Read the whole thing here.The first big-budget commodity musical to hit Broadway since the end of the Covid-19 lockdown has now opened—at a theater named after a man who despised such shows. It couldn’t be more ironic that the Stephen Sondheim Theatre is home to “Mrs. Doubtfire,” a new stage version of Chris Columbus’ 1993 screen comedy about a divorced father who dresses up as a woman and becomes nanny to his children so that he can see more of them. And while “Mrs. Doubtfire” is less slavishly faithful to the film than is the norm, it is nevertheless a fairly straightforward attempt to treat a popular movie of the recent past not as a springboard for fresh, creative endeavor but as an exploitable economic commodity that can be “repurposed” for further profit.
The catch is twofold: Not only was “Mrs. Doubtfire” a mediocre movie, but it existed mainly to provide Robin Williams with another of his hypermanic star turns. And while extremely serious money has gone into the show, no amount of money can make Rob McClure into another Robin Williams….