Doris : So Much More Than The Girl Next Door

By Mark Kearney

Doris : So Much More Than The Girl Next Door

Melinda Schneider is best known as one of Australia’s country music elite; her trophy cabinet of Golden Guitars even rivals that of the first lady of the genre, Kasey Chambers.

But after some convincing from fellow entertainer and recent Helpmann Awards host David Campbell, Schneider decided to take a sentimental journey into the past by recording an album of Doris Day covers entitled Melinda Does Doris.

Doris: So Much More Than the Girl Next Door is the onstage manifestation of this venture and it is a curious prospect. The show – “a narrative concert”, as co-writer David Mitchell calls it - rests somewhere between cabaret and jukebox music theatre, and it’s a combination that won’t sit well with all people.

It was, however, a format which I grew increasingly comfortable with as the show progressed.

Near the start of the concert, Schneider announces that her performance is not an impersonation but rather a tribute to someone she has greatly admired throughout her life.

Regardless, she sometimes takes on the persona of Day – sans accent – and her supporting men (Rohan Browne and Sam Ludeman) often assume the roles of her bygone lovers, directors and critics.

Schneider weaves songs from the blonde starlet’s back catalogue with anecdotes about Day’s career (which includes famed performances in Calamity Jane, The Pajama Game and Pillow Talk), four failed marriages and friendship with Hollywood royalty, Rock Hudson.

The script is the real stumbling-block here. Mitchell and Schneider haven’t quite managed to elicit more than the occasional chuckle from the audience. The interjections of Browne and Ludeman, who sometimes take on part in the story-telling, also come off as awkward.

Comparisons between Schneider and Day are a little forced, too. Both German-Catholic dog-lovers who’ve had failed marriages, surely half of Hahndorf could make the same claim!

But Schneider lights up when she speaks of her own experience with cute quips throughout about her father, schoolmates and failed love-interests. The effect is endearing; Schneider seems a genuinely charming personality.

She also cuts an elegant figure on stage, with an ever-engaging smile and showcasing a glittering and usually glamorous wardrobe. A chandelier and rich drapery, backed by pink and blue lit cyclorama and the occasional entrance of a star curtain, frame the action perfectly.

Obviously, Schneider is entirely at home the moment she breaks into song. She performs a remarkable 26 numbers throughout the show and she navigates them all wonderfully with a pretty voice that packs some surprisingly serious punch.

Her strongest moments are her most introspective. Highlights include Ohio, Sentimental Journey and the showstopper, Autumn Leaves, which sees her ripping up the jazz standard from a stool centre stage. It was a supreme vocal performance.

The Her Majesty’s Theatre Show Band sounded in fine form all night long; led by Michael J Harding, the fourteen-piece unit were tight-knit throughout.

Mention must be made of Browne and Ludeman who provided strong back-up all night. Browne, in particular, is such a dashing presence of stage; he exudes a cool masculinity that would’ve been at home alongside Doris in a Warner Brothers picture of the 1950s.

Andrew Hallsworth provided whimsical and entertaining choreography for the show’s more up-tempo numbers which was well- executed by all (it seems that Schneider has retained some of the steps learnt during her short stay on Seven’s Dancing With The Stars in 2010!)

I must admit to being somewhat surprised by the pervasiveness of Day’s discography; I knew far more songs than I expected to. The opening night crowd also began a number of impromptu sing-a- longs, none more emphatic than Que Sera, Sera.

If you are a ‘Day-niac’ (a Doris Day maniac, for those of you playing at home) or a connoisseur of all things Melinda Schneider, you will be more than satisfied by this offering. If this isn’t you, then there’s still a smorgasbord of pleasant golden-oldies to discover, not to mention a mature, graceful performer to watch and hear.

Playing until Sunday 4 September at Her Majesty's Theatre, Exhibition St.