Review: MRS. DOUBTFIRE at Fred Kavil Theatre
7 / 10
Despite a handful of character changes and substitution of new scenes, the stage version of Mrs. Doubtfire works because of Craig Allen Smith's hyper physicality and sympathetic portrayal of Hillard. Fortunately, the key speech at the end of the show, when Mrs. Doubtfire reads a letter to her audience from a little girl whose parents have broken up, still brings out handkerchiefs to blot at moist eyes. Yes, it's cloying and overly sentimental, but the honesty of the Hillards' family dynamic comes through, making the musical version of the film classic an appropriate and entertaining variation on the universal theme: families come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
