‘Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy’ @ Bass Performance Hall
Show photos by Joan Marcus
—Carol M. Rice
Performing Arts Fort Worth presents the first national touring company of Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy at Bass Performance Hall this week, part of PAFW’s long-running “Broadway at the Bass” series.
Divorce, especially when kids are involved, is a messy business, especially when one parent doesn’t have a job but desperately wants to see the kids, and the other parent doesn’t think this is a good idea. And then a judge backs it up. What’s to be done? Well, in the case of Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy, a dead-beat dad takes drastic measures.
The popular 1993 film (on which the musical is based) starred the late, great Robin Williams in the title role. These are giant shoes to try to step into. Fortunately, Alex Branton doesn’t try to imitate Williams, but instead manages to make the dual roles of Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire completely his own.
His Daniel is goofy and fun and sincere, and his Mrs. Doubtfire is, too, but in completely different ways. This is a mammoth role: the actor must not only act, sing, and dance but also do a ton of crazy voices (many that the audience must recognize), change clothes repeatedly (often onstage, in full view of the audience), jump right back into singing and dancing—and even do a number with himself via a looping machine. This was, quite frankly, the highlight of the evening for me.
Branton, whose performance was layered and hyper and heartfelt, shares the role with Jonathan Hoover, who appears in alternating performances. I honestly wish I could see it again to Hoover’s take on it, too. It’s completely understandable why the role is shared, as Daniel/Mrs. Doubtfire is onstage almost constantly and never stops moving.
Catherine Brunell plays Daniel’s ex-wife Miranda. It’s hard to see how the two characters got together in the first place, as she’s very businesslike and organized, and he’s a big kid. Brunell’s performance emphasizes those differences, yet makes us understand why Miranda does what she does. She really shines in her Act II solo, “Let Go.”
The kids in the middle of it all are played by Giselle Gutierrez (as Lydia), Sam Bird (as Christopher), and Charlotte Sydney Harrington (as Natalie). They all have great chemistry with each other but even more importantly, they have great chemistry with Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire. Without such believable relationships, the show doesn’t work, so kudos to these young actors for creating what feels like a real family dynamic. (Bird and Harrington also alternate performances with Jake Beser and Sunny Lauren Hoder, respectively.)
As Daniel’s brother Frank, Aaron Kaburick has a ridiculous quirk of yelling whenever he’s lying, which is hilarious. Marquez Linder plays the flashier role of Frank’s husband, and the two create a realistic couple who are part of Daniel’s crazy family. They’re a lot of fun to watch.
Speaking of family, that’s really the focus of Mrs. Doubtfire. The whole thing happens because a divorced dad can’t handle not seeing his kids every day—but when his ex-wife confides in “the nanny” he’s pretending to be, he figures out some things about himself that aren’t very pretty. Daniel begins to grow up, and we see how he thinks of himself—and about the whole idea of “family”—quite differently. There were some really tough, tender moments in the show, in addition to all the madcap hilarity caused by Daniel’s actions, and the plot balances it well.
Mrs. Doubtfire is yet another in a long string of movie-into-musical shows, but unlike some of others I’ve seen, this one makes the transition well, with enough changes to keep it fresh and the right amount of homage to the original. This production itself is really strong, with a solid ensemble playing a myriad of different characters and backing up the talented leads. The one gripe I have is the sound quality at the Bass Performance Hall. Many of the big numbers were drowned out by the band, and/or the lyrics were muddy and hard to understand. The more intimate solos didn’t seem to be as affected. As I saw the show on opening night, hopefully they’ll get the sound balanced out by the next performance.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Mrs. Doubtfire the movie, but (with apologies to the late Robin Williams and co-star Sally Field) I honestly think I like the musical better. ( Songs, btw, are by brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, book by Karey with John O’Farrell, and stage direction by Jerry Zaks.)
If you haven’t seen Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy (and even if you have), I highly recommend you do so while it’s running at the Bass Performance Hall. This is a short run, though, so act quickly!
WHEN: November 5-10, 2024
WHERE: Bass Performance Hall, downtown Fort Worth
WEB: basshall.com
