Mrs Doubtfire the Musical - review of UK show

 Given I'm a bit tardy in posting blogs lately, most of you are probably a bit surprised I'm reviewing a musical - tech, sure, Sci Fi books, definitely, but musical theatre?  Well, here goes nothing - I've been to see the UK version of Mrs Doubtfire the musical at the Opera House in Manchester, England and accepting I saw the second performance of its one month run I've noticed that there aren't any reviews showing on the web at the time of writing, so thought 'what the hell' and decided to give it a go.  I'm sure a professional reviewer or two will write a more definitive review in the days coming, but for those of you thinking of booking a seat and searching in vain for a review, hopefully this will tide you over and, hopefully, inform you as to whether you should make that booking.

First, a little background.  The musical launched on Broadway just before lockdown two years ago following a successful off-Broadway run. It performed, I understand, just five performances.  Then, like all of us it went into isolation, resuming its run last autumn and closing at the end of May this year.  The cast however are all new and predominantly British, which brings me to the first of two elephants I felt might be in the room when I entered the theatre - at least a smallish elephant.

The musical is based on the iconic 1990s film which was about an American family living in America.  Would it be too American?  Or would it be crow-barred to look and feel British?  In fact, the musical sits nicely on the American side of the coin without being overly American, making gentle nods to British sensibilities - as an example there is a reference to football, not soccer as it would almost certainly be called in the US.  The balance is perfect - it's still about an American family in America, as it should be, while making small nudges to make it accessible to British audiences.

The other elephant, the Boris Johnson nose sized one - is that the musical is based on a film that was iconic when it was made and that has been solidified by the premature passing of Robin Williams, who played the lead.  Would I be comparing the performance to Williams' portrayal throughout the show?  The lead actor Gabriel Vick certainly captures the zany, energy-laden persona of Daniel Hilliard that Williams defined, but makes the role his own.  He doesn't attempt to mimic or parody the Williams character, but hits the stage running, bouncing with an energy that continues right through the show.  I didn't see an actor, a singer and certainly not someone trying to be Robin Williams - I saw the character Vick created and owned from the opening scene to the finale.

This is true of the other actors - brilliant comic timing, great choreography, superb singing throughout.  The songs are extremely well written by brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick with lyrics that drive the story forward to music that was performed faultlessly.   Karey also co-wrote the 'book', the story that drives the musical, with British comedic writer John O'Farrell.

The sets fascinated me: simple at first glance, subtly complicated in execution they slide in and out, up and down and from the sides every few minutes moving the story from location to location effortlessly.  They also provide one of the cleverest aspects of the show - as you may remember Daniel Hillard has to change to be Mrs Doubtfire rapidly in the film, and so it is in the musical.  Quick changes are no issue in the film world, even pre-CGI it wouldn't have been that much of a stretch to film the 'quick change' time after time, using the best shots.  In the theatre it has to happen in real time, multiple times and the sets are used to allow the audience to view the changes while appearing to shield the characters that shouldn't see them.  In a way it is like taking a few bricks out of the fourth wall, making the audience complicit in the deception.  

The actors and dancers work their collective socks off throughout the whole show, with many clever dance routines dazzling the senses.

As you would hope, there are plenty of laugh out loud gags and running jokes through the set interspersed with lots of visual humour - and the story has been updated to acknowledge that the internet has arrived since the original film to good comedic effect while retaining some of the fun visual routines from the original film - think vacuum cleaners and sweeping brooms, for example.

You might gather I enjoyed the show - it is witty, energetic, great to watch and to listen to.  Would I watch it again?  You bet, with my grandsons next time.  It is running at the Opera House until the 1 October, and as an aside I'd like to point out the seats in the front stalls are not only comfortable but generous in the leg room department.  I wish all theatres would provide adequate leg room as standard.  If you are in the UK and can get to Manchester, you should look at booking a seat while the show is running. 

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