Melinda Schneider to Headline DORIS Musical, 8/23-9/4

Australia's own multi-talented Melinda Schneider, fresh from Dancing with the Stars, steps into the shoes of a great musical icon, American chanteuse Doris Day.

The Melbourne premiere season will take place at Her Majesty's Theatre for a 2 week season from Tuesday 23rd Ausgust until Sunday 4th September 2011.

Doris - So Much More Than the Girl Next Door is heart-felt homage, co-written with musical theatre scribe, David Mitchell (Dusty, Shout!). 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 from "Calamity 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 David have unearthed amazing 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. Schenider's most recent album, Melinda Does Doris: A Tribute to Doris Day grew 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 thirty nine Hollywood movies.

It's a big production, about a big personality, performed by a big talent - Melinda Schneider, as she once again struts her stuff alongside two top male singer dancers (Rohan Browne & Sam Ludeman), and The Her Majesty's Theatre Showband - a swingin' fourteen piece orchestra.

Doris - So Much More Than the Girl Next Door is proudly produced by Bold Jack & Mike Walsh.

Website: www.dorisday.com.au

DORIS - SO MUCH MORE THAN THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
Her Majesty's Theatre - 219 Exhibition St, Melbourne
Tuesday 23rd August - Sunday 4th September 2011
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW - Ticketek 132 849 / www.ticketek.com.au

BIO - MELINDA SCHNEIDER
For over a decade Melinda has been a leading light of the ‘new-breed' of Australian Country artists both in Australia and the US. In a career which began with a stage debut at the age of three, she has kept her family tradition alive by becoming one of Australia's most sublime singers and popular live performers. But it is through her assured and accomplished song writing that she has really discovered her true voice.

Six albums, two Gold Records and ten years on, she has won numerous awards, six CMAA Golden Guitars - including 2008 Top Selling Album for ‘Stronger', 2005 Album Of The Year with ‘Family Tree', APRA Song Of The Year for the song ‘Real People' and Female Vocalist Of The Year in 2003 for ‘The Story Of My Life'.
Melinda's songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as John Farnham, Billy Thorpe, Jimmy Little, Olivia Newton-John and Paul Kelly.

2008 brought with it an exciting new phase in Melinda's career, the launch of her independent record label, Be Music. Melinda released her fifth studio album ‘Be Yourself' on July 5th 2008 which earned her second ARIA nomination for Best Country Album. Melinda was awarded her 6th CMAA Golden Guitar for ‘Vocal Collaboration Of The Year' in January 2009 for her heartwarming duet ‘Still Here' with Paul Kelly.

In 2010 Melinda strutted her stuff as a contestant on Ch7's ‘Dancing With The Stars' and in July released her first concept album ‘Melinda Does Doris' A Tribute to Doris Day, which made it's chart debut at #1 on the ARIA Jazz and Blues chart, bursting Michael Buble's bubble and knocking him from the position he'd held for a combined 145 weeks. ‘Melinda Does Doris' maintained the #1 spot for a total of 9 weeks.