Musical ‘Doubtfire’ is hardly a drag
The touring cast of Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy includes (from left) Axel Bernard Rimmele as Christopher Hillard, Giselle Gutierrez as Lydia Hillard, Rob McClure as Euphegenia Doubtfire and Kennedy Pitney as Natalie Hillard. Photo by Joan Marcus
By the time a big, shiny Broadway musical hits the road for a national tour, chances are good that many audience members will already know if they want to see it or not. Producers certainly count on name recognition for a show, whether that comes from being a beloved movie/book/TV show that will sell tickets solely on the power of its title or some barnstorming award magnet that might generate buzz from its boundary-pushing artistry.
As a property, Mrs. Doubtfire falls squarely into that first category. Most Doubtfire fans have probably not read Anne Fine’s 1987 British novel Madame Doubtfire, but they have likely seen the 1993 movie starring Robin Williams as a newly divorced dad so desperate to spend time with his kids that he dresses up as an elderly Scottish woman and convinces their mom to hire “her” as their nanny.
Rob McClure reprises his Broadway role as Euphegenia Doubtfire in the musical version of Mrs. Doubtfire. Photo by Joan Marcus
A massive box-office hit, Mrs. Doubtfire relied heavily on the immense appeal and astounding brilliance of Williams, who made Euphegenia Doubtfire so lovable you forgave anyone for failing to notice the obvious layers of latex covering her face. Given the film’s success, it was practically mandatory that Broadway producers begin the musical adaptation process.
Why does Mrs. Doubtfire need to sing? It doesn’t, really. There’s nothing inherently musical in the story of a San Francisco family navigating the pain and upset of divorce. The same could be said of The Outsiders or Water for Elephants or The Notebook or The Great Gatsby or Beetlejuice or Tootsie or Back to the Future or Mean Girls…and the list goes on. And on. If a producer wants a brand name to sing, it will sing. That’s apparently reason enough.
So now we have a singing Mrs. Doubtfire, and after a rocky Broadway run interrupted by Covid before the show’s run had barely begun, the show is now on tour.
The thing about brand names is that they come with expectations. Some people still hold out hope that a musical adaptation of a book or movie they love will actually be good. Others are so jaded by the steady stream of mediocrity that expectations are understandably low. Put me in the latter category.
Nik Alexander (far left) is Andre Mayhem, Aaron Kaburick (center left) is Frank Hillard, Romelda Teron Benjamin (center right) is court liaison Wanda Sellner and Rob McClure is Daniel Hillard in the touring company of the musical Mrs. Doubtfire. Photo by Joan Marcus
So imagine my surprise that the touring Doubtfire, now at the Orpheum Theatre as part of the BroadwaySF season, is a solid, enjoyable musical theater experience. Sure, it’s essentially a musical sitcom, a treacly Tootsie for the broken family set. But it’s directed with precision and brio by Broadway veteran Jerry Zaks, and it features a score by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick (who co-wrote the book with John O’Farrell). The Kirkpatricks and O’Farrell are also responsible for Something Rotten, a better, more original show that deserves a long, bawdy life on the musical theater stage (read my review of the 2017 tour here).
They have made smart choices in adapting the show for the stage, which is to say that they hew closely to the movie with a few elaborations (the mom’s successful business is now fashion fitness rather than interior design and she’s dating her major investor), and the score has that bland, in-the-moment appeal that seems to define these kinds of shows. But the recipe works here for the kind of old-fashioned, mid-level musical cheer that offers solid laughs, consistent engagement and the satisfaction that leaving the house was worth it.
The greatest asset of the tour is Rob McClure, who originated the role of Daniel/Mrs. Doubtfire. Like Williams in the movie, McClure makes the role his own, and he is dazzling. From the start, his Daniel is a self-satisfied man boy who can barely care that his marriage is foundering. He’s more interested in doing funny voices and entertaining his three kids while his wife is going to marriage counseling sessions alone.
After the inevitable divorce, Daniel recruits his makeup artist brother (Aaron Kaburick) and his husband, Andre (Nik Alexander), to come up with the Doubtfire costume, and that number, “Make Me a Woman,” is sort of Kinky Boots meets all the bio-musicals (Cher, Donna Summer, etc.) in one vivacious showstopper.
We see McClure change in and out of the Doubtfire get-up numerous times throughout the show’s 2 ½ hours, and every time it’s astonishing to see not only the physical transformation but also the character transformation. There’s no credit specifically for the makeup, so let’s credit costumer Catherine Zuber for the magic.
The sheer level of energy required to power McClure’s performance is gobsmacking, but he does it all with charm and a level of acting skill that actually makes us care about Daniel and his dawning realization of what a poor husband he had become.
It probably helps fuel the emotion that McClure’s real-life wife, Maggie Lakis, plays Daniel’s ex-wife, Miranda, and that the actors playing his children (Emerson Mae Chan, Sam Bird and Giselle Gutierrez on opening night) don’t have a shred of cloying child actor smarminess.
The musical Mrs. Doubtfire doesn’t improve on the movie so much as re-direct its appeal into a musical theater channel that still doesn’t fully justify why these characters need to sing and dance, nor does it apologize for its theatricality. In a surprising turn of events, what felt like a surefire miss ends up being, beyond a doubt, a sweet, if fleeting, pleasure.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Mrs. Doubtfire with music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell continues through July 28 at the Orpheum Theatre as part of the Broadway SF season, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. Running time: 2 hours and 35 minutes (including one intermission). Tickets are $55-$251 (subject to change) Call 888-746-1799 or visit broadwaysf.com.
