Alan Menken, who just boarded Broadway's HAPPY TRAILS creative team, confirmed to Entertainment Weekly today that he is also collaborating with lyricist David Zippel and book writer Harvey Fierstein on a musical adaptation of MRS. DOUBTFIRE.
"It's going very well," Menken told EW Radio. "It's in its early stages, and that's probably all I can say. We're really enjoying working on it."
Listen to the full interview below!
The rights to MRS. DOUBTFIRE are owned by 20th Century Fox, which started development on a musical version with Broadway producer Kevin McCollum in 2013.
MRS. DOUBTFIRE first hit movie theaters in 1993 starring Robin Williams and Sally Field, along with Harvey Fierstein in a supporting role. The film was directed by Chris Columbus and featured music by Howard Shore. It won the Oscar for Best Makeup.
The comedy follows Daniel Hillard (Williams), a voice actor in the midst of a divorce, who is denied custody of his children. To see them, he disguises himself as a British nanny called Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire and gets hired to run his wife's (Field) household and take care of their kids. All kinds of antics ensue.
No word yet on what kind of music the show will feature, but some of the non-instrumental tunes from MRS. DOUBTFIRE include Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man", Frank Sinatra's "Luck Be a Lady" and more.
Alan Menken, whose most recent project Galavant is currently airing on ABC, has written the scores for the stage musicals God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Patch Patch Patch, Real Life Funnies, Atina: Evil Queen of the Galaxy, Little Shop of Horrors, Kicks: The Showgirl Musical, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Beauty and the Beast, A Christmas Carol, Weird Romance, King David, Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Leap of Faith, Newsies, Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His film musicals include Little Shop of Horrors, Newsies, Life with Mikey, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Home On the Range, Noel, The Shaggy Dog, Enchanted, Tangled and Mirror, Mirror. EGOT-winner Menken is the recipient of 8 Oscars, 11 Grammys, 7 Golden Globes, the Tony, the Olivier, the New York Drama Critics Award and more. His upcoming projects include stage musicals of A Bronx Tale and the film Sausage Party.
Lyricist David Zippel has written for Broadway's Liza's at the Palace, The Woman in White, The Goodbye Girl, City of Angels -- which won him a Tony and a Drama Desk in 1990 -- and Barbara Cook: A Concert for the Theatre.
Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, who appeared in the MRS. DOUBTFIRE movie as 'Frank', wrote the book for last year's Casa Valentina on Broadway. Before that, he penned the book for Broadway's Kinky Boots, Newsies, La Cage aux Folles, A Catered Affair, Legs Diamond, Safe Sex and Torch Song Trilogy. He also starred on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof and Hairspray.
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