A enjoyable and well-done ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ on tour at Capital One Hall

Mrs. Doubtfire, which performed final weekend on the Capital One Hall, is the most recent in an extended line of beloved childhood films being changed into stage musicals, on this case, the Robin Williams identity-switching comedy from 1993. With music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne  Kirkpatrick and a ebook by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, the fabric stands by itself within the new format.

The story portrays Daniel Hillard, an out-of-work voice actor who annoys everybody round him along with his incapacity to be an grownup. He loves his children, who see him as enjoyable however embarrassing, however loses them when his infinite shenanigans and irresponsibility drive his spouse to ask for a divorce. He is awarded solely in the future per week visitation, which isn’t sufficient for him. When he finds out his spouse is hiring a nanny, he goes to his brother and his brother’s husband, who’re make-up artists, and has them flip him into an outdated Scottish woman, Mrs. Doubtfire, to get the job. As the saying goes, comedian mayhem ensues. 

The rating is wealthy with different songs, together with a disco-inspired makeover quantity (“Make Me a Woman”), a rap with a fancy loop-track accompaniment (“About Time”), an elaborate and enthusiastic (if barely overlong) faucet extravaganza about cooking (“Easy Peasy”), and a pointy and humorous full-blown Flamenco song-and-dance about betrayal (“He Lied to Me”), all of which advance and touch upon the plot nicely. There can be a gospel-inflected quantity, “Playing with Fire,” with the whole refrain dressed as nightmareish Doubtfires, in addition to fairly a couple of heartfelt ballads. The lyrics match the invoice, and the five-man band — two keyboards, guitar, bass, and percussion,  carried out by Eli Bigelow — sounds a lot bigger than it’s.

Originally directed by Jerry Zaks and helmed on tour by Steve Edlund, the staging is simple to make room for all the fast adjustments the plot requires. Michaeljon Slinger’s adaptation of Lorin Latarro’s Broadway choreography is vigorous and pleasing, particularly within the frenetic cooking/faucet quantity. The set, by David Korins, shouldn’t be elaborate. All on one degree, it consists of San Francisco backdrops with roll-in items for the Victorian residence the household lives in and the primary character’s dumpy residence, plus some extra summary backdrops for manufacturing numbers. 

As is critical for such a plot premise, the costumes (by Catherine Zuber), hair and wigs (initially by David Brian Brown, dealt with on tour by Victoria Tinsman), and make-up design (by Craig Forrest-Thomas) are cautious and efficient — though the false chin on Mrs. Doubtfire right here is barely too pale and due to this fact noticeable.

The performances are pleasing. Of explicit word are the youngsters. As Natalie, the youngest, and Christopher, the center youngster, Ava Rose Doty and Theodore Lowenstein (on Friday night time) had been skilled, energetic, and cute. As the teenager daughter Lydia, Alanis Sophia is a powerhouse, singing fantastically and appearing her coronary heart out. The household’s mom, Melissa Campbell, is pissed off and touching by turns, particularly in her massive ballad, “Let Go,” the place she pours out to Mrs. Doubtfire how a lot her husband harm her. Brian Kalinowski is humorous as Daniel’s brother Frank, whose operating joke is that he yells each time he lies, and as his husband Andre, Devon Wycovia Buchanan is fabulous in each sense. As the fierce Flamenco Singer, Kirsten Angelina Henry is a shock deal with in her vocals, dancing, and particularly her comedy.

In the title position, Craig Allen Smith appears much more divided than the half would demand. As Daniel, the dad who received’t develop up, he comes throughout as extra unlikeable than infantile. His a number of ballads really feel tough. The first, particularly, “I Want to Be There,” when he explains to the Judge why he wants extra time along with his youngsters, evokes much less sympathy than a way of annoyance as a result of he ought to have realized all this earlier. His duet with the oldest daughter towards the present’s finish is extra touching, however the sense that he doesn’t care how he comes throughout persists even into the curtain name, throughout which he bizarrely chews gum, open-mouthed, the entire time. And but as Mrs. Doubtfire, he’s candy, charming, and touching, particularly within the finale when he sings about how love and households endure, in all totally different configurations. The Mrs. Doubtfire touring manufacturing is a well-done, efficient, and enjoyable night time out on the theater.

Mrs. Doubtfire performed October 17–19, 2025, within the Broadway in Tysons collection at Capital One Hall, 7750 Capital One Tower Road, Tysons, VA. The solid and creatives for Mrs. Doubtfire are on the nationwide tour web site here. 

For future Broadway in Tysons exhibits at Capital One Hall, click here.