NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A new musical comedy, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” based on the hit Robin Williams movie of the same name, is now showing at the Saenger Theatre.
“Mrs. Doubtfire” tells the tale of divorced dad Daniel Hillard, who transformed into a Scottish nanny to get to see his kids.
“One of the amazing things as a musical, are all the transformations are happening in real time. When I have 18 seconds to go from Daniel to Mrs. Doubtfire, 31 times in the show, the audience sees the time clicking and the audience gets to sweat it out with me,” said Rob McClure, who plays Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire.
McClure went on to say, “I have a team of four dressers that we call team Effie or team Eufegenia. I joke all the time that they are my Indy 500 pit crew, and they change my tires and send me out.”
“I think my favorite part is the teeth because once the teeth go in, it makes a different mouth shape and I speak differently,” said McClure.
Speaking of speaking, McClure said talking like a Scottish nanny is his cup of tea.
“There’s a warmth to that voice. We can close our eyes and hear Mrs. Doubtfire in our heads. It is delightfully sweet and simple,” he said.
Speaking of sweet, McClure gets to perform every night with his real-life wife, Maggie Lakis, who on-stage plays his divorced wife, Miranda Hillard.
This is the third national tour the couple has done together. They also have a daughter, Sadie, who travels with them.
“We have a few scenes that breathe a little bit where all the craziness and sanity stop, and we get to talk to each other and those are my favorite parts of the show,” Lakis said.
No doubt about it, it is a family show.
“While you’ll come and laugh there’s a wonderful heart that a lot of families can relate to,” she said.
“Mrs. Doubtfire” is now playing through Sunday, May 19, at the Saenger Theatre. For more information, visit the Saenger Theatre website.
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