Mrs Doubtfire the musical had it's UK premier here in Manchester at the Manchester Opera House with a 4 week preview run before it heads to the West End
The musical is based on the 1993 movie of the same name, which stared Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard AKA Mrs Doubtfire. Robin was iconic in the role of Mrs Doubtfire so Gabriel Vick who plays Mrs Doubtfire in the musical had some pretty big shoes to fill but boy did he fill them. Gabriel totally made this role his own and didn't just mimic what Robin Williams did in the movie.
So if you are not familiar with the plot of Mrs Doubtfire its about a family which is torn apart when the parents decide to get divorced. The father Daniel Hillard (Gabriel Vick ) is an out of work actor who loses the custody battle for his kids in his divorce from his wife Miranda (Laura Tebbutt). Daniel is only granted visitation rights once a week which is hard for him as he had been used to being with them everyday. Miranda ends up looking for a nanny for the children and Daniel decides to create the character Mrs Doubtfire in order to apply for the job. he ends up getting an interview but theirs just one problem he needs to become a woman in order to secure the role. Daniel then enlists the help of Frank Hillard his brother (Cameron Blakely) & his brothers partner Andre (Marcus Collins) who both work as makeup artist to help make him a woman & bring Mrs Doubtfire to life. This is one of my favourite scenes in the musical and it features one of my favourite songs from the show "Make me a Woman" in this scene we see Fank & Andre show Daniel some possible looks for Mrs Doubtfire which includes some iconic women from history such as Jackie O, Cher, Margaret Thatcher and a few more before eventually ending up with the Classic Mrs Doubtfire look including plaid skirt and cardigan. Daniel ends up getting the nanny job witch leads to some hilarious moments in the show.
The musical has kept pretty true to the movie keeping in some of the iconic scenes and lines from the movie. One difference that i noticed was Mirandas Job in this she is a Fashion designer but in the movie she was the chair woman of her company. The show has been brought up to date a little dit with some mentions to modern technology which wasn't around when the film was made in the 90's such as using Wi-Fi and Siri.
The book for the musical has been written by Karey Kirkpatrick & Jhon O' Farrell with music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick & Karey Kirkpatrick. The musical has some great songs with the catchy "What the Hell" & "I'm Rockin' Now" along with some truly beautiful ballads such as
"Let Go" sung by Laura Tebbutt as Miranda and her vocals were truly stunning. Then there was "Just Pretend" a gorgeous father daughter duet between Daniel and his eldest daughter Lydia. Amy Everett who played Lydia had an amazing voice and I loved every song she performed in.
I should note that the show is only in previews and has not yet been finalised so it is possible they could make changes to it before it opens on the West End.
For me Mrs Doubtfire was a 5 star show it had everything you want in a musical great song an amazingly talented cast, terrific sets, great humour and lots of heart. This show really pulls on the heart strings and is a great family musical. I think Mrs Doubtfire the musical will do great when it opens on the West End and I would suggest everyone to go and see it.
Mrs Doubtfire is opening at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 12th May and you can book up until the 13th January 2024
Tickets & More Info - mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk
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