I’m always a little skeptical when a movie I love turns into a splashy big Broadway musical. John Waters‘ hairspray Get it right. Unfortunately, another of his films turned into a musical, crybaby Make a mess of the theater. Beetlejuice Most of it is okay, but Little Miss Sunshine is definitely not good. So when this was announced Mrs Doubtfirethis Robin Williams I’m not holding my breath for a movie about a father who pretends to be a Scottish nanny on his way to the Great White Road. But boy, was I wrong.
Directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zacks and starring Rob McClureFrom the original creator of the Broadway character, this show is a super fun, non-stop laugh-out-loud affair with some heart-wrenching moments.
The show tells the same story as the movie: Daniel Hillard (McClure) is a free-spirited father of three whose behavior doesn’t line up. After his wife Miranda (Maggie Lakis) asked for a divorce, he hatched a plan to become the child’s nanny, and with the help of his brother (Aaron Kabrick) and brother-in-law (Nick Alexander), Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire is born.
McClure, who you may have seen in a Charlie Chaplin musical at the La Jolla Theatre, spotlight (Opening on Broadway Chaplin), as always, excellent. He wasn’t trying to imitate Robin Williams, it was more of an homage to him. He made the character his own in the best way possible.
LaKeith, who was actually married to McClure in real life, could have easily been a heavy character here, but she’s easy to relate to and the audience can easily understand her frustration with Daniel and why she Want to move on with my life. As a child, Lydia (Gisele Gutierrez), Christopher (played by Sam Bird and Axel Bernard Rimel in opposite performances) and Natalie (Emerson May Chen and Charlotte Sidney Harrington), has a lot of work to do and performs well every time he takes the stage. The same goes for Alexander and Kabric, who have a trait where he has to yell every time he lies. You might think this prank would get boring after a while, but it gets funnier every time he does it.
With music and lyrics by Carey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick, every minute of the show is from the book by Carey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell and is an absolute crowd-pleaser.
Mrs. DOUBTFIRE is currently playing at the San Diego Municipal Theater. For more information and tickets: Broadway San Diego
