Mrs. Doubtfire
Alex Branton as Daniel Hillard as Mrs. Doubtfire
When “Mrs. Doubtfire” hit theaters in 1993, it was what industry folk might call a “smash.” The Robin Williams-starring vehicle about a father (Daniel Hillard) feigning the role of an elderly Scottish nanny to spend time with his three kids following a divorce and subsequent custody battle would earn $441 million, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year — only bested by the record-setting “Jurassic Park.”
The movie, with its horde of hilarious scenes, physical humor, and touching story, seemed ripe for a Broadway production. Twenty-eight years later, “Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy” would debut on Broadway with Rob McClure in the title role — a performance that received a Tony Award nomination in 2022.
McClure would reprise the role for the national tour, which began in September 2023, before handing the reins to Alex Branton, a DFW-based actor.
We caught up with Branton for a phone chat before the tour hit Bass Hall this week. He was on a two-week break from touring and was happy to chat about his ADHD, the impossibility of filling the shoes of Robin Williams, and why Fort Worth has some of the strongest theaters in the nation.
FW: Hi Alex, how's it going?
Alex Branton: Good, man. How are you?
FW: I'm doing all right. Where are you at right now?
AB: I am in Hastings, Nebraska.
FW: Hastings? I don't know if I've ever even heard of Hastings, Nebraska.
AB: Honestly, not many people have. And to be more specific, I'm in Bladen, Nebraska, which is even further in. So if you heard of Bladen before Hastings, I would be very, very scared for you.
FW: So they're taking you to these smaller markets, huh?
AB: Well, actually, funny enough, we're on a two-week layoff. We were just in Sacramento and then had a couple of weeks off before we go down to West Palm. So the dresser, who was actually Rob McClure's dresser on Broadway [the originator of the role of Daniel Hillard on Broadway], we became best friends. And so I came to see her hometown and meet family and friends and just not go back to the city for a couple of weeks.
FW: Amazing. And I'm sure you know the role so well, because you’ve rehearsed and done it so many times that you don't really have to worry about rehearsing while taking a break.
AB: Man, I wish that was the case. What's funny is that it’s yes and no in that we've done quite a bit of rehearsals, but it’s interesting to be an emotional athlete but also getting to be a physical athlete in this role. So, you definitely have to be on standby. So, these two weeks I am reviewing, and this next week I'll be reviewing more.
FW: I've never seen "Mrs. Doubtfire" the musical. I've seen the movie obviously with Robin Williams, and I didn't realize it was based off a novel.
AB: Right. Isn't that amazing?
FW: Have you read the novel?
AB: I haven’t. So, I have severe ADHD, which I’m actually very happy with. It's like the marriage that you never knew you wanted or needed. So, I prefer reading by doing audio book and physical book at the same time, and I haven't gotten the physical book yet. I know I need to read it, and it might take me a year, but man, we're going to do it.
FW: Well, the story itself, when you really break it down, it's kind of depressing.
AB: Oh yeah, but it’s funny, too. I was talking to the writers, the Kirkpatricks, about it — the writers of this show are older, white, married men, who’ve never been divorced. And, for me, I've actually gone through both a family divorce and a divorce myself. My parents got divorced when I was 6. So, I was telling the Kirkpatricks, “You guys don't even get to realize or know when this story hits a totally different type of audience. I was the Chris (Daniel’s son) in my family. And my dad, who recently passed away a few weeks ago.
FW: So sorry to hear that.
AB: That's okay. It was really special. "Mrs. Doubtfire" was his favorite movie, and I was able to go down to see him before he passed and got a bootleg and showed him the videos. It was special. He was very much like a Daniel. He was very much the fun dad.
FW: And I'm sure, with that history, it's probably a pretty emotional role for you.
AB: Oh, very much so. I actually saw the show closing out on Broadway, and I had one of my best friends with me, and when the curtain came down at the end of the first act, she looked at me and said, “You're going to play that role someday.” And it wasn’t her telling me I’d be good at it. It was more of a premonition — "You're going to play that role.”
FW: It’s such an iconic role, obviously originated by the great Robin Williams. But how do you take what he did and make it your own?
AB: It’s incredibly big shoes to feel that are unfillable. And I think that is a crucial part — you can’t try to do his performance. I think that's where the writers have done a great job capturing the parts of the movie that cater to and take care of the nostalgic fans.
Rob McClure, who originated this on Broadway and just left the tour, was such a talented person and an even better human being. But he was like, “If I tried to do Robin's performance, I'd be done for.”
What I didn't realize before going [in front of a live audience as Daniel], is that the audience is the missing cast member, especially for Daniel. I also come from a bit more of a dry humor standpoint, so I'm kind of in between Robin Williams and Rob McClure.
FW: How much leeway do you have to improvise and do things a little differently each night?
AB: So, we do three sets of impressions in the show. One is the overhead silence-your-cell-phones moment, which is prerecorded. And then, when the curtain comes up, we have a set of impressions, and then we have another one with the social worker that's in the movie. That's where we have the most playfulness. And every Mrs. Doubtfire does completely different impressions.
And as far as artistic liberty, that's something I was really interested in when I was auditioning, because I did tell them, “I can't do Rob's performance. That's not even something I can do in two different styles. I would love to try a different shade, a different color with it.” And since that was accepted, I’m finding these little moments where I can make this or that line my own. But as far as structurally, it’s a very tight show. The amount of cues is just astronomical. It's insane.
FW: Concerning the musical itself, I read somewhere where the producer of the original "Mrs. Doubtfire" had said soon after its release that it was almost tailor-made for Broadway. Of course, it took over 25 years for that to finally happen. And Harvey Firestein [who plays Daniel’s brother in the movie] wrote the book.
AB: Apparently [the Harvey Firestein book] was completely different. Hearing Rob [McClure] talk about it, it was a recipe that you had to keep at. It was a recipe that had promise and the right ingredients, but it needed tinkering. And this is where the Kirkpatricks came in. With Harvey doing that book, I wonder if it almost sat too close to home. It was really interesting to hear about how that didn't work. But on paper, it's like, “This is a gold mine.”
FW: So, it kind of evolved.
AB: That's why I love collaboration. Art doesn't belong to anybody.
FW: One of the things I enjoy about seeing a musical that was previously a film is that there are differences. I mean, despite having seen the movie, the musical is chock-full of surprises.
AB: Oh yeah, definitely. Chock-full of surprises. I mean, you got the classic [scenes], the LA restaurant scene where he's changing back and forth. But I think what's even more magical about the stage version is that you get to actually see this stuff happen in real-time. We have an entire wardrobe team set up backstage, and it’s like an athletic practice. I mean, Danny has 33 quick changes. I swallow my tongue when I say that out loud.
FW: Is that unheard of in Broadway musicals? Thirty-three quick changes?
AB: Humility wants to be like, “No, it happens all the time.” It does not happen.
It's so cool to watch our wardrobe team work, too. Our quickest change is 17 seconds. I need to go all the way from Daniel to Mrs. Doubtfire and then right on stage. And there are maybe a handful [of quick changes] that you got a few more seconds, and I'm just over there with a cigarette — “Plenty of time, 30 seconds” — yeah, right. But it's very meticulous, and it's very much everyone working together. I'm so in awe of this team and them setting up their actors for success.
FW: I couldn’t help but notice you had a Plano number.
AB: Yes. I grew up in Plano and went to Plano Senior High School. And Greg Arp, who's a big player in the theater community in Dallas, was my teacher. My first professional show, or at least first show I got paid for, was in Fort Worth at the Circle Theater.
FW: No kidding.
AB: Yeah, we did “Over the Tavern” by Tom Dudzick about 20 years ago. Still to this day, that’s one of my favorite experiences. And even now, I think Circle Theater is by far one of the best theaters I've ever worked with.
FW: So, you’ve definitely got some Fort Worth ties.
AB: I cannot wait to get back. I love Fort Worth. I love DFW. I think it's some of the strongest theater in the country, and I do miss it very much.
FW: I agree that there’s incredible theater in this city that's deserving of more attention.
AB: I mean, Fort Worth has just as much, if not more than Dallas in terms of the quality content that Fort Worth provides at Amphibian and Stage West.
What’s interesting is that I actually took a break from theater after school. I graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 2011, lived in New York for about a year and a half. It kicked my butt. It won that round. I did an off-Broadway show, and I came back home and got married. And I kind of fell out of love with theater.
I wanted to wait until it had the spark again. Because, as an actor, if we are being the therapists on stage and we're not available emotionally, we're just doing a disservice to everybody essentially. And yes, acting is fun, but at the end of the day, we're not doing it for ourselves. We're in the service industry.
So, I waited until 2017 when Theater Three [in Dallas] did “Once.” It was the first show I did in seven years. And I'm so glad I waited, and I'm so glad it was Dallas-Fort Worth theater that I waited to do it with. And here we are.
Mrs. Doubtfire will be playing at Bass Performance Hall through Nov. 10. For tickets, check out the Bass Hall website here.
