DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the "MRS"?
DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the "MRS"?
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#1DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the "MRS"?
Posted: 5/11/21 at 5:47pm
Has there been any word (official or rumor) about MRS. DOUBTFIRE becoming just "DOUBTFIRE"?
"MRS." has been scrubbed from the website and recent social media posts, though it's not 100% consistent (Telecharge and IBDB still say "Mrs" as of 5/11/21 at 5:45pm ET). And now comes the question...why? Just a cleaner title? Has the show deviated substantially from the movie, or was there backlash from the trans community?
http://doubtfirebroadway.com
https://twitter.com/DoubtfireBway/
https://www.instagram.com/DoubtfireBway/
Tag
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/19/05
#2DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the "MRS"?
Posted: 5/11/21 at 7:19pm
This might just be the stupidest thing I've heard all day.
#3DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 7:30pm
That definitely appears to be the case from links you provided. But what a weird decision, if true....
Maybe they are taking the idea out for a spin before making an official decision
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#4DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 7:57pm
They also changed their color scheme from pink to blue.
#5DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 8:36pm
The "Mrs" is conspicuously gone, although... I feel like the intellectual property is well-known enough that people will recognize the movie it's based on pretty quickly. I was first thinking this was akin to The Phantom of the Opera dropping everything but "Phantom" as a shortcut, but the show hasn't even opened yet, so it doesn't seem right.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#6DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 8:44pm
I dunno...I kind of like it. It's very ... clean...
Of course at one time a musical based on a filmed source material usually changed the name to proudly proclaim it was a different entertainment entity. "All About Eve"="Applause". "81/2" = "Nine", "The Apartment"= "Promises, Promises". Even when based on books, "7 1/2 Cents" became "The Pajama Game" and "The Year the Yankees Won the Pennant" was changed to "Damn Yankees".
Of course now an adaptation isn't about if a specific film actually feeling like it "sings" (or not). It's the name recognition that is the value in the source material.
Jaxson2
Chorus Member Joined: 5/6/21
#7DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 9:49pm
Trademark issues perhaps? It does look cleaner without it.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#8DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 9:55pm
I think they were getting some backlash and just wanted to dodge it before it became an issue. Like with Tootsie's advertising.
MattieIce2018
Leading Actor Joined: 5/8/19
#9DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 10:42pm
Their site seems like it hasn't been fully updated if that is the direction they're going with branding - the title in the tab at the top of the screen is still "Mrs Doubtfire Broadway," and in the "About" section the show is referred to as "Mrs Doubtfire." The web address is also still "mrsdoubtfirebroadway," "doubtfirebroadway" just redirects.
veronicamae
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/09
#10DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 10:52pm
MattieIce2018 said: "Their site seems like it hasn't been fully updated if that is the direction they're going with branding - the title in the tab at the top of the screen is still "Mrs Doubtfire Broadway," and in the "About" section the show is referred to as "Mrs Doubtfire." The web address is also still "mrsdoubtfirebroadway," "doubtfirebroadway" just redirects."
The first two items you list are 99% likely to be human errors missed while a person made all the other changes throughout the site, and changing the destination URL can impact SEO ranking, something they probably didn't want to mess with in the middle of all the announcement chaos.
Oh, and doubtfirebroadway.com was registered by 20th Century Fox in 2012, so I doubt it has anything to do with licensing, since they are basically loaning their domain to the musical.
I don't think the "Mrs." is required at all for the title. There's not really any other inference to make from "Doubtfire" that isn't the film.
#11DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 11:07pm
I'm definitely someone who falls more in the camp of supporting political correctness in all possible areas of art and life - and speaking from that standpoint: I don't get the sense that this change is due to backlash from the trans community. I feel like I have a decent working knowledge of the nuances of the man-in-the-dress trope and why it can be (but isn't always) offensive. And I don't see how dropping the "Mrs" from "Mrs Doubtfire" has anything to do with that. Unless they're changing the story so he now disguises himself as "Mr. Doubtfire," but that seems doubtful.
Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong about any of that.
MattieIce2018
Leading Actor Joined: 5/8/19
#12DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/11/21 at 11:17pm
All the key art still shows the full Doubtfire costume (and the new promo still has the voice) so I seriously doubt they'd be changing that, like you said. I am, however, curious, how this show will do when it opens. I saw it last spring and while it needed some work throughout previews (in fact, the writers discussed in an interview that they were using the shutdown to rewrite at least two of the show's numbers that they felt ran too long or had other problems with), I thought the score was quite strong overall and that the book stayed faithful to the story while completely avoiding the more problematic language in the original film. However, after the announcement yesterday, there were comments on many of the articles accusing the show of transphobia and/or calling for the production to be cancelled. Of course, I know that social media comments aren't always representative of general opinions, but I am curious how the show will be received, both critically and by audiences in general.
Updated On: 5/11/21 at 11:17 PM
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
SouthernCakes
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/19
#14DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/12/21 at 12:34amDoesn’t seem like they’re scrubbing it clean or anything so ... interesting. Maybe the character will just be “Doubtfire” and not have a gender?
#15DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/12/21 at 12:50am
they should add an exclamation point
Doubtfire!
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#16DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the
Posted: 5/12/21 at 1:31amOf course, this could also be a little media stunt to get us all talking about it in the midst of all these other shows announcing too...
tealady2
Swing Joined: 12/1/13
#17DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 5/12/21 at 8:28am
There is a an old story that (A) chorus line was fist called Chorus Line.
but to move it up to be the first thing in the ABC (NYTImes) they added a (A) making it A Chorus Line.
so that being said.
Doubtfire will now be in the front of the ABC and not in the middle...
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#18DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 5/12/21 at 10:27am
Nobody gives a flying you-know-what about the NYT ABCs in 2021 –– certainly not enough to change an entire title just so it can appear 8 letters sooner in the alphabet.
#19DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 5/12/21 at 12:42pmI couldn’t care less about the name change, but...really do not like the blue. I think they could have kept the same color scheme and just zhuzhed it up a bit. The blue just seems very generic and not exciting to me.
tealady2
Swing Joined: 12/1/13
#20DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 5/12/21 at 2:33pm
of course no one reads the New York times...
but the TKTS booth is alphabetized
Time out is alphabetized
Variety is alphabetized
and after a very quick look... by gosh so is TICKETMASTER
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#21DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 5/12/21 at 2:40pm
I think that's a valid point, but I don't think that is the reasoning for the name change.
Dolly80
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/11
#22DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 5/12/21 at 4:08pm
This will be because 1 person complained about the ‘Mrs’ ..
Stupid doesn’t even cover this change.
#23DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 7/21/21 at 12:53pm
They just unveiled their new marquee this morning, and in baby blue the title reads “Mrs. Doubtfire”. The website and social media handles for the show still brand it as “Doubtfire”.
What?
SouthernCakes
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/19
#24DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 7/21/21 at 1:05pmYeah that’s so interesting! All the hype for nothing. And all they did is change the color.
#25DOUBTFIRE Title Change? Is it dropping the (D is before M)
Posted: 7/21/21 at 1:33pm
Jordan Levinson said: "They just unveiled their new marquee this morning, and in baby blue the title reads “Mrs. Doubtfire”. The website and social media handles for the show still brand it as “Doubtfire”.
What?"
I mean... I don't see how this is any different than "The Phantom of the Opera" being called "Phantom".
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