A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY: The Story Of Doris Day Comes To El Portal 11/2-20

The Mill at Sonning - Oxforshire, England, in association with El Portal Theatre will present the American Premiere of A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY - The Story Of Doris Day, starring Sally Hughes. Written by Adam Rolston and directed by Alvin Rakoff, the production will run November 2 - 20, 2011 at the historic El Portal Theatre Mainstage in the NOHO Arts District.

This musical drama based on the life and songs of the legendary Doris Day in its American Premiere comes directly from the Edinburgh Theatre Festival and a successful London run, starring British actress Sally Hughes as Doris Day, this production has garnered excellent reviews. 

A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY is part stage drama, part musical extravaganza. Performed by an energetic ensemble of five, the company embodies Day, her four husbands, her mother, her son, and the many Hollywood notables who entered her life. Packed with fantastic songs such as THE DEADWOOD STAGE, SECRET LOVE, LITTLE GIRL BLUE, DAY BY DAY, QUE SERA SERA, IT'S MAGIC, YOUNG AT HEART.... and many more film favorites. An onstage band accompanies the cast.

Doris Day was one of the most prolific actresses of the 1950's and 1960's. A vivacious blonde with a wholesome image, able to sing, dance, play comedy and dramatic roles, she became one of the biggest box-office stars in the world... But behind the screen, there was a story that rivaled any script Hollywood could ever dream up.? At thirteen, a car accident threatened to end her dancing career and by seventeen, she was married to a psychopathic bully. When her third husband died, a man she had been married to for seventeen years, she discovered he had left her with a debt of half a million dollars....a reward for a lifetime of hard work. This is a tale that has it all: Love and hate, joy and sadness, laughter and tears. Now, a whole new show will bring this story to life.

Close in proximity to Noho and the El Portal Theatre, Doris Day owned two homes in Toluca Lake. She loved the location and rode her bike often to work at the studios. She currently resides in Carmel Valley, California.

Doris Day will release a new album of original material in this fall called 'My Heart.' The record will be the actress' first release in 17 years, and will include four new compositions, three rock reworks and several classic Day standards. She worked with Beach Boys songwriter Bruce Johnston to lay down the brand-new tracks to wax. "These songs all mean so much to me," Day told Broadway World back in 2010. "They bring back happy memories of my friends who appeared on TV with me, my animal friends and most of all, my son Terry." Her late son, Terry Melcher, was an innovative record producer, adding his auditory talents to the Byrds' 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and much of The Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' album. Before his death in 2004, Melcher produced several of Day's new tracks, including 'Happy Endings.' 'My Heart' will be available for purchase on Amazon.com, September 13, 2011.

The singer left show business to found the Doris Day Animal League in 1978. She spoke to Presidents Reagan, (a former co-star and dancing partner), Clinton (persuading him to have his dog neutered), and Bush (to whom she offered 'advice' on animal welfare laws when he rang to congratulate her on being awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom) - and has improved conditions for animals throughout the US and beyond. A facility to help abused and neglected horses opened in 2011 and bears her name: the Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center in Murchison, Texas, on the grounds of an animal sanctuary started by her late friend Cleveland Armory.

THE MILL AT SONNING THEATRE opened on July 22nd 1982 and has produced an abundance of plays and musicals. In 1984 The Mill At Sonning was given a conservation award by The Times newspaper and The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors for the design, restoration and conversion of the derelict mill into a dinner theatre, and recently was nominated Most Welcoming Theatre by the Theatre Managers Association. Sally Hughes is the Artistic Director and Managing Director of The Mill at Sonning.

DATES:
November 2-20, 2011
Previews November 2, 3, & 4 at 8pm
Opening Night, Saturday November 5 at 8PM
Wednesday. November 9 & 16 at 2PM
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8PM
Saturday & Sunday 3PM

TICKETS: $35 - $50
For Tickets call: 818-508-4200
866-811-4111

Or order online: www.elportaltheatre.com

El Portal Theatre is a historic landmark in the San Fernando Valley located in the heart of North Hollywood just minutes from Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Disney, ABC, CBS-Radford and NBC Burbank. The theatre, originally built as a vaudeville house in 1926, sits across Lankershim Blvd from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Art Institute of California-Hollywood.

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