It’s rare for a Tony-nominated actor who originates a role on Broadway to play the same role in the show’s national tour. The stars prefer to stay in New York and leave the grueling road schedule to the hungry up-and-comers.
But Rob McClure, who earned his second Tony nod in 2022 for creating the title role in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” was having so much fun in the part, he wasn’t ready to let it go. It’s easy to see why. At Wednesday’s performance at the San Diego Civic Theatre, where the musical is playing through Sunday, it was clear that “Mrs. Doubtfire” is the role of a lifetime for this multitalented actor.
During the 2-1/2 hour show, McClure plays two distinct characters; does dozens of spot-on celebrity impressions; performs tap, swing, jazz and athletic breakdance numbers; live-creates a song via audio loop, while performing with hand puppets and accents; does dozens of dizzyingly fast costume changes; and performs tireless physical comedy. (San Diegans may remember McClure’s facility for movement and humor when he originated another Tony-nominated role as Charlie Chaplin in La Jolla Playhouse’s pre-Broadway tryout of “Chaplin” in 2010.)
Leo Roberts as Stuart and Rob McClure as Mrs. Doubtfire in the national tour of “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
(Joan Marcus)
McClure’s tour-de-force mastery in the dual role is the best part of this musical, which is based on the 1993 Robin Williams film about Daniel Hillard, a struggling San Francisco actor who secretly creates an elderly Scottish nanny alter-ego to care for his children, after losing custody to his ex-wife, Miranda. The by-the-numbers book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell is a virtual carbon-copy of the movie, with a few additions that take advantage of McClure’s dance and vocal talents.
The score by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick is padded with just-OK filler numbers, though there are two touching ballads: “I Want to Be There, sung by McClure, and “Let Go,” sung by Maggie Lakis, who plays Miranda. There’s also a terrific comic duet, “Big Fat No,” sung by McClure and Leo Roberts, the endearing actor who plays Miranda’s hunky new boyfriend, Stuart.
McClure and Lakis are married in real life and have good onstage chemistry, and both do well at portraying the darker and wounded sides of their characters. Romelda Teron Benjamin is amusingly deadpan as the seen-it-all court officer Wanda. Giselle Gutierrez is a good actress as Lydia, Daniel and Miranda’s eldest daughter Lydia. And Aaron Kaburick and Nik Alexander add comic moments as Daniel’s brother Frank, and his husband Andre, respectively.
Director Jerry Zaks, with an assist from choreographer Lorin Latarro, keeps the show’s action from sagging, though some comic lines feel forced and the children’s choreography is particularly stiff. The producers have mounted a handsome tour, but there’s one problem. The latex partial map that McClure dons to quickly transform into Mrs. Doubtfire covers his eyebrows, forehead and cheeks, so it rob the character’s face of heightened emotions.
Producers are increasingly taking the safe route to audiences’ hearts by using popular movies as source material. “Mrs. Doubtfire” may not be that innovative in its transfer to the stage, but with McClure manning the ship, it’s definitely entertaining.
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’
When: 7:30 p.m. tonight; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown
Tickets: $40 and up
Phone: (619) 564-3000
Online: broadwaysd.com