Mrs.Doubtfire!

 The touring musical of Mrs. Doubtfire blew into town last night and anyone who didn't know it sure as hell did after the LOUDNESS of this stage production hit the stage. This thing is LOUD. 

I never saw the 1993 film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field. Williams was a genius, but his comedic roles exhausted me. His dramatic roles were his true talent, not the cocaine fueled manic nonstop talking. But Robin was an original and making a musical about one of his roles may not have been a good idea.

The story is concerning the Hillard family. Daniel Hillard is a man child father of three. Nothing this guy does is normal. He screams, he makes bad jokes, he screams some more, screams yet again and quite frankly I hated his guts within 5 minutes. When his wife, Miranda, asks for a divorce within 15 minutes, I about screamed myself, 'WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?". She's no prize either, an uptight "career girl" complete with 1993 stereotypes. Their three kids are upset. The oldest, Lydia, is sick of Dad's constant inability to act his age, Christopher is the middle kid, and he just loves his dad. Natalie is the youngest and she also just wants normalcy.

Daniel Hillard loses custody, gets help from his gay brother and his husband, and becomes Mrs. Doubtfire, a nanny who is hired by Miranda to look after the kids. He acts much like his real self, lies and lies, and is also loved by the kids of course cuz Mrs. Doubtfire is dear old Dad. The kids figure it out; cover up the true identity of Mrs. Doubtfire and chaos occurs. Daniel is juggling chainsaws here between the court, the job seeking and his attempts to be a good Dad in drag. Yeah, it fails.

Look I have no problem with the performers. They are all quite good. Craig Allen Smith is a wonderful slapstick performer as Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire. His quick changes onstage are quite remarkable. Melissa Campbell is fine as the long-suffering wife, Miranda. She has a great voice and kind of gets buried in the craziness. Then we have the characters I wanted more of. Brian Kalinowski as Frank Hillard, Daniel's brother and his husband Devon Buchanan, Andre. Their few scenes were a highlight. The children, Lydia, played by Alanis Sophia, has a wonderful voice for a kid. Christopher, played by Chance Challen, was the glue who always loves his Dad. Natalie, played by Vivian Atencio, can sure sing for a 10-year-old. 

I didn't despise this as much as Max's Mom and Max himself. They would have left at intermission if I'd have agreed. I was hoping for a better Act 2. I got that. Act 2 shines at times. The Dancing Mrs.Doubtfires with vacuum cleaners was a cool scene. The Marx Brothers like restaurant scene where Daniel juggling chainsaws come crashing down is also good. But the musical as a whole? No. The music is not memorable, the LOUDNESS of the screeching is annoying, the story itself is interesting, but they can't pull it off. The entire experience is kind of exhausting and could have been a one act musical.

The sound problem at the Orpheum is back. It may have because they YELL so much you can't understand the lyrics. Not that it matters, I guess. This is hardly Les Miz or Hamilton.

Anyway, the crowd seemed to agree with me. Awkward laughs in Act One, and much more involvement in Act 2. You like the movie? I guess you'll like this then. Though why will be beyond me.

Theres a reason this lasted only 83 performances on Broadway before it was shut down and turned into a touring madhouse. New Yorkers know what's good and what's not. They were right.