Melinda Doolittle (center) was the star of the 2004 production of "Nunsense" staged by Boiler Room Theatre in Franklin, Tenn.
Behind the 'Idol'
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By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer
3/4/2007
Melinda Doolittle didn't change between Tulsa and Tennessee, friends say
"American Idol" contestant Melinda Doolittle is quiet and shy. Thoughtful and giving. Always has a smile on her face. Never has a bad word to say about anyone. She loves God. Her parents. Friends. Seemingly everybody. Plus, she's got a sense of humor, and the personal bridges she's built over all these years, yeah, they're virtually flame-retardant.
Just ask her two best friends from Union High School, or two of her closest pals at the Boiler Room Theatre in Franklin, Tenn., where Doolittle was a musical theater actress for several years.
They'll all gush about how the former Tulsan is (insert a string of glowing compliments here) and mention that the singer they knew back when has a chance to become the next American idol.
They'll also tell you another thing about Doolittle. Give her a mike. Just give it to her. Then watch as the diminutive gospel singer, who's ordinarily so quiet, uses her big voice -- the one she prayed God would give her the summer after her seventh-grade year -- to prove God chose her for a reason.
This "American Idol" season, their friend has gone from the meek background singer whose hands trembled so much before her audition in Memphis, Tenn., that she had to sit on them, to a bold, second-coming of Aretha Franklin.
In that time, she's not only wowed "Idol" judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul -- that's easy enough -- but also the jaded, often brutal Simon Cowell in ways few ever have.
It seems the Brit has a special affinity for the shy background singer, who has emerged from the shadows to prove her quality in front of millions of "Idol" viewers.
He once even kissed her on the cheek.
So we know a bit about what Doolittle's like on and off the stage, but there's a story in Tennessee that needs to be told -- the one that finds Doolittle making her way as an aspiring singer and actress in the small, 120-seat Boiler Room Theatre in Franklin, Tenn.
Daniel Vincent, the theatre's operations manager is a close friend of Doolittle's, so he knows this story well.
Vincent met Doolittle back when they were both in Lifeworks, a touring theater group based out of Nashville that went into schools to teach, among other things, the importance of self-esteem and diversity and how they shouldn't give in to peer pressure.
Doolittle's work in Lifeworks led to her joining the Boiler Room Theatre's 2001 production of the musical-comedy "The 1940s Radio Hour," Vincent said.
She played Geneva Lee Browne, a dynamo jazz singer who stars on a popular variety show broadcast from WWII-era New York, and he played the career-minded gent B.J. Gibson.
Since then, Doolittle never again had to audition for the theater, Vincent noted.
In 2004, the woman Vincent called "the best example of a Christian I've ever met" played Sister Mary Hubert in another musical-comedy, this time it was "Nunsense."
Sondra Morton-Chaffin, who's also a close friend of Doolittle's at the Boiler Room, said the five women who donned nun habits for that play vowed to never again perform the show if all five women weren't involved.
"We became family in that show," Morton-Chaffin said. ". . . You know, we jokingly say, 'OK, wherever Melinda goes, we'll follow. I guess we're her backup singers now. We're her doo-wop girls."
Morton-Chaffin can still recall the way Doolittle turned the show's big number, "Holier Than Thou," into a stomp-your-feet and clap-your-hands ditty that was like something out of a Sunday morning revival.
By the end of that song, Morton-Chaffin said Doolittle had scraped the bottom of a deep, soulful vocal range to put the crowd on its feet.
"This woman can sing the lowest note you can think of," Morton-Chaffin said. "She would go as low as you could possibly go. Yeah, it was unbelievable. Unbelievable. The crowd goes crazy. They loved it. They LOVED it. Every night there was a standing ovation after that song -- every night."
Of course, before that show went into production, Vincent recalled how frightened Doolittle was about speaking on stage.
"Sang all she wanted, but she was scared to death to talk on stage until we talked her into playing Sister Hubert in 'Nunsense,' " he recalled. "She had to actually be an actress, and do different bits and all kinds of stuff. At that point, she was just getting comfortable with it. She just has a presence on stage. She's very natural and she's a better actress than she thinks she is. Really, whatever you ask her to do, she's right there."
A year after "Nunsense," Doolittle joined the cast of "How t Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," which included a show-stopping version of "Brotherhood of Man."
Theater critic Martin Brady described the tune as, "A hugely impressive full-cast affair featuring the tabletop performance of Melinda Doolittle as a reserved executive secretary who breaks out in full-blown gospel/blues voice."
Last year, Doolittle played a slave woman in "Big River," to heartrending effect.
In one emotional scene, Morton-Chaffin said Doolittle didn't have to rely on a song to express her sorrow when her character is separated from her daughter. Instead, Doolittle portrayed the mother's anguish with tears hat dripped from her eyes.
"Broke your heart," Morton-Chaffin recalled of the performance.
Doolittle proved so valuable to the Boiler Room over the years that Vincent said some Boiler Room productions were actually scheduled around Doolittle's background singing career.
As for that background singing career, Vincent said she "was probably one of the most sought-after background vocalists in Nashville" and could often be found in the studio working eight- and 10-hour sessions.
"She was always in the studio, that's how she made her living," Vincent said about the singer who sang background for the likes of CeCe Winans, Jonny Lang and Aaron Neville, among many others.
During a session with CeCe Winans, the gospel singer once told Doolittle she wasn't allowed to sing background vocals for her again until she recorded an album of her own, Vincent said.
Yet, Doolittle never recorded that album.
"I don't think she ever really thought that anybody would want an entire album of her singing," Vincent said.
Now that she's an "Idol" frontrunner, she's probably changed her mind about that, one imagines.
OK, by now we know that Doolittle is sweet and nice, etc., etc., and as talented as Paula Abdul is nutty, but here's one more example of Doolittle's praiseworthy character.
Morton-Chaffin tells a story about how the only African-American actress in her production of "The Will Rogers Follies" bailed on her at the last moment. Doolittle was off in Hollywood for "American Idol," but, still, Morton-Chaffin turned to her friend for help.
"I called her and I said, 'Melinda, the only black girl in my show has dropped out. What am I going to do? We open tomorrow night. Call me back, girl. I need somebody to open up. I need a black woman.' "
At 11:30 p.m. that night, Doolittle returned the call.
"What do I need to do?" Doolittle told her. "I will be there."
Looking back, Morton-Chaffin laughed as she marveled at Doolittle's willingness to go out of her way for a friend.
"She's on 'American Idol,' " a disbelieving Morton-Chaffin said and then repeated Doolittle's words. " 'What do I need to do?' She's unbelievable. Unbelievable."
Matt Gleason 581-8473
matt.gleason@tulsaworld.com
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