “If you don’t do a Doris Day album”, he told me, “I’m going to hit you over the head!”.  The album spent nine weeks at number one on the ARIA charts and it is from this success spawned this brand new stage extravaganza, featuring the songs and story of Hollywood’s all-time greatest female box-office star, Doris Day.

Not only musical Doris – So Much More Than the Girl Next Door, is visually stunning as Melinda’s on-stage wardrobe is a virtual runway of high fashion trends, Doris showcased in her 39 Hollywood movies.

Melinda Schneider struts her stuff alongside two male singer dancers (Rohan Browne & Sam Ludeman), and The Her Majesty’s Theatre Showband - a swingin’ fourteen piece orchestra.

Season: Tuesday 23rd August – Sunday 4th September 2011. Bookings: Ticketek

Check out our review of the Brisbane season - Click here

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