As you may have gathered from my previous reviews of films which have been turned into stage productions, the results can vary wildly between brilliant, and why did they waste time, money and talent on that? The effect often magnified by turning a conventional comedy into a musical. Mrs Doubtfire – The Musical, against all the odds in choosing an iconic film starring a one-off comedy talent like Robin Williams, not only nailed it but added a few screws and glue just to make sure. This was beyond brilliant.
There are two main reasons for my opinion, the first is that the production didn’t try to replicate the film, but treated it as a reworking for the stage of the book by Karen Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, and they cast a lead, Gabriel Vick, who gave the late Mr Williams more than a good run for his money. Although the prosthetic mask he wore, was designed to look like the original Mrs Doubtfire and the humour was certainly in the Williams genre; because the fourth wall could be broken down, the dialogue updated to reflect current events and the location of the theatre referenced, the show took on a far more intimate air.
Gabriel Vick as Daniel Hillard, messing about with Mr Jolly’s puppets and a loop desk.
The tone was set right from the off when, after the usual warning about the use of mobile phones and recording devices, the curtain opened to reveal a chap sitting at a plinth and repeating what we had just been told, except that he began to add effects to the script. He was reprimanded by his producer but insisted the message would get through better if he livened it up, so he did it as Kermit the Frog and warned that anyone transgressing would be given a karate chop by Miss Piggy, whose voice he then cut to. Needless to say, he was given his marching orders.
Kara Lily Hayworth as Miranda Hillard with children Lydia, played by Aaliya Mai, Natalie and Christopher. The latter pair were not those in these photographs
Spending over two hours of actual stage time – don’t worry, there is an interval – on what is basically a single joke and keeping it funny throughout was masterful. The story is that Daniel Hillard, who turns out to be the VoiceOver man we had just seen, is an actor with a low threshold of boredom, and keeps getting sacked from his jobs for ad libbing to give his parts some meat. Eventually his wife, Miranda, gets fed up of his antics and files for divorce. The decrees are granted and she is awarded custody of their three children, Lydia, Christopher and Natalie. This breaks Daniel’s heart and he looks for a way to be able to see them more often than his one afternoon per week allocation. On hearing that Miranda is hiring a nanny so that she can continue working, he deftly sabotages the prospective applicants by replying to the job advert in several guises on the phone, each one more outrageously unsuitable than the last, until he eventually delivers his coup de grace and pretends to be a charming, but strict, Sottish lady of a certain age who loves kids and fits all the criteria he knows Miranda has set.
Enter Gabriel Vick as Mrs Doubtfire
From then on the joke is that he must convince everyone that he is Mrs Doubtfire, including his ex-wife and children, whilst searching for work as Daniel Hillard to impress the judge when he goes back to court to ask for his visiting rights to be extended. Obviously there are problems, in that the paths of his real self and alter ego cross, on one fateful occasion in a restaurant where he is simultaneously dining as Mrs Doubtfire, with his family, at one table and as Daniel, with a casting agent, at another.
The format is one of a succession of set pieces comprising dialogue with songs and dances, obviously. The genius is that the audience involvement is kept to just the right level, not doing anything embarrassing but keeping us involved and feeling part of the play. On one occasion Daniel throws an apple at Miranda’s new squeeze when he has just left the stage. When he comes storming back to find the culprit, Mrs Doubtfire points to someone in the stalls and blames them. Unlike pantomime, they are not identified but simply referred to in the conversation which concludes with the boyfriend, Stuart, leaving the stage again and Mrs D turning to the woman, dropping his American accent and saying ‘Ta Luv’ in broad Yorkshire. I am sure that as the tour progresses it will become ‘Thanks Chuck’ or whatever the local equivalent is.
Getting the band back together
In several of the scenarios, Gabriel Vick as Daniel, demonstrates his amazing talent for impressions, not only of people but machinery and other inanimate things. In an encounter with a court supervisor, Wanda Sellner played by Samuelle Durojaiye, who he has to impress by proving he has become sufficiently responsible to have his access extended, he begins by saying he is a wonderful father, the best in the world who is constantly told that there has never been a parent to come anywhere close to his fantastic ability. Whilst doing this he morphs into Donald Trump on one of his similarly sad, needy, fantastical rants, before going off at 100mph through a long succession of celebrities. As already mentioned, the script is organic and so it includes Richard E Grant saying how bad a Traitor he was, followed by Alan Carr on his victory. The way he jumped to one after another without drawing breath was phenomenal.
Although I have concentrated on Gabriel Vick, the whole ensemble was superb. Kara Lily Hayworth brilliant as long-suffering wife, Miranda, who started as a woman at her wits’ end, but began to relax, knowing that her children were safe in the care of her new nanny, and then reborn with the attention of a new man, only to face the shock of the truth when it was finally revealed that Mrs Doubtfire was her ex-husband.
The cast.
The children acted with skill well in advance of their actual ages. Aaliya Mai, was Lydia, the eldest, Charlie Banks played Christopher on the night, with Mila Isaacs as the young Natalie; the latter two characters are portrayed by a rotating team due to their age, hence the photographs showing another troop. The comedy timing from the trio was perfect as was the singing and dancing, especially by Miss Mai, because of her more developed voice.
Ryan Pidgen, as Frank Hillard – Gabriel’s brother, and Jairus McClanahan, Andre Mayhem, who lived up to his name, were a gay married couple who worked in the make-up department of a studio and kitted Daniel out with his prosthetics and wigs. Camp doesn’t begin to describe their demeanour and both were hilarious. They were also incredibly adept at their jobs, as the transformation of Daniel into Mrs Doubtfire was done in seconds, sometimes in full view of the audience.
James Darch as Stuart, Miranda’s new man, was both stooge for Mrs Doubtfire in some scenes, as well as an attentive beau.
Members of the Ensemble played the other characters; Carl Patrick as Mr Jolly and the Judge; Kiera Haynes was the po-faced casting agent who ‘discovers’ Gabriel when he is working at the studio as a janitor, but couldn’t resist playing with the loop machine when he thought no one was looking. Rhianne Alleyne was a Flamenco dancer and singer in the restaurant when the whole subterfuge fell apart.
Cruz-Troy Hunter, Rhianne Alleyne and Joshua Clayton.
This production; Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick from the book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, directed by Jerry Zaks, has restored my faith in the ability to make a cracking musical from a hit film. It was not only hilarious but touching in parts with a conclusion which was very satisfying without being slushy. The band, under Musical Director, Iestyn Griffiths, was bang on switching between ballads, rap, rock and even flamenco, almost as quickly as Gabriel Vick changed voices. Do yourself a favour and get a ticket, you will feel much better for it.
Mrs Doubtfire – The Musical, runs at Leeds Grand Theatre until 29th November, but be quick to book as it is understandably already limited availability.
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/mrs-doubtfire-2026
For details of future venues please see http://mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk
To see what is coming to Leeds Heritage Theatres it is
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/?genre=live
Photographs by Matt Crockett
