Review: MRS. DOUBTFIRE National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center

Based on Chris Columbus’ 1993 Academy Award-winning film of the same name adapted from Anne Fine’s 1987 novel titled Alias Madame Doubtfire. This musical follows Daniel Hillard, an out-of-work actor who loses custody of his kids in a divorce. So he masquerades as Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire to stay in their lives. This was the second in an unofficial trilogy of Broadway musicals adapted from classic movies about men disguising themselves as women. In 2019, we got Tootsie. In 2022, we got Some Like It Hot.

Following an out-of-town tryout in Seattle, Mrs. Doubtfire originally began previews on March 9th, 2020 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway with opening night planned for the following month. Yet it went on hiatus when performances all over the New York theatre district got suspended on the 12th due to COVID-19. The show resumed its run on October 21st, 2021 and officially opened on December 5th. But as COVID cases were still going on after Broadway reopened, Mrs. Doubtfire took another hiatus from January 10th-April 14th, 2022. However, it still struggled finding an audience, eventually ending its run on May 29th of that year after 83 performances.

Luckily, the show is now out on its first national tour and is currently at DPAC through March 24th. Similar to what Tootsie and Some Like It Hot both went through with their respective adaptation processes, there probably was a bit of concern early on about how the idea of a man taking on a woman’s job would fly today. So it was really all up to the creative team to approach the story with more modern sensibilities. The book by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell does stay true to the original movie. Although they also up the stakes in some areas and elaborate a little more on certain plot points. Like during the opening number, ‘That’s Daniel,’ we get to see a bit of backstory behind the fall of Daniel & Miranda’s marriage. In fact, the whole score by Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick successfully deepens the characters, giving the audience an understanding of the emotions going on inside them.

Stepping into the shoes of the legendary Robin Williams sounds like no easy task at all. Yet Rob McClure, reprising a role that earned him a Tony nomination on Broadway, is more than up to it. As Daniel Hillard and his alter ego, Mrs. Doubtfire, he manages to be both hilariously memorable and sincere. Not to mention that watching him go back and forth between the two characters throughout the show is so astonishing. He also shares a touching duet with Giselle Gutierrez, who plays his eldest, Lydia, in Act II titled ‘Just Pretend,’ which is definitely a highlight. Maggie Lakis, who happens to be McClure’s real-life wife, plays Miranda Hillard, his ex-wife, in the show. She delivers a heartfelt solo number in the second act titled ‘Let Go,’ which reflects on her relationship with Daniel. The kids who played Daniel & Miranda’s younger children at the performance I attended, Cody Braverman as Christopher and Emerson Mae Chan as Natalie, are both adorable. Aaron Kaburick and Nik Alexander are both comedic standouts as gay couple Frank Hillard and Andre Mayem. The former character in particular was beefed up a bit from the original movie. Leo Roberts is very charismatic as Miranda’s new British love interest, Stuart Dunmire.

Solidly directed by Jerry Zaks, Mrs. Doubtfire is a feel good musical comedy with lots of heart. Families should be in for a fun night out. Although those who don’t have young kids should still find it enjoyable. No doubt that high schools and local theatres are gonna want to produce this.

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For more information, please visit:
https://www.dpacnc.com/events/detail/mrs-doubtfire-2024
https://mrsdoubtfirebroadway.com/

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