Rob McClure Breathes New Life Into the Iconic ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Musical
“The first time you hear Mrs. Doubtfire’s voice, the very first hello on the phone is the moment I can feel the audience signing the permission slip for me to borrow the character for the evening,” says Rob McClure, who plays Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire on the national run of the Mrs. Doubtfire musical.
Rob McClure (Euphegenia Doubtfire). Photo by Joan Marcus
During a Q&A after the show, McClure also detailed the chronology of the musical hitting the stage in the first place. It first opened up just in time for COVID to shut Broadway down for 18 months. It then opened again just in time to get the axe because of Omicron. When it came time for the national tour to finally make its way around the country, he said COVID’s involvement was part of the reason he took on the role again, because it felt like “unfinished business” when he couldn’t give it all he had for the New York and London runs of the show.
McClure is also joined each night on stage by his real-life wife, Maggie Lakis, who takes on the role of Daniel’s Ex-wife, Miranda.
“We get divorced every night,” he jokes about touring and working together. The two are also driving on their own with their daughter and two cats as they travel around the country and perform, which gives them some jam-packed family time while they’re at it. “We don’t hate each other,” he says. “Getting divorced every day keeps it fresh. I think that’s definitely the key.”
Bringing Mrs. Doubtfire to Life
Rob McClure (Euphegenia Doubtfire). Photo by Joan Marcus
(L to R) Giselle Guiterrez (Lydia Hillard), Maggie Lakis (Miranda Hillard), Axel Bernard Rimmele (Christopher Hillard), and Kennedy Alexandra Pitney (Natalie Hillard). Photo by Joan Marcus
Of course, taking on the role of the Mrs. Doubtfire is no easy feat. The character, the movie, and the original star (Robin Williams, in case you somehow didn’t know) are legendary. They’ve each individually and as a whole left an imprint in viewer’s minds. Many people have grown up with the character and feel protective of it, which is another reason McClure mentions the moment the audiences give him permission to have the character once he actually becomes her.
Prior to that, the Daniel character he plays was meant to not be likeable, just to set the audience on guard for the transformation. The writers wanted to take a little different approach, wherein Daniel doesn’t actually deserve custody of his children, and it’s through Mrs. Doubtfire that he also learns the areas of his life where he needs to grow, be more present, and be a better father and husband.
The culmination of it all makes for a real family affair, especially since the two leads are also married. Their children, Lydia (Giselle Gutierrez), Christopher (Axel Bernard Rimmele), and Natalie (Charlotte Sydney Harrington), are also beautifully cast and have a chemistry together that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you laugh the entire way.
The Culmination of the Show
(L to R) Maggie Lakis (Miranda Hillard) and Rob McClure (Daniel Hillard). Photo by Joan Marcus
Of course, there’s a lot more going on than just the inner workings of the divorce and custody battle between Miranda and Daniel. As Daniel works to fight off the Child Protective Services member, Wanda Sellner (Romelda Teron Benjamin), he enlists the help of his brother, Frank (Aaron Kaburik) and his husband, Andre (Nik Alexander) to help him with his transformation to Mrs. Doubtfire, whom he attempts to pass off as his “sister” during an interaction with Wanda.
There are a lot of quick-changes to be had in the show, and McClure switches back and forth between characters in the blink of an eye. He admits the longest amount of time he has to change his appearance is 90 seconds, and the shortest time is only 18.
To make matters easier, the prosthetic mask — which McClure had to fight for and insisted he needed to transform into another character completely — is matched to the lines of his face. It lays along the crease line around his lips to give him a different nose and cheeks while being able to use his own mouth. It also lays just underneath his eyeline, where his glasses keep the mask in place. From there, his own eyes and forehead make up the rest of the face.
The clothes are also sewed together as one-piece outfits, so shirts and pants can be put on at the same time to eliminate any additional time.
What’s the Music like in Mrs. Doubtfire?
(L to R) Nik Alexander (Andre Mayhem), Aaron Kaburick (Frank Hillard), Romelda Teron Benjamin, and Rob McClure (Daniel Hillard). Photo by Joan Marcus
I admit, I was curious about how they would turn this movie into a musical. I had similar thoughts when I saw Beetlejuice, but neither show disappointed, though the vocals in Mrs. Doubtfire didn’t quite have the same power and impact seen in other shows. That also has a lot to do with the writing and how everything is conveyed, because Robin Williams was a character actor. McClure did an incredible job switching around characters on his own, but the music for the show had to fit the slapstick and humorous beat of the plot and main characters.
There’s also a section that uses a looper, which is a device that lets you record something and put it on a loop. It’s used to create music right in front of you as you layer the different recordings on top of each other to make a beat and a song. McClure has a scene where he essentially gets to freestyle with the looper, which means his performance on it is a little different every night. It’s well worth watching the show for this scene alone.
Besides that, it’s really all about the humor and, truthfully, McClure’s performance that makes this worthwhile more than the music. There weren’t any standout songs or memorable hits, but the actors still delivered an electrifying night that overall put a nice spin on a classic movie.
The Impact of Mrs. Doubtfire
Rob McClure (Daniel Hillard). Photo by Joan Marcus
Like McClure said in the Q&A after, he approaches every performance with the knowledge that the audience has to give him permission to take on the character of Mrs. Doubtfire. I agree with him that there’s no way the original film can be touched, but I would also agree that the way it was handled on stage just polished up some of the early-90s tropes that are handled a little differently today.
Toward the end of the show, Mrs. Doubtfire — who’s become a TV sensation — reads an onscreen letter from a girl who says her parents have gotten divorced and her brother says it means they’re no longer a family. What proceeds after is the most heartfelt speech I’ve ever seen in a musical. It speaks to the power of a chosen family and how sometimes things work better if mommy and daddy aren’t with each other all the time. That it doesn’t matter if you have one mom or dad, two dads, or two moms.
McClure says it’s in that moment when the audience is “disarmed by the power of this story,” because up until then, we’ve spent the whole time laughing. That was intentional, because director Jerry Zaks said the “sound of the audience laughing is the sound of them falling in love with the characters.” Once they’ve fallen in love with the characters, you “crack them open so suddenly they didn’t know when they cared,” but it was when they were laughing so deeply.
One thing is for sure, McClure and everyone else in the show had us laughing, in love with them, and holding on to every minute until it had us in joyful tears at the end.
Get your tickets for the show at San Diego Broadway.
