The Sunday Telegraph reports
IN her affectionate, thoroughly engaging tribute show Doris Day - So Much More Than the Girl Next Door, Melinda Schneider emphasises that she is not interested in giving an impersonation.
Performing more than 20 of Doris Day’s hit songs including Que Sera, Sera, Sentimental Journey and Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps, she stays true to her own voice and style, interpreting the songs her way yet it's still unmistakably Doris with her sunny, girl-next-door charm, uncannily so at times.
Co-written by Schneider and David Mitchell, the show tells Day's story chronologically from small-town Ohio to Hollywood fame with four difficult marriages along the way. Woven through it are parallels with Schneider's own life, giving us a personal connection to the award-winning country music star.
Schneider performs with infectious warmth and enthusiasm and is in wonderful voice, bringing light and shade to songs from the whip-cracking fun of Calamity Jane's Windy City to the poignancy of Autumn Leaves.
She is backed by a terrific eight-piece band under musical director Michael J Harding and is admirably backed by singer-dancers Rohan Browne and Sam Ludeman, who both put in stylish performances.
Some may find the show a little saccharine but Day's fans won't be disappointed with most of the audience clearly revelling in the nostalgia.
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