MARY CLEERE HARAN SINGS - DORIS DAY

LEE HARTGRAVE REVIEWS
July 15, 2009

MARY CLEERE HARAN ‘SINGS DORIS DAY’

Singing songs made famous by one of the most popular entertainers of all time is not an easy task. Haran, however has managed to bring some of the charisma of Day to the Rrazz stage. She is not trying to sound like Day, but only to give us the feeling that somehow Day is in the room.

One of Haran’s winners of the evening, and there are many, was “It All Depends of You.” Haran gives new value to this wonderful Ray Henderson Standard. She also enchanted with the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz hart “Little Girl Blue”.

Having worked with Doris Day on a Documentary that was on PBS, Haran gives us some insights to the sometimes-mysterious Day. “Her first big hit was when she went with the Les Brown Band and sang “Sentimental Journey” (he wrote the music) – it was a big hit that I enjoyed immensely as I was growing up. It is still one of the most played standards today.” – sez Haran.

Of course Haran sang “Que Sera, Sera” – it wouldn’t be a Doris Day evening without it. Haran made it fresh again. Wonderful song that is full of smiles.

Of course it would not be a Doris Day event without some Sammy Cahn wonderful lyrics – and they show up in “I’ll Never Stop Loving You.” Great tunes sung by two great stars – Doris Day (originally) and Mary Cleere Haran for today’s audience. Haran was surprisingly funny as she interjects plenty of humor in between the beautiful rendering of the intricate song styling of the songs that made a True American Idol of Doris Day.

I was happy and thrilled to be able to hear all these wonderful tunes again on a stage. The Rrazz Room is the perfect place for this impressive evening with Haran.

AT THE RRAZZ ROOM THRU SUNDAY JULY 19

RATING: FOUR GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!!!! (highest rating) –trademarked-

(((Lee Hartgrave has contributed many articles to the San Francisco Chronicle Datebook section and produced a long-running Arts Segment of PBS KQED)))

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