MRS. DOUBTFIRE Previews — Page 3

I wonder if this will be the surprise musical comedy hit of the summer....

h6p8gv said: "Was there a song list in the playbill if so can someomne post it"

There’s no song list in the Playbill.

VintageSnarker said: "InTheBathroom1 said: "EW has a first look.

https://ew.com/theater/mrs-doubtfire-broadway-rob-mcclure-first-look/
"

Does anyone else feel like with the prosthetics widening his face, the wig should be bigger/styled differently to compensate? The color also feels very aggressive like a brassy platinum blonde but maybe it reads differently under the stage lights."

I didn't have any problem with the wig. I thought it was fine. I assume that if it's too big then it's more likely to fall off from some of his antics, and he has a lot of on stage quick changes.

Has anyone tried at the box office to see if they are offering any kind of in-person rush?

jonah3500 said: "I was at the invited dress rehearsal on Saturday, and I know you’re not supposed to judge an invited dress, since it’s just a rehearsal. But I think that anything significant will have been fixed if it’s the last day before previews. Anyway here’s what I wrote on the way back:

Remember Something Rotten!? That gloriously chaotic show about two writers that compete with Shakespeare by writing a musical about breakfast? If only that were similar enough to Mrs. Doubtfire to necessitate the use of the same writers.

Don’t get me wrong: I loved Mrs. Doubtfire a LOT. The cast was phenomenal, and the songs were great, if sometimes hard to hear. (That can be excused, though, since it was an invited dress.) But it seems that the writing team of the Kirkpatrick brothers and John O’Farrell can only write chaos and hilarity. (Doubtfire’s version of Something Rotten’s omelette number is a number about cooking chicken, with 10 tap dancing Siri chefs.)

If you’ve seen the movie of Mrs. Doubtfire, it may seem like that’s the kind of writer a show like this needs. But here’s the thing: Something Rotten was pure musical comedy with a dash of heart mixed in. But Doubtfire is heart, sautéed in pure musical comedy. And when it comes time to write a song with real soul, it seems the writers slink immediately to “Love matters.” And this message is absolutely fine to have in a musical, as long as it’s not thrown at the audience constantly. So that’s one reason Doubtfire isn’t as earnest as it could, and should, be.

And then there’s the inevitable comparisons to Tootsie, last season’s musical comedy that won over everybody’s hearts, until it suddenly didn’t. Tootsie closed last year after theater fans rejected it for being anti-trans and sexist. And this show, while it could have the same problem, could not be more different. Tootsie is about taking a job from women by pretending to be one. To quote Rob McClure at BroadwayCon, though, “We tried very hard to make sure the punchline was never that it was a man in a dress. Because that’s not funny.” Furthermore, Mrs. Doubtfire is about a man taking a job as a nanny to be with his family. Those two things could not be more different. And even if Tootsie was as sensitive as Doubtfire, the quick changes are less impressive. So that’s something Doubtfire has going for it.

I would be remiss without mentioning Rob McClure’s amazing role in this show. He knocks it out of the park, performing an insanely difficult role with ease and grace in a way that few performers can. He carries so much of the show, though, that I don’t know what it would be like without him.

To summarize, Mrs. Doubtfire is a brilliantly hilarious show that has trouble finding the balance between brilliantly hilarious and touching, but when it tips towards hilarious, it’s brilliant in a way that most musicals aren’t. I’m really glad I got to see it."

I enjoyed reading your assessment of the show, but have to disagree with one point you sort of stated as a given. You wrote: Tootsie closed last year after theater fans rejected it for being anti-trans and sexist. I disagree. Tootsie did not fail for the reasons you stated. It failed because it was not good. Bad score, mediocre direction and choreography, cheesy sets. That is why Tootsie failed.

InTheBathroom1 said: "First previews are long. I saw the dress and it was much shorter but I’m sure there was a lot of time added for laughter and applause. "

It doesn't sound like any changes have been made since Seattle in December. It was about that long then too.

Jordan's comments about the 2nd act pretty much echoes the experience I had. At intermission everyone was blown away. But the 2nd act had too much filler. I can't remember, is the gym scene/ fashion show iin the 2nd act too.

Like someone else said, the crazy antic numbers are good, but I found all the ballads forgettable, and there isn't a balance between the 2.

Audiences ate it up anyways in Seattle. It should do well.

Re: the biggest difference with Tootsie is that it wasn't a family show. When I was in NY at X-mas I was an elevator somewhere and this about 6 year old girl ssid to her mom, "I want to the one about the dad who is a maid." There was a billboard or something up for Doubtfire she had seen. No 6 year olds were eager to see Tootsie.

Tootsie did not fail for the reasons you stated. It failed because it was not good. Bad score, mediocre direction and choreography, cheesy sets. That is why Tootsie failed.

Exactly. There was nothing offensive about Tootsie, those who saw it would actually know that.

I watched the clock on TodayTix go down to 0 for the rush tickets. I clicked and clicked and got an error message. I kept trying and that was it--they sold out. How do people get them within seconds??? =/

Basically it comes down to the fastest connection. Two of my friends got tickets, they are fast as lightning and they have their credit card already saved in their accounts. It's clearly going to be a hot ticket for a while. There are very few musical comedies out there, so I hope this does really well.

Jordan Catalano said: "The only people who were offended by “Tootsie” were the people who can only survive if they have something to be offended by."

Truth. And: the minuscule number of people who survive on being outraged at every turn represent a tiny number of potential ticket buyers. The notion that the couple of hundred people on Twitter outraged by <whatever it is, hard to keep track> sunk a multi million dollar musical is almost as ridiculous as the outrage itself.

Say “hellooooooo” to your newest Broadway musical, dear: Mrs. Doubtfire resumes Broadway previews tomorrow night at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, prior to a December 5 official opening. Almost everyone in the pre-shutdown cast will return to the show, with newcomer Jodi Kimura replacing the late Doreen Montalvo as TV executive Janet Lundy. Rob McClure leads the cast as Daniel Hillard / Euphegenia Doubtfire – the roles immortalized on screen in 1993 by Robin Williams. Mrs. Doubtfire features music and lyrics by Something Rotten! co-creators Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, choreography by Lorin Latarro (Waitress), and direction by four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks (1992’s Guys and Dolls).

I might be going to see this one on the 28th: my first Broadway show in over two years. I would never have guessed it would probably be this one, but I’m excited nonetheless.

“Daniel Hillard, a struggling, out-of-work actor, will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the kindly alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father. A hilarious and heartfelt story about holding onto your loved ones against all odds, Mrs. Doubtfire is the musical comedy we need right now – one that proves we’re better together.”

Who’s going, poppets? And will I see any poppets from here next Thursday?