Mrs Doubtfire - Manchester Opera House / Shaftesbury

[mrbarnaby]

Jan 28, 2024 16:29:10 GMT theatrefan62 said:

Not a big surprise but learnt yesterday they are looking at touring this. Don't know if it's a separate production or closing London, though.

Pretty sure they will just send the London production out on the road. It’s basically a touring set anyway.

[Being Alive]

Couldn't get over how awfully cheap and lazy this looked on the Lottery night of musicals.

[lotster]

Jan 29, 2024 8:27:48 GMT Being Alive said:

Couldn't get over how awfully cheap and lazy this looked on the Lottery night of musicals.

I saw this recently with discounted tickets and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Gabriel Vick gives a fantastic performance. So impressive. His accents and comedy timing are spot on, so I enjoyed it for him, rather than as a whole. With somebody less talented, it really would have been a struggle.

[ceebee]

Might this make way for "Just For One Day"?

[Being Alive]

Selling very well so I doubt it.

[ladidah]

Got a good rush ticket, so saw this yesterday.

A real mixed bag for me, great sets, the child actors were good, the up-tempo songs are fun. Gabriel Vick is excellent.

However it could lose 30mins and a few ballads, and some jokes don't land.

It also didn't help I had a row of young boys in front of me, who couldn't keep still for longer than 5 seconds, banging the seats and chatting. The Mums happily sat on either end, enjoying the show.

[mrmarmelstein]

Also agree with the majority on here, glad I saw this eventually but aside from Gabriel Vick’s excellent performance and his very welcome monologue at the end, nothing much else stood out.

I hated the stereotypical gay couple (and the shouting!) and can’t believe one-dimensional characters like that are still being written. Also the pantomime elements didn’t work for me, it’s supposed to be San Francisco but they’re making British political/telly jokes!

Interestingly unlike some other posters on here and reviews I’ve read, I think there is a really interesting story to tell, but maybe that’s my nostalgia for the original film talking. The music is utterly forgettable and pretty much completely unnecessary, but I’m guessing I’m not the target audience.

Hilariously a friend of mine who goes to a lot of shows and lives in London, but obviously not that familiar with the film, had got confused from the posters and thought Mrs Doubtfire was Mrs Brown and couldn’t work out why several of his friends had suggested seeing something so terrible 🤣

Finally I hadn’t been in the Shaftesbury since the early days of Hairspray and was very impressed by the renovation. Also whilst the lottery gave me Row Q of the stalls, which sounded too far back, it really was a great view and I had nothing to worry about (other than the chattery French girls directly behind me).

[ladidah]

I agree about the UK/American mix, sometimes it didn't work.

[alicechallice]

Mar 19, 2024 9:22:04 GMT ladidah said:

I agree about the UK/American mix, sometimes it didn't work.

It never bloody works! I just do not understand why they do it. Nobody's going to come out of this show and say their favourite bit was that joke about the toilets at Glastonbury. 

I still cringe when I think about how they overdubbed Joan Rivers on the red carpet in Shrek 2 with Kate Thornton for the "enjoyment" of UK audiences.  

[Sean]

When is cast change for this?

[greeny11]

Sam Freeman (joining & Juliet) posted he's leaving May 12th.

[johnie21]

Mar 26, 2024 17:46:51 GMT Sean said:

When is cast change for this?

End of contract is 12th May - new cast on 14th May. X

[lizabella]

Mrs Doubtfire is a funny musical. I personally am not a fan of film adaptations because the musical has to miss out so many parts. However Pretty Woman and Doubtfire do well. The transformation on stage of Mrs Doubtfire was unexpected and so clever. The audience loved it.

But a good light weight, light hearted family watch. I enjoyed my afternoon.

[Mark]

Had heard this was coming. Closing in London April 26th 2025.

[wefox]

Sept 12, 2024 9:05:15 GMT Mark said:

Had heard this was coming. Closing in London April 26th 2025.

I kept pulling my visit foward because it was an open run… Better sort it out on my next trip now!

[blamerobots]

No big surprise that it will be on tour. Just wonder what's going here next!

Was it selling well up until this point, or is this closure more because another big show wants in at the Shaftesbury?

[normasturban]

Surely Burlesque is next in the ATG pipe-line.

[unseaworthy]

I wonder if we might have a few more closures now the summer is over

[blamerobots]

Sept 12, 2024 9:34:57 GMT normasturban said:

Surely Burlesque is next in the ATG pipe-line.

This was my guess.

[partytentdown]

Sept 12, 2024 9:37:22 GMT blamerobots said:

Sept 12, 2024 9:34:57 GMT normasturban said:

Surely Burlesque is next in the ATG pipe-line.

This was my guess.

This is at the Shaftesbury which is not atg?

[blamerobots]

Sept 12, 2024 9:41:32 GMT partytentdown said:

Sept 12, 2024 9:37:22 GMT blamerobots said:

This was my guess.

This is at the Shaftesbury which is not atg?

Oh yeah silly me lol. I forgot this was different. My fault for not double checking the above

[normasturban]

My mistake. I assumed Jamie Wilson was involved like Mrs Doubtfire.

[oxfordsimon]

This will sell well on tour.

[ceebee]

Sept 12, 2024 9:25:11 GMT blamerobots said:

No big surprise that it will be on tour. Just wonder what's going here next!

Was it selling well up until this point, or is this closure more because another big show wants in at the Shaftesbury?

Just For One Day...

[sph]

When I saw it I remember thinking the set looked very tour-able. Probably planned that way in order to get it on the road after a few years with very few changes. I think it will do very well on the road.