Mrs. Doubtfire The Musical
The beloved 1993 comedy, Mrs. Doubtfire comes to the West End for a hilarious theatrical performance of a fun-loving divorced dad disguised as a Scottish nanny.
Who doesn’t love a laugh with a good comedy? Laughter is good for the soul! The 1993 American comedy Mrs. Doubtfire was a huge hit growing up. Three decades later, it is still funny as ever thanks to the talented stand-up comedian Robin Williams who is best known for his improvisational skills. So when Mrs. Doubtfire was on the list of West End shows for Kids Week 2024, “Oh, my dear”, I couldn’t resist.
Kids Week 2024
Every summer we book a West End show (or two) as part of Kids Week. That is, if you can get your hands on these half-off tickets. What is Kids Week? It is all about introducing young people to theatre for “Free” on selected days with participating shows. In practice, it works out to be half-off tickets.
The virtual queues are insane but worth trying if you can get half-off tickets to see popular shows such as The Lion King or Matilda. With limited seats and dates, Kids Week tickets can sell-out like hotcakes. But luckily I was able to book six tickets in the stall for a Sunday matinee performance of Mrs. Doubtfire. One of Lady Yeya’s BFF and her family joined us for lunch in Covent Garden, followed by a stop at Forbidden Planet for all things ‘geek’ culture. Then we were all off to the theatre for an afternoon of laughter and fun.
Hello, Dears: The Plot
Set in San Francisco, CA, carefree and happy-go-lucky freelance voice actor Daniel finds himself in a messy divorce from his ambitious, career-minded wife Miranda. Due to his unemployment and homelessness status, the court grants full custody of their three children to Miranda with weekend visitation rights.
Desperate to see his kids regularly, Daniel deliberately alters Miranda’s advertisement for a nanny/housekeeper by changing her contact details. Using his skills in voice acting, Daniel poses several times as “odd” and “eccentric” candidates. That is, until his last and final call. Impressed by the gentle demeanour of “Euphegenia Doubtfire”, Miranda invites Mrs. Doubtfire for an interview. With help from Daniel’s brother Frank and his partner Jack, both stage make-up artists, transform Daniel into Mrs. Doubtfire, a Scottish nanny. Mrs. Doubtfire gets the job and now spends afternoons with the three children.
The story is hilarious, keeps you laughing from start to finish. There are comical scenes when Mrs. Doubtfire nearly burns the house at the uneventful attempt at cooking a gourmet dinner. On occasions Daniel often finds himself needing to be himself and Mrs. Doubtfire simultaneously. Yes, there were many costume changes. Daniel even had to smash his face on a cake to disguise himself, having dropped his prosthetic face out the window.
At the end, Daniel is exposed to a horrified Miranda at a restaurant on her birthday. But Mrs. Doubtfire still lives on as the host of a new children’s show using Daniel’s voice acting abilities. Initially livid with Daniel, Miranda changes her mind and arranges for joint custody for the sake of the children.
Mrs. Doubtfire in the Modern World
Thirty years ago, there were no mobile phones, let alone WiFi! The musical gives a modern version of the plot line. For example, Mrs. Doubtfire changing the Ipad and Wifi passwords when the children rebelled against doing homework. There were also a few jokes on current politics with Joe Biden quitting the presidential race. Miranda is a budding entrepreneur who is launching a new line of athleisure wear (very Californian) with the tagline on inclusivity and body positivity. Yes there was hilarious catwalk scene with Mrs. Doubtfire modelling Miranda’s M wear. Uber Eats and Deliveroo comes to the rescue when Mrs. Doubtfire had to prepare dinner.
Amazing Cast
The cast and creative ensemble were simply amazing. The set uses different backdrop scenes with the skyline of San Francisco in the background. It moves seamlessly between the family house, Daniel’s apartment, Uncle Frank’s salon, the production studio, and the famous restaurant scene. Equally impressive was how quickly the cast changed out of their costumes. Standing ovation goes to the main actor Gabriel Vick who was brilliant – pivoting between playing Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire with quick changes into his body suit and prosthetic face. The dancing and singing from the ensemble was also fantastic and hilarious, especially the cooking scene and the flamenco dancers singing in Spanish at the restaurant.
A funny, energetic, and light-hearted musical comedy will leave you laughing until the end. A memorable afternoon with friends. Thank you Kids Week and the West End for being part of our summer fixture for the past three years. Happy Summer!
