It’s the best time of the year: theater season-opening time. On Tuesday, October 29, the Kravis Center began its 2024-2025 season of Kravis on Broadway with the hilarious musical adaptation of “Mrs. Doubtfire.” The beloved role of Robin Williams takes the theatrical stage with new characters, a litany of songs, and removes the layer of transphobia present in the movie’s side characters. It expands on the plot, providing more context while modernizing things with hidden caller ID on cell phones and emails, and what is left is an incredible piece of art retelling one of your favorite childhood movies.
Upon checking into the Kravis, which I believe has the most astounding interior architecture of any other performing arts venue in South Florida, its art deco style reminiscent of a time when cigarette smoke filled the rafters. It’s gorgeous, and you should absolutely catch a show at the Kravis this season if you haven’t been yet. I was gifted a Doubtfire-themed apron upon receiving my ticket, and it made my night. It has burn marks over the bosom, alluding to the infamous scene.
Entering Dreyfoos Hall, a blue title screen displayed the play’s title while patrons found their seats. The pre-show preamble, where the staff ask you to silence your phones, mimicked the first scene of the movie, where Daniel (Jonathan Hoover) continually made up incorrect voices for the characters he was voicing over. It was cute, and I appreciated the attention to detail, having watched the movie recently in preparation for this review.
The first act of the musical plays out almost identically to that of the movie, with some great theatrics and stage direction. Daniel and Miranda (Catherine Brunell)’s big fight in the beginning takes places in front of a foggy backdrop. This can be seen as clever design and a nod a to the fog of San Francisco, where the musical is set. Their kids are caught in the crossfire of their divorce, as most kids are, but Lydia (Giselle Gutierrez), Christopher (Jake Beser/Sam Bird), and Natalie (Charlotte Sydney Harrington/Sunny Lauren Hoder) are the driving force behind all of Daniel’s actions.
In short: he loses central custody of his kids, only getting to see them on Saturdays. He therefore creates the persona of Mrs. Doubtfire to take on the role of nanny for his own kids without their knowing. The catchiest song of the entire musical comes from this section, breaking down the “image” of Mrs. Doubtfire in “Make Me A Woman.” It’s Eleanor Roosevelt, a dash of Julia Child, Margaret Thatcher, Janet Reno, and a little bit of Oscar Wilde.
By singing and over-explaining plot points and their emotions, the characters remove a significant amount of the transphobia found in the original movie. This isn’t overt, just what we’ve been accustomed to. Robin Williams is scolded and leered whenever he walks in the wrong bathroom. Christopher, in the movie, freaks out when he sees Mrs. Doubtfire standing up to pee. These facets are, thankfully, completely removed from the musical. Hoover changes in other rooms besides the bathroom. Christopher realizes Mrs. Doubtfire is a fake by seeing the seam of the mask. Crazy how these small changes did not impact the plot at all, and no one was hurt in the process.
Daniel Hillard’s role in this musical is an incredible load, with Hoover taking breaks in between shows and trading off with fellow co-lead Alex Branton. I praise anyone that can be this physical and change their costuming over 30 times. Bravo to the cast, and it’s a show you won’t want to miss. Tickets are still on sale at the Kravis website.
Christopher McDaniel is a MFA candidate in Creative Writing, Nonfiction, at Florida Atlantic University. He also works as a grant writer for the Norton Museum of Art. When Chris is not writing, he's either reading, walking around a museum, or thinking about a new piece to write later. He's from Virginia.
