Review Roundup: MRS. DOUBTFIRE Opens in the West End

Mrs. Doubtfire is currently playing in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre. 

Out-of-work actor Daniel will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the ​alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.

Mrs. Doubtfire stars Gabriel Vick (Avenue Q) as Daniel Hillard. He is joined by Laura Tebbutt (School of Rock) as Miranda Hillard, Carla Dixon-Hernandez (Matilda the Musical) as Lydia Hillard, Cameron Blakely (Newsies) as Frank Hillard, Marcus Collins (Kinky Boots) as Andre, Samuel Edwards (Anything Goes) as Stuart Dunmire, Ian Talbot OBE (Hairspray, and Director of The Mousetrap) as Mr. Jolly and Kelly Agbowu (Sylvia) as Wanda Sellner.

Further cast include Nicole Carlisle, Joshua Dever, Joseph Dockree, Rebecca Donnelly, Amy Everett, Maria Garrett, Kiera Haynes, Vicki Lee Taylor, Adam Lyons, Lisa Mathieson, Corey Mitchell, Ellie Mitchell, Matt Overfield, Rhys Owen, Christopher Parkinson, Micha Richardson, Tom Scanlon, Paulo Teixeira and Samuel Wilson-Freeman.

Mrs. Doubtfire also introduces Max Bispham, Elliot Mugume and Frankie Treadaway who alternate the role of Christopher Hillard and Scarlett Davies, Angelica-Pearl Scott and Ava Posniak who alternate the role of Natalie Hillard.

Mrs. Doubtfire has been created by a transatlantic team of award-winning artists, with Original Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, and a Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell (team behind the hit Tony Award-nominated musical Something Rotten!). Direction is by 4-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks (Hello, Dolly!), Choreography by Lorin Latarro (Waitress), and Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations by Ethan Popp (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical). Scenic design is by David Korins (Hamilton), Costume Design by Catherine Zuber (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Lighting Design by Philip S. Rosenberg (Pretty Woman The Musical), Sound Design by Brian Ronan (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Hair Design by David Brian Brown (Frozen), Casting by Stuart Burt (Cabaret) and Children’s Casting Director is Verity Naughton.

See what the critics are saying below...

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Caroline Cronin, BroadwayWorld: Mrs. Doubtfire is a surprisingly original creation, modernised for a contemporary audience without detracting from the charm of the original. Not only is it a fantastically fun night out, it has heart...and that alone is worth the ticket price.

Marianka Swain, London Theatre: Wonderful news, poppets! The beloved family film Mrs. Doubtfire about a cross-dressing nanny is just as joyful a watch in this new stage musical incarnation, which had its Broadway premiere in 2020 and now looks set to become a popular West End fixture. Appropriately enough for a tale all about transformations – inside and out – it’s surprisingly inventive, refashioning the original just enough to make it thoroughly theatrical and a smart 21st-century show.

West End Best Friend, Jordan Potts: Mrs Doubtfire really does have it all. The creative team have captured the essence of the fan favourite film whilst delivering London’s newest smash hit musical. This truly deserves each of its standing ovations which will no doubt come each evening.

Evening Standard, Tim Bano: In the great glut of movie-to-musical adaptations currently force-feeding the West End, this is some kind of exact median. It’s not superb, like Groundhog Day, but it’s not Pretty Woman either, thank God. Aimed squarely at young audiences, there are laughs, some great performances, a couple of big notes and a zippy plot, all aided by the technical slickness of Zaks’s direction. Just don’t look too deeply under those layers of latex, because you might not like what you find.

Alice Saville, TimeOut: Ultimately, this show reaches a conclusion that's both warm and unsaccharine: family is what you make it. How refreshing, in a world where the ’90s cultural interest in divorce and alternative families has given way to a backward-looking cultural fixation with stories about happy mummies and daddies. ‘Mrs Doubtfire’ feels like it melds the best of past and present, offering a dose of nostalgia that's more complicated than Mary Poppins's spoonful of sugar - but just as sweet.

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