Wanted: Heart-warming, feel-good, fun-loving musical to fill the aching hole in the hearts of Baltimore after Sunday’s devastating upset at Raven’s stadium.
Helloooooo, Poppets!
Mrs. Doubtfire is exactly what this city needs to wake up, feel good, laugh and cry a little, and be made whole again! Coming in hot off the boards of Broadway, Rob McClure and the sensational singing, rapping, hip-hop-happening Scottish nanny is hear to take Charm City by hilarious and heartfelt storm. And you’re the luckiest bunch of ducks in town because there are still a few tickets available for this brilliant, inspiring musical. Based on the 1993 film, this wondrous staged musical gives Mrs. Doubtfire an exponential burst of feeling and really brings home all the tender moments that we all loved so much from the movie, while exploring the modern world in a way that just makes sense. With Music & Lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, Book by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell, this feel-good production of Mrs. Doubtfire (directed by Jerry Zaks, with musical supervision, arrangements, and orchestration by Etha Popp, and choreography by Lorin Latarro) is sensational and will leave you laughing, crying, and really appreciating the love in your life.
We live in the era of “everything is a musical now.” (I affectionally refer to it as the Golden-Oprah-Age of Musicals. “You get a musical; you get a musical; you get a musical; everybody gets a musical!”) So why should Mrs. Doubtfire be any different? Between the pandemic and mixed reviews on Broadway, people are doubtful. But they shouldn’t be. The show is brilliantly parsed together, with that exacting blend of fond memories from the movie— true enough to the plot structure and progression of the film that those looking for a screen-to-stage replica will be pleased— and new content that engages audiences of all ages. There are even easter-egg-style references that will tickle true fans of the movie— particularly of memorable note the moment when ‘Stuart Dunmire’ is introduced and Miranda says she thinks he looks like James Bond (a nod to Pierce Brosnan, who played the role in the film, but was more readily known for his work as 007.)
People are expecting formulaic earworms so that they walk out of the theatre humming the tunes, but that’s not what music and lyricists Wayne & Karey Kirkpatrick have created. The Kirkpatricks have cultivated something original, something powerful, something unique and special, with a proper balance of big splashy numbers, artfully styled numbers, and ballads that bring the high-octane comedy back down to earth in moments of sincerity and heartfelt, earnest truth. It’s not so foreign in its structuring that people feel lost or cheated, but it doesn’t conform rigidly to this notion of ‘this is how you make a Broadway musical’ that has dominated musical theatre in the last several decades. It’s quirky and delightfully so. There are some insanely clever lyrics, particularly during “Big Fat No” and the way they idolize all of the female celebrities— both gay icons like Cher and Grace Kelly as well as the more masculine women like Thatcher and Julia Child— is both hysterical and impressive. There’s nuance built into these musical numbers and the way the Kirkpatricks build these songs to accommodate the modern world (along with John O’Farrell’s libretto contributions) is astonishing. They don’t go hog wild into the severe modernity of the way we live but they embrace things like screen-time and “wee-fee” (that’s Doubtfire for Wi-Fi) and blend them naturally into the plot trajectory.
David Korins’ scenery and Philip S. Rosenberg’s lighting design are impressive; Broadway caliber and quality through and through. Rosenberg does an exemplary job of bringing out the flash and pop (literally) for numbers which require it and benefit from the decadence of such party and movement in the lighting, like “The Shape of Things to Come” and “Make Me a Woman” and “I’m Rockin’ Now.” The scenes glide fluidly in and out of place, easily demarcating between Daniel’s apartment, the Hillard household, and the various other places— Mr. Jolly TV set, La Rosa Restaurant, the styling studio of Frank & Andre, etc.— and have the Broadway veneer of polish about them. There are particularly impressive lighting plots that really augment the chaotic nightmare number, “Playing With Fire.” Catherine Zuber’s costumes are equally impressive, adding to the show’s miraculous aesthetic. All of Mrs. Doubtfire’s ensembles— from her iconic plaid skirt and cardigan to the ‘athletic wear’ for “The Shape of Things to Come”— are on fire. And the care and precision with which all the breakaway costumes were designed is flawless. This show relies so heavily on quick costume changes (Production Stage Manager Kelsey Tippins and crew are seriously on fire with their expedience, their perfection, and their overall turnaround to make theatrical magic happen) and Zuber’s costumes do not disappoint in that department or any department. And the flashy, splashy amazing couture featured during “Make Me a Woman” is a screaming delight.
If there’s one part of the show’s creative production that deserves glorious praise it’s the work of audio engineers and sound designers Brian Ronan and Craig Cassidy. If I’m taking a minute to point out sound-design in a musical, it’s usually because something has gone horribly off the rails; good sound design is meant to be heard and the sound designers are often the unsung heroes of the production. Ronan and Cassidy put an impeccable finesse on the dub-looping-back-timing sound effects used to augment “It’s About Time”, the chaotically wild and hilarious hip-hop-rap-drop solo feature with Daniel Hillard on the set of the Mr. Jolly Show. The call-back integration of the line “I’m so confused” like it’s a beatbox drop has the audience roaring in laughter and that whole scene and song are so brilliantly executed that Ronan and Cassidy deserve extra recognition for putting that all together so Rob McClure can shine with robust radiance in that moment.
At first when the musical gets underway, you get the feeling that there isn’t going to be a whole lot of choreography but Choreographer Lorin Latarro quickly dismisses that notion and proves you wrong. The kitchen-tap-clap routine during “Easy Peasy” earns thunderous applause but even before that point we get all sorts of mesmerizing dance moves with that big, bold Broadway feel to them during “Make Me a Woman.” And it’s epic. Latarro really pulls out all the stops during “The Shape of Things to Come” and not just with the ensemble girls dancing there, but McClure— in full granny-nanny-drag— droppin’ like he’s hot into a ground-spin coffee grinder, the worm, and more. The frenetic intensity that fuels all of the dancing and choreographed movement during “Playing With Fire” is also sensational and really showcases Latarro’s talents and skillset as a choreographer.
There is so much heart and intensity and enthusiasm burbling throughout the cast (set into motion and inspired by the indefatigably exuberant Rob McClure, but we’ll get to him later) that it’s a palpable wave that keeps rolling and rolling out over the audience, keeping everyone in the moment. At this performance— David Hibbard Jodi Kimura, Alex Branton, Jonathan Hoover, Shelia Jones, Julie Kavanagh, Ian Liberto, Marquez Linder, Lannie Rubio, Neil Starkenberg, Lauryn Withnell, and Julie Yameen comprise the ensemble and they are phenomenal. Putting powerhouse energy into numbers like “Playing With Fire”, where you get an entire ensemble of Mrs. Doubtfires dancing and mocking Daniel Hillard, and “Make Me a Woman” where you get not only a fashion show with an intensive dance routine, but you get to see the women of the ensemble representing Jackie O., Grace Kelly, The Queen, Cher, and Donna Summer, and the men pulling off their best butch drag as Elenor Roosevelt, Julia Child, Margaret Thatcher, and Janet Reno.
Standout performances from the ensemble include David Hibbard, who takes up a whole host of caricature roles all throughout. As the affable and befuddled Mr. Jolly (who appears like Mr. McFeely the postman at the end and the audience who grew up with Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood is losing their minds with joy over this cameo-costume) he wins over the audiences’ affections. He also doubles up as the severely reserved court judge, and the hysterical Rectisol Doctor (“Easy Peasy”, a number standing on the premise of YouTube Tutorials coming to life in live-time in the kitchen, attempting to teach Mrs. Doubtfire how to cook…interrupted by a YouTube Ad!) Hibbard is a crowd cameo-character favorite for sure. Lannie Rubio also gets her luxurious moment in the limelight as the Flamenco Singer (backed by her Flamenco Dancers, at this performance Ian Liberto and Neil Starkenberg) where she turns this smoldering scorcher number, “He Lied To Me” into an impeccably timed comedic routine. And the stalwart rigidity of Janet Lundy (Jodi Kimura) cannot be glossed over either. Monotone, lacking humor, and truly hilarious because of it, Kimura’s portrayal adds to the chaos and shenanigans of the dinner scene at La Rosa.
Mrs. Sellner, now Wanda Sellner for the stage, is taken up by Romelda Teron Benjamin and she is a scream that has the audience in stitches. Refusing to crack a joke, crack the rules, or even crack a smile, she is every bit the rigid, frigid, intimidating social worker that this narrative needs to really keep Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire on their feet. Benjamin is brilliant in this role, delivering hot-shot rapid-fire cut-downs and keeping her no-nonsense attitude at the forefront of the character. So it’s even more wild when you get to hear her belt away, first during “Playing with Fire” and again at the show’s conclusion during “As Long as There Is Love.”
The beauty of getting to experience Mrs. Doubtfire as a stage musical is that characters who were just blips (despite being played by stars) in the movie are more fully realized and have much more narrative responsibility in this show. Frank Hillard (Aaron Kaburick), Daniel’s openly gay, hair-makeup-fashion-stylist brother, and his over-the-top-sidekick-of-the-show husband, Andre Mayem (played by the sensationally incomparable Nik Alexander) are two such instances of this. Kaburick gloms onto the quirk of “I scream when I lie!” and really exaggerates this every time he finds himself all caught up in the twisted tale that is the origin story of Mrs. Doubtfire. Nik Alexander, as Andre Mayem (and honeys, let’s just put that ‘h’ back in the character’s last name and call it what it is) is divine. Sassy, classy, fierce, ferocious, and with exacting timing in his comic delivery. There’s a truly wonderful moment that delicately frames the bigger social issue (when Andre calls Daniel on his shenanigans— saying that he and Frank are fighting like crazy to get a child and here Daniel is doing crazy stupid stuff that’s going to cost him the three he already has) of privilege in parenting and Alexander delivers it so sincerely but with such emotional gravity that it really does give you pause without simultaneously hitting you over the head. Nik Alexander might be my second favorite character performance in this show, next to McClure himself.
The children are extraordinary. At this performance the roles of Natalie and Christopher Hillard are taken up by Emerson Mae Chan and Cody Braverman respectively. Chan is adorable, particularly when shouting the iconic, “we’re his g*dd**n kids too” and you really get a gut-punch of emotional rawness when she’s singing during “What The Hell?” and she hits the line about does that mean they aren’t a family anymore? Both Chan and Braverman do an excellent job of landing on the emotional structure of that number, really delivering home the harrowing sorrow of what it’s like to be a kid who is confused and thinks they might be the reason for their parents divorce. As the oldest sister, Lydia (Giselle Gutierrez) is quick to dispel that notion. Gutierrez has the physical embodiment of a 15-year-old, mastering the sassy backtalk, the moody posture, and the overall verve of a disgruntled teen. Gutierrez’ voice, however, has the emotional maturity of someone far beyond both her character and her actual years. It blows you away to hear how vocally capable she is, not only of hitting and sustaining notes but doing so with such vigorous emotional gusto. She demonstrates this resoundingly during “What The Hell?” but more-so during “Just Pretend” which is a real tear-jerker.
Pierce Brosnan may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, and we’re all Team!Daniel in this house, but oh my goodness, when they introduce Leo Roberts as the hunky, charming, over-the-top-muscular man Stuart Dunmire, all bets are off. That voice could melt the polar ice caps in one blow. And you don’t get much of a chance to hear Roberts pouring his gorgeous voice all over the musical score of this show, but when he does, it’s truly gorgeous. “Big Fat No” becomes a hilarious journey with Roberts’ facial expressions and physical reactions going all over the place as Mrs. Doubtfire tries to school him away from Miranda (and Rob McClure’s physical comedy in this scene is heavenly; he’s a man who truly knows how to throw his body into what he’s doing wholeheartedly for the comedic benefit of the audience.) Roberts is the perfect fit for this disagreeable role, particularly when he rocks up in Austin Powers’ disco togs during “Playing With Fire.”
Maggie Lakis gets the challenging role in the sense that the audience is predisposed to dislike Miranda Hillard. Even once she explains (at least initially) why divorce is her only option, the audience is against her. Lakis does an admirable job of keeping us interested in her character, even if it takes the audience a very long time to see her side of things. Saddled with pointing out all Daniel’s faults in the opening number, “That’s Daniel” and then given the emotionally weighted ballad, “Let Go”, Lakis does an extraordinary job of getting the audience to feel her plight. She makes her own character out of Miranda every step of the way— except for in that moment at La Rosa. When the proverbial ‘glitz’ hits the fan and things…fall apart… she is 100% Sally Field. (I was panicked, thinking I was going to need to check social media at the end of the performance to ensure Sally Field hadn’t died and that Lakis wasn’t actually channeling her for that moment.) And it is every bit the jarring moment the audience needs. Lakis is an impressive counterpoint to Rob McClure and her volatile chemistry with him really cements the overall plot arch of the show in place.
The task of living up to the giant footsteps that the late, great Robin Williams left behind as the originator of the Mrs. Doubtfire character must seem insurmountable. Rob McClure isn’t trying to be Robin Williams but also recognizes that a great many people out there will only have Robin Williams for a point of comparison when it comes to Mrs. Doubtfire. And McClure does the impossible. He creates this character of Daniel Hillard-come-Mrs. Doubtfire that is his own unique entity but still lives in the constructs of this legendary Scottish Nanny Figure with just enough echoes of familiarity to what Robin Williams did with the character to make everyone happy. He’s a stage genius to put it simply. It’s more than just finding the balance between nodding at Williams, doing his own thing, keeping honest to the character, and still entertaining the audience. And McClure does all that too and he does it exceedingly well. But there’s a rawness, a vulnerability, and a humanity that lives right beneath the goofy, comedic surface of Danile Hillard, and McClure keeps that open and accessible for the audience too.
It would be easy to take the approach of playing the comedic surface of the Daniel Hillard character, letting the situational comedy of becoming Mrs. Doubtfire do the labor of the show for him, but Rob McClure goes so much further, beyond, and deeper than that. He brings this earnest, aching humanity to the Daniel Hillard character— those tender, heartbreaking moments that are more than just frustration when he’s confronted with losing his kids to the courts. “I Want to be There” and its reprise, as well as the emotionally visceral duet “Just Pretend” that he shares with Lydia, highlights how authentic, how human, and how real McClure’s emotional existence is inside this character. McClure juxtaposes that flawlessly against the high-octane shenanigans of being Daniel the big goofy guy who won’t grow up, and then flushes both of those personas against the wholesome yet hilarious Mrs. Doubtfire. It’s perfection. And his physicality with the character— both as Daniel and as Mrs. Doubtfire— is sublime. Whether he’s hip-hopping by himself for “It’s About Time” as Daniel or swinging himself around the kitchen in “Easy Peasy” as Mrs. Doubtfire or throwing himself all over the stage during “The Shape of Things To Come”, McClure is physically engaged with the role in a fashion that simply cannot be beat. McClure is this enigmatic wonder that just fascinates from start to finish, has you opening your heart up wide, embracing everything he’s throwing at you from the crazy and silly to the sober and sincere— and the myriad of things that happen in-between. He is Mrs. Doubtfire; hands down; no doubt.
But do hurry, Poppets. As the incomparably talented Rob McClure and company are only sweeping through Baltimore for a week! You won’t want to miss the sensational Mrs. Doubtfire before it’s whisked away to another city on the tour. Missing your chance? That would be a BIG FAT NO.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Mrs. Doubtfire plays through February 4th 2024 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre on the Main Stage of The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center- 12 North Eutaw Street Baltimore, MD 21201. For tickets call (410) 837-7400 or purchase them online.
