MELINDA SCHNEIDER DOES DORIS DAY

It isn’t a tribute show, not a musical, it is just Melinda Schneider doing Doris Day in a narrative concert evening for the whole family.

Doris Day recorded 616 songs, starred, and sang in thirty-nine films. What a mountain to climb to narrow the material down to a two-hour concert. Ms Schneider created and co-wrote this evening with David Mitchell of Shout and Dusty fame.

The narrative is as straight and dry as it can be, except for three jokes and the surprise that, in spite of a last minute “pawdition”, she had to fly in her own two dogs to accompany her on stage at opening night. There is nothing spectacular distracting our focus on the star and her fabulous two supporting men.

The concert setting, (there is no stage designer mentioned in the program) is a three level platform with a minimalistic, raw stair in the middle, two backdrops and a phantom like Chandelier hovering above. The chandelier does not do anything but being a chandelier. One backdrop is white, to allow vivid colour changes, the other one is black with glittering stars.

Colin Alexander is in charge of the light design, which works perfectly for the mood of the show. The costume changes are limited and suggest a hint of Doris Day’s movie outfits. That is, except for the one opening the second half of the evening. Ms Schneider appears in a Janet Jackson shining black leather bodysuit. Justin Timberlake was not there so no costume malfunction was to be feared! That costume is good for one number and then she quickly gets off stage to “peal” out of it. Sorry, the costumes are not costumes but ‘outfits’ by Mathew and Beverly Smith and Mathew Aberline.

The eight-piece band, beautifully lead by the impeccable and superb Michael J Harding performs under the name “The Lyric Theatre Show Band”. I only know that because I studied the mammoth poster at the entrance to The Star. Strangely enough, they do not get a billing in the program. They should, since they are excellent, even though the brass section is a little “underused”. Many of the over twenty songs rely on piano, drums, guitar and bass only.

Sam Ludeman and Rohan Brown literally carry the show on their hands and shoulders. They can sing, they can do beautiful harmonies, they can dance, they can tap without taps, (Andrew Hallsworth provides the effective choreography), they can do American and English accents, and they can carry Ms Schneider around the stage when necessary. They are both solo artists in their own rights with a charisma that beams through to the last seat in the auditorium.

And there is the lovely, enchanting and admirable Melinda Schneider herself. As she says, at the beginning of the show, she is not trying to impersonate Doris Day. She is aiming to let us know some, even for me, unknown facts about Doris Day and the parallels that connect her and Doris.

So we learn that they both grew up in a German catholic environment. They both changed their names. Doris Day’s name change was forced upon her and the impressive Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff became Doris Day based on her hit song ‘Day by Day’. (As an Austrian I would have insisted to keep the “Von” in!)

Melinda was gutsy enough to ask her father, Mr Bean, to allow her to change her name to her mother’s maiden name of Schneider. Her father’s answer was as dry as British can be: So you are now a has Bean. (Joke number one).

Both ladies are divorced. Doris Day, a double divorcee by the age of twenty five, divorced her abusive and womanizing husband number one, the father of her only child, Terry, after two years, was estranged from her second after just one year, manipulated and sent into bankruptcy by her third partner and manager, and again betrayed and financially shaken by her fourth mishap, who tried to sell cans of dog food labelled with her picture but without any food inside!

Melinda divorced her husband after a grim battle which left her losing her two houses and being left with her two dogs only. (Joke number two: I got the better Deal!)

There is a spooky story about Doris Day’s son Terry. Terry was a highly successful producer for bands such as The Birds. He once let a man by the name of Charles Manson audition for him. Manson was eager to get his songs recorded. But Terry decided to let it go since Manson sounded like any other street busker. Manson, who masterminded the killing of Sharon Tate, may have attacked the wrong people. Polanski and Tate had rented the mansion from Terry who had moved out just a couple of weeks before the killing?!

We also learn that Doris Day, now eighty-six, still runs her Doris Day Animal League, accompanied by 16 dogs. She cooks for them in her Dog Kitchen, dines with them placing the food on individual footstools and sleeps surrounded by them. And finally yet importantly, they are both wonderful singers and strong, independent women.

Melinda Schneider’s voice is one of a kind. She may lack command of the higher registers but her timbre and bell like clarity is as soothing as a gentle mountain breeze.

Yes, there are many number one hits presented in this show. However, it is the not so well know songs that make this evening brilliant. Especially at the end when she sings Your Eyes Could Never Lie, her song for her dogs Rosie & Daisy! (Without the two dogs, mucking around her it would have been even better).

The second last song, ‘Wish you were here’ was dedicated to Rock Hudson and Doris Day’s late son Terry, and the eerie ‘I’ll see you in my dreams’, was used as her encore. There Melinda shows her best. When she sings ballads, she has the power to make you cry.

There is just one thing I believe Doris Day never would have allowed herself to say. Joke number three: “You must know that I sign almost everything. However, when it comes to the man who asked me to sign a dubious body part of his, I had to tell him that my name is too long for it”. However she delivers it is as sunny and sweet as if Doris was right by her side.

The Lyric Theatre at The Star may not be the appropriate venue for this show, especially as both dress circles of the venue were closed to the audience. For my liking, this evening with Melinda’s warm personality, her mother yodeling back to her, and with the President of the Australian Doris Day Fan Club being in the audience, would have been much more special in a more intimate, personal venue.

This show is not aimed at knocking you off your feet. It is a lovely and most appreciated evening. At the price of just under $ 60.00 for a ticket, it is a valuable treat. Even if you are not in love with Doris Day, you will love Melinda Schneider.

DORIS DAY- SO MUCH MORE THAN THE GIRL NEXT DOOR opened at the Lyric Theatre, Star City on Thursday 3rd November and runs until Sunday 13th November, 2011.

© Markus Weber, Emu Productions-(theatre and music) Pty Ltd

6th November, 2011

Tags: DORIS DAY, MELINDA SCHNEIDER DOES DORIS DAY, DORIS DAY- SO MUCH MORE THAN THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, Lyric Theatre, Star City, Melinda Schneider