‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: Rob McClure. Photo: Joan Marcus.

MRS. DOUBTFIRE
Book by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell
Music & lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick & Karey Kirkpatrick
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Choreographed by Lorin Latarro
Music supervision by Ethan Popp
Stephen Sondheim Theatre

124 West 43rd Street
(212-239-6200), www.DoubtfireBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Mrs. Doubtfire’s intentions are good and it aims to please. There is a lot going on in here, but in this case, the proverbial less would have been more. Fewer non-descript songs by the talented Kirkpatrick brothers would have gone a lot further. They did a great job with the score of Something Rotten!—one of my all-time favorite shows—but here the score is so unmemorable to the point of tedium, with the exception of two production numbers, “Make Me A Woman” and “The Shape of Things to Come,” thanks to the ingenious direction by Jerry Zaks and the choreography by Lorin Latarro.

When you create a stage adaptation of a mega-hit family movie—one which originally starred the incomparable Robin Williams—you are also taking a big gamble. Yes, it is an identifiable brand, but turning Mrs. Doubtfire into a musical forces one to make the unenviable comparison of movie versus musical. The movie was seamless and believable and you rooted for the hero Daniel Hilliard/Mrs. Doubtfire. In this case, it is quite difficult to root for Daniel (Rob McClure).

Daniel here is an obnoxious, irresponsible man-child who refuses to take anything seriously. His wife Miranda (Jenn Gambatese) has given him every opportunity to grow up and take responsibility as a husband and father, but he instead remains a child among his own three children: Lydia (Analise Scarpaci), Christopher (Jack Ryan Flynn) and the youngest, Natalie (Avery Sell). This leads to their divorce and the custody of the children. The only way Daniel would get more time to spend with his children is to take the job of their nanny/babysitter, and recreate himself as Mrs. Doubtfire with the aid of the make-up artists Frank, his brother (Brad Oscar) and his husband Andre (J. Harrison Ghee).

You’ll have to wait for about 20 minutes into the show before it begins to come to life, and that’s thanks to the marvelous number given to Mr. Oscar and Mr. Ghee in “Make Me a Woman.” Whenever the show drags, not meant as a pun, the two are in place to give the show some transfusion. Another lovable character is Peter Bartlett as Mr. Jolly, a TV host for a children’s show.

With the book not being much help except as the blueprint for the musical, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell have thrown in a lot of unnecessary fillers to differentiate themselves from the movie. You will find that out for yourself. Thanks to the genius of Jerry Zaks, he’s infused it with a lot of fun touches to make it pass for family entertainment.

In defense of Mr. McClure, his energy is boundless, his talents are endless and he transforms from Daniel to Mrs. Doubtfire with ease. Despite Mr. McClure’s many gifts, how can anyone compete with a phenomenon like the late Robin Williams?

Jenn Gambatese isn’t given much to do but be dour for most of the show, and the kids— instead of being naturals—are cloying Broadway kids.

As I said before, the show tries very hard to please, and out-of-towners will love it.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 9, 2021
Reviewed at December 8, 2021 press performance.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: (left to right) Avery Sell, Jake Ryan Flynn, Analise Scarpaci, Jenn Gambatese & Rob McClure. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: (left to right) J. Harrison Ghee, Brad Oscar, Charity Angél Dawson & Rob McClure. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: Brad Oscar, Rob McClure & J. Harrison Ghee. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: Jenn Gambatese & Rob McClure. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: Peter Bartlett. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: Rob McClure. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘BEETLEJUICE’: Alex Brightman & Sophia Anne Caruso. Photo: Matthew Murphy

BEETLEJUICE
Music & lyrics by Eddie Perfect
Book by Scott Brown & Anthony King
Based on the 1988 movie Beetlejuice
Directed by Alex Timbers
Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway
(212-239-6200, https://beetlejuicebroadway.com/

Editor’s note: This review is from the 2019 production, starring Alex Brightman, Rob McClure and Sophia Anne Caruso.  The show has some new cast members and is now playing at the Marquis Theatre.

By Scott Harrah

Beetlejuice is a rare gem in the genre of Hollywood movie adaptations for the Broadway stage. While following the main narrative from the 1988 Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice expands on the story of Goth teen Lydia (played with panache by rising 17-year-old star Sophia Anne Caruso), making her the central female character. The musical is a theme park unto itself and a fun, offbeat roller-coaster ride from start to finish. It stands out as a superior adaptation for so many reasons, but mostly due to Scott Brown and Anthony King’s clever book and outrageously effervescent performances by Alex Brightman, Leslie Kritzer and Ms. Caruso, plus whimsical sets by David Korins and over-the-top costumes by William Ivey Long.

It’s hard to resist the incomparable Alex Brightman from the moment he enters the stage as Beetlejuice, the lovable poltergeist who is also the tale’s narrator, saying he hopes we’re ready for “a show about death” and starts into the razzle-dazzle opening number “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing”.

Mr. Brightman is that rare entertainer who is so energetic, he commands the whole stage whenever he’s on it. He tosses off bon mots like “I’m powerless…like a gay Republican” with cavalier ease, in one of the season’s best performances. He’s the perfect guide through this gloriously re-imagined version of the hit film. Adam (Rob McClure) and Barbara (Kerry Butler) are the Maitlands, a happy couple in an old Victorian home (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis in the film). When they tragically die in a freak accident, their spirits are left to haunt their house and live in its attic. Soon the obnoxious Deetz family buys the house. Charles (Adam Dannheisser) and his ditzy paramour/Lydia’s nanny Delia (Ms. Kritzer) want to totally redecorate the place and turn it into a modern art showcase, hoping to make it a model home and land a lucrative real estate development deal. Charles’ daughter Lydia (Ms. Caruso) is a black-wearing Goth and has no interest in the home, and certainly wants nothing to do with her dad and Delia. She runs into the ghosts of Adam and Barbara in the attic and strikes up an unusual friendship with them as they create a scheme to literally scare Charles and Delia out of the house.

In the movie, Lydia was portrayed by Winona Ryder as a dour, depressed teen mourning the death of her mother but there was little explanation as to why the girl was so grief-stricken and obsessed with the dark side of life. However, in Beetlejuice the musical, Lydia and all her quirks and pathos are front and center, tackling the issue of children grappling with grief in a lighthearted way, something one would never expect in a Broadway musical. Ms. Caruso’s voice is richly textured and particularly haunting when she sings the solo numbers “Dead Mom” and “Home.”

In 2014, I caught Sophia Anne Caruso in a revival of Ruthless! The Musical at an uptown cabaret. Ms. Caruso was just a child then, playing Tina Denmark, a parody of the demented girl Rhoda from The Bad Seed. She had a unique stage presence and one-of-a-kind voice I never forgot. I wrote in the review back then about her “wholesome looks, lush singing voice and over-the-top acting style,” noting that she was going to be quite famous someday. It is remarkable how far Ms. Caruso has come in just five years. With her distinctive voice and spunky performance in Beetlejuice, she’s indeed on her way to Broadway stardom.

The book has some minor flaws. A scene involving the “netherworld” and Ms. Kritzer in a secondary role as an otherworldly beauty pageant winner makes little sense. In addition, the songs by Eddie Perfect are bouncy and propel the plot wonderfully. Although the score is upbeat, it is not exactly memorable.

Regardless, director Alex Timbers holds everything together beautifully and gets noteworthy performances from the rest of the cast. Standouts include Ms. Kritzer, who is sensational as the gaudy, overbearing Delia. Rob McClure and Kerry Butler are a hilarious duo as the kooky spooks the Maitlands, and Broadway veteran Ms. Butler (last seen in Mean Girls) has never been funnier.

Musical adaptations of hit Hollywood films are standard fare on Broadway. Most are pedestrian or simply mediocre, but Beetlejuice is colorful, consistently lighthearted fun. It’s—dare I say it? —a musical “to die for.”

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 25, 2019
Reviewed at April 20, 2019 press performance.

‘BEETLEJUICE’: (left to right) Sophia Anne Caruso, Rob McClure & Kerry Butler. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘BEETLEJUICE’: (left to right) Rob McClure, Kerry Butler, Sophia Anne Caruso & Alex Brightman. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘BEETLEJUICE’: Alex Brightman. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘BEETLEJUICE’: Leslie Kritzer & Adam Dannheisser. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘BEETLEJUICE’: Alex Brightman & Sophia Anne Caruso. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘BEETLEJUICE’: Alex Brightman. Photo; Matthew Murphy

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HUNKA HUNKS OF BURNING LOVE: David Josefsberg (center) & a chorus of Elvis impersonators in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

HONEYMOON IN VEGAS
Book by Andrew Bergman
Music & lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Gary Griffin
Nederlander Theatre, 208 West 41st Street
(877-250-2929), www.honeymoonbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Old-school Las Vegas is always portrayed with shameless romanticism. Although the glittering city of slot machines, showgirls and mobsters in the 1960s has been mined in countless movies and books, it has never been depicted quite like anything in this entertaining musical stage adaptation of the 1992 Nicholas Cage/Sarah Jessica Parker movie Honeymoon in Vegas, now on Broadway after a successful stint at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. As a musical, the show works, with plot-propelling songs and the razzle-dazzle production numbers and glittery costumes one would expect from a story set in Vegas.

Rob McClure (best known to Broadway audiences for his role in the tepid, ill-fated Chaplin back in 2012) is merely serviceable as Jack Singer, the proverbial putz who has been dating sexy Betsy (the beautiful and winsome Brynn O’Malley) for five years. As a leading man, Mr. McClure has all the appeal of a stale old piece of toast.

Jack is haunted by the deathbed declaration of his late mother, Bea (Nancy Opel), a cartoonish, nagging Jewish mama. She tells him he must show he only loves her in the song “Never Get Married.” However, Jack defies his dead mama’s wishes and takes Betsy to Las Vegas and plans to marry her.

Honeymoon in Vegas is mired in stereotypes, of course, but what story about Vegas isn’t? Tony Danza’s Tommy Korman, the aging “boss” of the Strip, is still mourning the loss of his beloved wife, a big-haired bimbo whose penchant for reading trashy Sidney Sheldon novels while lying in the sun slathered in coconut oil resulted in an early death from skin cancer. Betsy just happens to be a dead ringer for Tommy’s late wife, so one can guess what eventually happens when he meets her.

Danza’s Tommy is the villain here—Jack faces a tough choice after losing Betsy in a poker game to the guy—but we root for him far more than Jack. With his heavy New York accent and debonair gangster stage presence, Tommy is equal parts Tony Banta from his iconic role on “Taxi,” with many shades of Sinatra. Mr. Danza is total smarmy charm throughout the show, from a winning tap-dance number to such cheesy solo ballads as “Come to An Agreement.”

The story travels from Vegas to Hawaii as Jack tries to win back Betsy and the narrative becomes even more preposterous. Is it a problem when one finds the antagonist in a musical more fascinating than the hero? Does it matter? After all, this a show based on a film perhaps most famous for a scene showing a group of Elvis impersonators skydiving out of a plane. That scene is reproduced with hilarious results here, complete with the number “Airport Song,” and lyrics about how every plane that isn’t nonstop always has to connect through Atlanta.

Don’t come to Honeymoon in Vegas expecting high art or great choreography (the dance moves by Denis Jones are energetic but pedestrian). However, there is a lot to love if you’re a fan of the movie. Even if you’re not, it is rare to find a show like this, with a full orchestra, a gorgeous overture (complete with musicians jamming onstage), a catchy score and glitzy costumes. The musical is colorful and high-spirited enough to lift almost anyone out of the midwinter doldrums.

VEGAS-BOUND: Rob McClure (left) & ensemble in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

HIGH ROLLERS: Tony Danza (seated, far left) & Rob McClure in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

JOHNNY SANDWICH & TOMMY: Matthew Saldivar & Tony Danza in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

A GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT: Tony Danza & RobMcClure discuss how to pay a gambling bet in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

MAMA’S DEATHBED WISH: Rob McClure & Nancy Opel in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

FIGHTING OFF AMOROUS ADVANCES IN HAWAII: Rob McClure & Catherine Ricafort. Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 21, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on January 20, 2015

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