When the stage musical “Mrs. Doubtfire” opened in 2019, it gave Rob McClure the challenge of transforming himself into a beloved character firmly identified with the late Robin Williams.
McClure is playing the role again, opposite his wife Maggie Lakis, in the show’s national tour at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre through July 28.
McClure admits it was both an “honor and terrifying” to recreate the part played by Williams in the hit 1993 movie.
“It’s the best kind of challenge because the role is so beloved and locked in the audience’s mind, but one of the reasons they are coming is because there is a warm and fuzzy compartment in their hearts for it,” McClure said.
“My hope is to make the audience feel the way they remember him,” without mimicking Williams’ unique treatment. At a point in each performance, McClure said, he can sense when the audience trusts him.
McClure was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the show, which has music and lyrics by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick, a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell and is directed by multiple Tony-winner Jerry Zaks.
He had a similar challenge in 2012-13, when he was nominated for a Tony Award for “Chaplin: The Musical” and had to transmute himself into another well-known, adored (and real!) clown, Charlie Chaplin.
In both cases, he said, “The characters make you laugh until they make you cry. They had something going on beneath the giggles that makes you care so deeply.”
Like the San Francisco-set movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire” the musical is a tour de force of farce, mistaken identities and quick costume changes. It’s about estranged couple Daniel and Miranda Hillard, and how Daniel disguises himself as a Scottish matron to get a job as a housekeeper so he can routinely see his children.
Like her husband, Lakis found a challenge in playing Miranda, since Sally Field, “a national treasure,” did it in the film. Lakis said she deliberately didn’t watch the movie for a long time so as not to be influenced by Field’s performance.
In preparing for the show, both said the essential step is “to go back to the ink,” or study the script continuously until their characters emerge. (Both the movie and musical, which includes some scenes deleted from the movie, are based on the young adult book “Madame Doubtfire” by Anne Fine.)
While audiences love both Daniel and Miranda, and see their human flaws, perhaps the show’s biggest delights are Daniel’s quick costume changes. McClure undergoes 31 changes during a performance; some are in plain view, so the audience observes the transformation from Daniel to Mrs. Doubtfire and back. One change is only 18 seconds.
“I have a team of four dressers, one in one front, one in back, one on shoes, and one is for the face, teeth, wig and lipstick,” McClure said.
Lakis said that these moments, unlike the movie, are live for viewers: “The audience sees Daniel’s panic and desperation.”
The actors met 20 years ago when they were cast in the musical “Grease” and have been married for 15 years. This is the seventh time in their relationship they have worked together. While they agree it is a joy to work together because they trust each other onstage, the demands of show business make it impossible to do it consistently.
After the show leaves San Francisco, Lakis will return home to New York, where her daughter will start kindergarten.
“Mrs. Doubtfire” continues through July 28 at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. Tickets are $55 to $236 at broadwaysf.com.