America’s favorite nanny is back in business as triple-threat dynamo Rob McClure lights up the Pantages in his Tony-nominated performance in Mrs. Doubtfire, one of the most crowd-pleasing, feel-good, and family-friendly Broadway musicals in years.

McClure puts his own sensational stamp on the role Robin Williams originated on screen back in 1993, that of out-of-work voice actor Daniel Hillard, who when denied joint custody of his three children following an acrimonious divorce from his workout wear designer wife Miranda (McClure’s real-life spouse Maggie Lakis) comes up with the most ingenious of solutions.

Aided by his flamboyant makeup artist brother Frank (Aaron Kaburick) and Frank’s even more flamboyant makeup artist husband Andre (Nik Alexander), Daniel is transformed as if by magic into none other than Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire.

Now all Daniel has to do is convince Miranda to hire “Mrs. Doubtfire” to look after Lydia (Giselle Gutierrez), Christopher (Sam Bird), and Natalie (Emerson Mae Chan) while she’s at work and Daniel will get to spend all the time he wants with the kids, albeit incognito.

As for getting the judge to reconsider his decision regarding custody, for that Daniel still needs to find an actual, on-the-books job and convince court liaison Wanda Sellner (Romelda Teron Benjamin) that he’s fit to share custody with Miranda, who’s recently started dating hunky fitness chain mogul Stuart Dunmire (Leo Roberts), much to Daniel’s disapproval and dismay.

Book writers Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell have done a bang-up (and refreshingly faithful) job of adapting Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon’s screenplay for the Broadway musical stage while updating early-1990s attitudes and technology to fit the 2020s.

Composer-lyricist brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick know exactly when and where to insert songs to propel the plot forward, and working in tandem with legendary Broadway director Jerry Zaks and dancer-turned-choreographer Lorin Latarro (Waitress), the creative team give audiences one show-stopping production number after another, among them:

“Make Me A Woman,” with Frank and Andre transforming Daniel into a mix of “Eleanor Roosevelt and a dash of Julia Child, Margaret Thatcher, Janet Reno and a little bit of Oscar Wilde,” all of whom join in the fun.

“Easy Peasy,” that has Daniel (as Mrs. Doubtfire) doing his/her darnedest to learn how to cook up a gourmet dinner (aided and abetted by a half-dozen or so Internet chefs) before caving in and ordering a home-delivered feast.

“Rocking Wild,” in which Mrs. Doubtfire and Daniel’s kids form their own rock band with a vacuum cleaner and brooms standing in for electric guitars and basses.

“The Shape Of Things To Come,” that has Mrs. Doubtfire lending her plus-sized charms to the launch of Miranda’s M Power line of fitness fashions.

And Act Two has only just gotten started.

Though hardly the first Broadway show to be marketed to “audiences of all ages,” I can’t think of another musical with mostly adult protagonists that kids will be as eager to see as adults of any age.

Mrs. Doubtfire is also that rarity among Broadway musicals, one that gives audiences across the land the chance to see its original leading man in the role that won him virtually unanimous acclaim, and McClure is nothing short of spectacular—and dare I say even better as Daniel than Robin Williams, who didn’t have to sing and dance up a storm, something that McClure does to dazzling effect.

Lakis’s largely unsympathetic role puts her somewhat at a disadvantage, though not where powerhouse singing is concerned, and young performers don’t get any more gifted than Gutierrez, Bird, and Chan. (Axel Bernard Rimmele, pictured in production stills, and Charlotte Sydney Harrington alternate with Bird and Chan as Christopher and Natalie).

Roberts may look like he spends most of his waking hours in the gym, but the West End star’s performance as Stuart reveals a voice as big as his biceps and Kaburick and Alexander steal scenes left and right in roles I wish weren’t so gay-stereotypical.

Benjamin is a stern, statuesque stunner as Wanda, Jodi Kimura is a foghorn-voiced hoot as children’s TV programmer Janet Lundy, and David Hibbard has a hilarious cameo as Mr. Jolly, a children’s TV host that could put even the most hyperactive tot to sleep and Flamenco Singer Lannie Rubio belts out a sizzling “He Lied To Me.”

Last but not least, I can’t recall a recent singing-dancing ensemble given a finer showcase for their triple-threat gifts than Alex Branton, Hibbard, Jonathan Hoover, Sheila Jones, dance captain Julie Kavanaugh, Marquez Linder, Kimura, Alex Ringler, Rubio, assistant dance captain Neil Starkenberg (amply fulfilling the potential he first revealed to me as a CSUF musical theater major), Lauren Withnell, and Julia Yameen, vocalizing under the expert baton of musical director Mark Bionns.

Add to all this the design contributions of Broadway luminaries David Korins (sets), Brian Ronan and Craig Cassiday), Philip S. Rosenberg (lighting), and Catherine Zuber (costumes) and you’ve got a production that looks and sounds absolutely fabulous, though anyone fooled by Mrs. Doubtfire’s cartoon-like mask probably needs their eyes examined. (The current London production looks to have a more believable mask than McClure’s.)

Illustrious USC grad Stephen Edlund is assistant director and Michaeljon Slinger is associate director.

Ian Liberto, Naderah Munaji, JP Qualters, Bianca Rivera-Irons, Joey Stine, and Gina Ward are swings. Kelsey Tippins is production stage manager and Stacy Myers is company manager.

With a title guaranteed to pack audiences in and a lead performance folks will be raving about for months to come, Mrs. Doubtfire hits the family entertainment bullseye, and then some.

Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles.
www.broadwayla.org

–Steven Stanley
June 12, 2024
Photos: Joan Marcus

Tags: Broadway In Hollywood, John O’Farrell, Karey Kirkpatrick, Los Angeles Theater Review, Pantages Theatre, Wayne Kirkpatrick