Mrs Doubtfire Musical

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:25pm

A reading is scheduled with Rob Mclure and Kate Baldwin! Another movie musical... won't mean its bad though, just wish we got more original content. Cant lie this cast is exciting though!!

[missthemountains]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:30pm

I would love to see it reimagined as a body horror piece.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:47pm

I'm lowkey tired of all these musicals which are based on somewhat feminist stories, but without any women on the creative team. Have they really learned nothing from recent criticisms laden on Pretty Woman & Tootsie? I get that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist, but there's no excuse for putting only men in charge of telling these stories.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:54pm

To be honest didn't even look closely at the team behind this. It is so frustrating and almost laughable to write a show about being a women and have no women on your writing stafff... inexcusable. 

[BritCrit]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:01pm

Valentina3 said: "I'm lowkey tired of all these musicals which are based on somewhat feminist stories, but without any women on the creative team. Have they really learned nothing from recent criticisms laden on Pretty Woman & Tootsie? I get that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist, but there's no excuse for putting only men in charge of telling these stories."

In all fairness, Mrs Doubtfire is based on a novel by a female author (Anne Fine) but I doubt she has any involvement in the development of this project. I certainly agree that women need to be involved in these projects more, and it is proof of laziness on Broadway.

I get the feeling that this is trying to cash in on Tootsie's good reviews and Tony awards buzz - after all, both are star vehicles about unemployed actors disguising themselves as women for personal gain.However, whilst it retains the problems inherent in the concept, Tootsie at least looks like it's doing something different with the source material, and Mrs. Doubtfire will need to do the same in order to gain success...

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:10pm

Valentina3 said: "I'm lowkey tired of all these musicals which are based on somewhat feminist stories, but without any women on the creative team. Have they really learned nothing from recent criticisms laden on Pretty Woman & Tootsie? I get that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist, but there's no excuse for putting only men in charge of telling these stories."

Gee, this time we made it 3 whole posts into a thread before the PC/"woke" police showed up!

 

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:17pm

JSquared2 said: "Valentina3 said: "I'm lowkey tired of all these musicals which are based on somewhat feminist stories, but without any women on the creative team. Have they really learned nothing from recent criticisms laden on Pretty Woman & Tootsie? I get that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist, but there's no excuse for putting only men in charge of telling these stories."

Gee, this time we made it 3 whole posts into a thread before the PC/"woke" police showed up!

"

Whats so wrong with wanting for diversity and representation? 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:25pm

Wait hold up. I get the criticism of wanting women on the creative team of feminist stories, but in what way is Mrs. Doubtfire a feminist story?! Just because the story contains a man dressing up as a woman doesn't mean it's a feminist story. Tootsie absolutely has that underlying message, but Mrs. Doubtfire is simply a comedy about a man who will do whatever it takes to keep his children in his life. Does this mean that anytime a male character dresses up as a woman from now on the story becomes a feminist story?

[Valentina3]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:25pm

JSquared2 said: "Valentina3 said: "I'm lowkey tired of all these musicals which are based on somewhat feminist stories, but without any women on the creative team. Have they really learned nothing from recent criticisms laden on Pretty Woman & Tootsie? I get that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist, but there's no excuse for putting only men in charge of telling these stories."

Gee, this time we made it 3 whole posts into a thread before the PC/"woke" police showed up!"


Sorry, I had to work this morning. Next time I'll be at least the 2nd post, I promise.

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:28pm

BritCrit said: "I get the feeling that this is trying to cash in on Tootsie's good reviews and Tony awards buzz - after all, both are star vehicles about unemployed actors disguising themselves as women for personal gain."

Also, considering the reading is next week, meaning the script and score are in at least some state of completion, I highly doubt they are cashing in on Tootsie's success. This would have had to have been in the works long before Tootsie even showed up on Broadway.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:28pm

Tootsie is a story about a man who realizes what women go through and it changes him as a person and has a serious feminist tone to it. Mrs. Doubtfire is about a man who is willing to do anything to see his kids so he dresses like a woman. There’s no big feminist lesson learned and that’s not what this story is about so let’s calm down with the idea that a man can’t tell this story.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:29pm

Valentina3 said: "JSquared2 said: "Valentina3 said: "I'm lowkey tired of all these musicals which are based on somewhat feminist stories, but without any women on the creative team. Have they really learned nothing from recent criticisms laden on Pretty Woman & Tootsie? I get that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist, but there's no excuse for putting only men in charge of telling these stories."

Gee, this time we made it 3 whole posts into a thread before the PC/"woke" police showed up!"


Sorry, I had to work this morning. Next time I'll be at least the 2nd post,I promise.

I have no "doubt" that you will (see what I did there?)  I'm sure being one of society's moral watchdogs must be very time demanding. Thank god you have so much help from all of the others!

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:30pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Tootsie is a story about a man who realizes what women go through and it changes him as a person and has a serious feminist tone to it. Mrs. Doubtfire is about a man who is willing to do anything to see his kids so he dresses like a woman. There’s no big feminist lesson learned and that’s not what this story is about so let’s calm down with the idea that a man can’t tell this story."

Exactly

[Valentina3]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:42pm

I acknowledged in my original post itself that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist. There are scenes which make pretty great references to things which Robin Williams' character suddenly has to go through which he would never otherwise have as a man. Mrs. Doubtfire was hit on, pretty crassly, by the old bus driver. It is almost entirely what Tootsie goes through, for that matter, with the old actor who plays doctor on the TV soap. Sally Field's character is a fiercely independent woman who's tired of putting up with the burden of raising children as well as her husband - and refuses to be stereotyped into the box of someone who's mean. She's sexual, and has every intention of keeping her life going, with or without a husband. The movie was also extremely rare in portraying a caring father, and establishing that being a non-"traditional" father doesn't make you any less of a man.

These are bold feminist subplots for the time the movie came out.

[BritCrit]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 3:12pm

Valentina3 said: "I acknowledged in my original post itself that Mrs Doubtfire is not overtly feminist. There are scenes which make pretty great references to things which Robin Williams' character suddenly has to go through which he would never otherwise have as a man. Mrs. Doubtfire was hit on, pretty crassly, by the old bus driver. It is almost entirely what Tootsie goes through, for that matter, with the old actor who plays doctor on the TV soap.Sally Field's character is a fiercely independent woman who's tired of putting up with the burden of raising children as well as her husband - and refuses to be stereotyped into the box of someone who's mean. She's sexual, and has every intention of keeping her life going, with or without a husband. The movie was also extremely rare in portraying a caring father, and establishing that being a non-"traditional" father doesn't make you any less of a man.

These are bold feminist subplots for the time the movie came out."

Because Mrs Doubtfire was based on a novel wittten by a woman (Anne Fine), which is why it is frustrating that a woman is not involved in writing the book here. If Anne Fine is involved in this production in any way (she’s 71 now but probably still active) then it will probably ease the anxiety a bit, but it’s annoying that people are too busy talking about Robin Williams Scottish accent to give her any credit...

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 5:53pm

Valentina3 said: "Mrs. Doubtfire was hit on, pretty crassly, by the old bus driver. It is almost entirely what Tootsie goes through, for that matter, with the old actor who plays doctor on the TV soap.

First of all, the character's name isn't Tootsie; it's Dorothy. Second of all, if you think Dorothy getting hit on is what makes Tootsie a feminist story, you've missed the mark completely. What makes Tootsie a feminist story is Michael's realization that women are treated unequally and are automatically at a disadvantage.

Valentina3 said: "Sally Field's character is a fiercely independent woman who's tired of putting up with the burden of raising children as well as her husband - and refuses to be stereotyped into the box of someone who's mean. She's sexual, and has every intention of keeping her life going, with or without a husband.

So every show that contains a SECONDARY character who could be described as a strong, independent woman is now by default a feminist story? I don't deny that Sally Field's character is all of those things, but by this standard, every play that contains a a single mother as a secondary character should be handled only by female creatives.


Valentina3 said: "These are bold feminist subplots for the time the movie came out."

That is what we call a stretch. Wives leaving their husbands in order to be happy was hardly a crazy concept for 1993...

[Ben_Platt_Out]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:05pm

I just want to know if there will be a drive by fruiting.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:12pm

If they can take King Kong make it about feminism, they can certainly do the same Mrs. Doubtfire. And let's be real, they probably will. After all, if your story has a woman in it, it had better be ABOUT feminism, otherwise it's sexist! (sarcasm, in case it's unclear) 

For the record, I 100% consider myself a feminist and support feminist messages. But between Tootsie, Pretty Woman, King Kong, and My Fair Lady, and I'm really tired of hearing the phrase "re-imagined for the #MeToo movement" which is clear code for "lazy attempt to either cover our asses, or to cash in on on a hot-button issue, or both" 

But anyway, I guess this rant isn't really fair considering we have no idea what direction they're going in with Mrs. Doubtfire. I'm more responding to the discussion already happening in this thread, not pointing fingers at the Mrs. Doubtfire creatives. 

[FactsAreFacts]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:23pm

I think the larger issue is that only men are getting hired to write/direct the movie-to-musical adaptations (and really most Broadway shows in general). Without speaking for anyone in this thread, I don't think that the concerns are strictly about this particular show's creative team, and more just about who gets to be on Broadway creative teams in general; which, in my opinion, is very much a problem, no matter the content of the show. 

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:26pm

FactsAreFacts said: "I think the larger issue is that only men are getting hired to write/direct the movie-to-musical adaptations (and really mostBroadway shows in general). Without speaking for anyone in this thread, Idon't think that the concerns are strictly about this particular show's creative team, and more just about who gets to be on Broadway creative teams in general; which, in my opinion, is very much a problem, no matter the content of the show."

This is exactly where I’m at with this. Not w/ Doubtfire. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:31pm

Who is even on the creative team?

[BritCrit]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:36pm

RippedMan said: "Who is even on the creative team? "

I think one of the guys behind Shrek (the original film, not the Broadway version) is involved...

 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 6:57pm

RippedMan said: "Who is even on the creative team?"

The creative team is Hello, Dolly! meets Something Rotten:

Book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick
Music and Lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick
Directed by Jerry Zaks

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 7:12pm

JBroadway said: "For the record, I 100% consider myself a feminist and support feminist messages. But between Tootsie, Pretty Woman, King Kong, and My Fair Lady, and I'm really tired of hearing the phrase "re-imagined for the #MeToo movement" which is clear code for "lazy attempt to either cover our asses, or to cash in on on a hot-button issue, or both""

I do think there are some occasions when a "cover our butts" method is necessary; after all, the recent production of Carousel didn't take the time to cover their butt, and they got a decent amount of criticism for it, among many other things.  But I think activism for the sake of activism is wrong; activism for the sake of actually making a difference is what truly matters.

That being said, the one thing making me actually interested is that I ADORE Something Rotten, so I'm excited to see the Kirkpatricks and John O'Farrell on the job.  And they have a great cast put together - Rob McClure, Michael James Scott, Mallory Bechtel, the list goes on.  I hope they do a good job with the show, because it has the potential to be either really good or really bad.