Mrs. Doubtfire runs February 6-18 at the Academy of Music
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia-based actor Rob McClure brings Mrs. Doubtfire to life on stage.
"It's the best kind of terrifying, right?" says McClure. "You could feel the audience go, don't break this thing I love a lot, including me."
Robin Williams' renowned performance created the character of Mrs. Doubtfire for the film. But for Broadway, the goal is to avoid imitation while honoring the message of the story.
"If I can make the audience feel the way I remember Robin Williams making me feel in that movie, that's something that I will shoot for," says McClure.
The show will be making its Philadelphia premiere after a pandemic-shortened run on Broadway.
McClure says from the very first 'hello' audiences will feel like "Mrs. Doubtfire is here."
The musical tackles the crumbling marriage of Daniel Hillard and his wife, Miranda.
He says the beating heart of the movie is what's going on for the kids with this messy divorce.
Rob's real-life wife, Maggie, will be playing Miranda in the touring production.
"We are happily married despite the fact that we are going to have a really ugly divorce eight times a week for a year," he says.
Unlike the movie, the transition to Mrs. Doubtfire will be in real-time.
"If I have 18 seconds, I have 18 seconds," he says.
He does a full transformation from Daniel to Mrs. Doubtfire and back 31 times a show.
"I did a little math and it looks like by the end of this tour, I will have changed my clothes almost 13,000 times," he says.
And he hopes the story transforms audiences' hearts.
"The happy ending was redefining family.And that's something that the musical celebrates way beyond what even the film was exploring back then," says McClure.
Mrs. Doubtfire runs February 6-18 at the Academy of Music.
Academy of Music
240 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
