Scott Dreier brings Doris And Me, his captivating musical tribute to Hollywood’s all-time number-one female star, to Burbank’s Colony Theatre for two hours of movie-and-music nostalgia to do Doris Day proud.

 Dreier’s love for Doris was born back in his childhood years when his traditional parents would only allow their preteen son a single TV show a week.

That happened to be KTLA’s Family Film Festival, and among host Tom Hatten’s movie picks, it was the Doris Day oeuvre that entertained and comforted a bullied child who knew at an early age that he was different from other boys.

Since then, Dreier’s obsession with the star of such varied fare as “Pillow Talk,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” “Love Me Or Leve Me,” “Calamity Jane,” “Lover Come Back,” “The Pajama Game” and thirty-two more hasn’t let up one single bit. (A Doris And Me highlight has Dreier reciting all of Day’s thirty-nine movie titles in a single breath.)

Accompanied by musical director Bret Simmons on piano and Carlos Rivera on bass, Dreier treats audiences to such Doris Day biggies as “Secret Love,” “It’s Magic,” “Que Sera Sera,” “Everybody Loves a Lover” and “Sentimental Journey” along with lesser known gems like “Shaking The Blues Away,” “Little Girl Blue,” “My Buddy,” and Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To Moon,” just one of hundreds of songs Day has covered in twenty-four studio albums from 1955’s Day Dreams to 2011’s My Heart.

Movie trivia lovers will relish the multiple Doris Day factoids sprinkled throughout. (Her most frequent leading man wasn’t Rock Hudson but _____. Her sole Oscar nomination was for _____. Her all-time favorite movie role was _____.)

 Along the way, Dreier (who shares writing credit with Kurtis Simmons) shares ways his life has paralleled Day’s. (One notable difference. Doris scored a starring role in her very first movie, 1948’s Romance On The High Seas” on her very first movie audition. Dreier did not.)

He also shares how his love for Doris has comforted him and given him strength throughout the years, and when Dreier recounts a road trip to San Francisco that had him arriving two hours behind schedule for a Doris Day movie screening and missing the nonagenarian superstar’s rarer-than-rare preshow public appearance, expect to find yourself on the edge of your seat waiting to find out if Dreier did indeed get to meet the woman of his dreams.

And it wouldn’t be a Doris Day tribute without frequent mention of her love for animals, her charity work for our furry four-legged friends, and even an onstage appearance by a rescue pup in need of a home, Checkers at the performance reviewed.

Oh, and there’s a delightful bit of onstage audience participation on the cow bell.

Director Richard Israel keeps things visually interesting throughout despite numerous opening night lighting-and-projection glitches.

 Scott Dreier’s many stage roles (including his signature turn as Smudge in Forever Plaid and his more recent Scenie-winning featured performance in First Date) have showcased his triple-threat talents including some of the velvetiest pipes in the biz.

Doris And Me gives us not just Dreier the entertainer but Dreier the man as well, and with Doris Day as the shining star that guides him through life, Doris And Me adds up to one memorable evening of movie memories and song.

Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street, Burbank.
www.colonytheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
August 9, 2018
Photos: Ed Krieger

Tags: Colony Theatre, Doris Day, Los Angeles Theater Review