Music adds laughs, layers to Tucson run of iconic dramedy "Mrs. Doubtfire"

Broadway has made a habit of late of mining the Hollywood vaults for its “next big thing.”

This week, Broadway In Tucson is mounting the latest next big thing redux, the musical version of the Robin Williams’ big-screen dramedy “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

The show, which continues at Centennial Hall through Sunday, June 2, closes out the Tucson presenter’s 2023-24 season of musicals.

To be honest, repurposing a story like “Mrs. Doubtfire” into a musical works on a number of levels not the least of which it removes any temptation for the actor playing the titular role to try to imitate Williams.

Williams, who died in 2014, elevated the down-on-his luck voice actor who dresses up as an older Scottish nanny to be close to his kids into an iconic character. Audiences seeing that replicated on stage would be looking for any telltale signs of Williams.

Adding music to the mix takes some of Williams’ nuance out of play and opened up opportunities to tweak Daniel’s character, taking the story beyond his and Miranda’s divorce and custody battle to explore more family dynamics.

In the opening scene, we get a true sense of how Daniel (Jonathan Hoover) views his role as father when he hosts a crazy birthday party for young son Chris (Sam Bird) that includes an exotic dancer. A moving duet (“Just Pretend”) between Daniel and oldest daughter Lydia (Giselle Gutierrez) after he loses his custody battle gave us insight into Daniel’s growth as a father and an adult. We also see how the parents’ split has affected the children when they throw caution and cursing to the wind in “What the Hell.”

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We also get some lighthearted moments from “Make Me A Woman,” sung by the very funny and deliciously flamboyant Nik Alexander playing Daniel’s brother-in-law Andre and Aaron Kubrick as Daniel’s brother Frank; and the song-and-dance ensemble “Easy Peasy,” when a YouTube cooking video comes to life in the kitchen as Mrs. Doubtfire tries to make her first family meal.

At the show on Wednesday, May 29, Hoover brought a sense of naiveté and muted goofiness to Daniel. We were expecting to see Rob McClure in the role, but McClure, who originated it on Broadway and has been playing it in the tour since it launched last October, was inexplicably absent.

Hoover proved to be a solid stand-in, with impressive comic timing and stamina that served him well as he transformed from Daniel to the plump and busty Mrs. Doubtfire dozens of times. It was even funnier as he made the transformation in view of the audience.

Some of Hoover’s loudest applause came during a scene on the “Mr. Jolly Show” set when he played with a looping machine and created a beat-box rap to teach kids how to tell time. The stint landed him his dream job hosting his own kids show. Fun fact: In that scene, Hoover was creating those dubs live.

Other standout performances included the talented young Gutierrez, who brought a sweet voice and maturity to the role; Maggie Lakis as Miranda Hillard; and Kubrick, who elicited loud laughs with every high-pitched screech that indicated he was lying.

“Mrs. Doubtfire” continues at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd., on the University of Arizona campus, with performances at 8 p.m. Friday, May 31; at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 1; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2. For tickets, visit broadwayintucson.com.