Mrs. Doubtfire at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre
43rd Street off Times Square
This Saturday I had one of the strangest experiences that I can remember while attending a Broadway musical. I had tickets to see the first new musical to open on Broadway since the pandemic shutdown a year and half ago, Mrs. Doubtfire. I might not have seen this show if the Roundabout Theatre Company had not offered tickets to see this musical in a theatre that they control as a bonus for their early subscription offer. Broadway has been deluged in the past ten years with musical adaptations of popular Hollywood movies. Aside from Harry Potter and the Disney productions, few have reached the popularity or extended run that more original shows have experienced.
But the strangeness did not occur because this was yet another film adaptation. The oddity was the name of the theatre and what the person for whom the theater was named had done in transforming the Broadway musical into a complex, enlightening, and intellectually challenging experience for me. Mrs. Doubtfire is opening in the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and last Saturday was the day after this musical genius left us.
So, it was tough to evaluate this show objectively. Afterall, this adaptation demonstrates everything that Mr. Sondheim rejected in developing his highly regarded creations. However, it is everything most audience members expect when they pay inflated prices to see the latest Broadway musical. But for me, I had to view it as a reminder of what we had lost the day before. Mrs. Doubtfire is entertaining and full of the pleasures that singing, dancing and on-the-mark humor can produce. But it is an old, and I would say out of, fashion musical. It did not have, nor did it intend to have, any of the subtilties, commentaries, or the perfect joining of melody with lyrics that Mr. Sondheim trained his audience to expect in a new musical. Mrs. Doubtfire is a 1950s musical filled with updated 2021 technology – a sort of Pajama Game in drag.
For the most part, it’s a pretty good 1950s musical that remains faithful to the ever-popular movie it is based upon. The laughs are still there. There are lots of production numbers, although they frequently involve bringing most of the cast into a scene in which they have no reason for suddenly appearing. And the lyrics give us little insight or skillful use of language. The pleasingly elaborate realistic sets appear from all directions under the proscenium giving the production the sense of a “no-cost-spared” show that has become a requirement for contemporary movie adaptations.
At the center of the show’s restoration of several of the classic film roles is Rob McClure’s portrayal of the divorcee, Daniel Hillard, who turns himself into a Scottish nanny to maintain contact with his children. Anyone over 40 must walk into the theater wondering how Mr. McClure is going to measure up against the unforgettable performance by the late Robin Williams. The answer is that he is totally wonderful in this role even if there is little that can distinguish his Doubtfire from its original creator. He is an amazingly talented performer, and this was not his first shot at portraying a character who is happily implanted in the minds of the viewers. In 2012, he starred as Charlie Chaplin in a musical biography of the silent film star. He won several awards and rave reviews for his Chaplin, but the show was not very successful, closing just a few months after it opened. I would not be surprised if he wins this year’s Tony Award for lead actor in a musical – he deserves it, but it’s still early in the season.
The rest of the cast is equally well suited for roles originated by the likes of Harvey Fierstein, Pierce Brosnan, and Sally Fields. Of special note is Charity Angel Dawson, who plays the court officer assigned to evaluate Daniel Hillard’s progress towards becoming a suitable father under the court’s offspring visitation agreement. The story has been updated a bit. Hillard’s gay brother married his “domestic partner” and they are trying to adopt a child. They are appropriately inelegantly played by Brad Oscar, a supporting role veteran in a string of major musicals, and a newer Broadway face, J. Harrison Ghee.
Then there is the music. This is where the shadow of Sondheim is inescapable. There is not a hummable tune to be played nor a probing or enlightening lyric to be sung. Unlike the best of the 1950s musicals, the songs are not heartwarming or humorously lyrical. These melodic failures are camouflaged by frequently over-produced musical numbers that never quite make sense but usually muster audience approval. This show has been in development for several years, starting with a Seattle tryout in 2019 followed by a few preview performances on Broadway in March 2020, before the theaters were closed down in the face of COVID. With all that “tinkering-time,” it’s disappointing that the composers and lyricists Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick could not have made a more engaging score with inventive lyrics. But most of these failings are covered-up by the ever-capable king of Broadway comedy directors, Jerry Zaks. In short, it's enjoyable if not particularly distinguishable from so many Broadway musical adaptations.
My hero, Mr. Sondheim was not afraid of a movie adaptation, but he chose much more challenging originals. One of his most cherished creations, A Little Night Music, is based on Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night. And at the time of his passing, Sondheim was working with playwright David Ives on a musical based on the works of the Spanish surrealist filmmaker, Luis Bunuel – definitely not in the tradition of shows like Pretty Woman, Waitress, or Mrs. Doubtfire. But taken for what it is, Mrs. Doubtfire is an audience pleaser. Like those recent musical adaptations of movies, recognition of the film-name is likely to draw tourists and less-discriminating NYC musical lovers. Send in the clowns!
Rating: B-
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