KeyBank Broadway Series Musical Cover of Mrs. Doubtfire, courtesy of Playhouse Square.

I am a huge fan of going to plays. I love to watch the actors/actresses perform under intricate sets and express themselves through different characters. Now, musicals are a different story. What do I not like about musicals? The singing.

I am the type of person who groans when singing comes on in the middle of a movie. For some reason, the constant singing feels like an interruption , and it thoroughly annoys me.

When my mom invited me to go see “Mrs.Doubtfire” with her in Playhouse Square, I reluctantly agreed to go because I like comedies. I’ve heard of the movie before as well, and I remembered certain scenes that made me laugh, so I thought I should give this musical a chance.

As I sat down in my row next to my sister, with the musicals pamphlet in one hand and cotton candy in the other, I was ready to see the show that awaited me.

If you are unfamiliar with “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the original film created in 1993, and now a musical, tells a story of an out-of-work dad who just recently divorced his wife and is desperate to see his kids. He is so desperate to the point where he convinces his ex-wife, with the help of his brother, to hire him as a nanny.

How is he able to do this? Daniel Hillard, played by Rob McClure, uses his talent of impersonating voices and dresses up as a nanny with the help of his brother Frank Hillard, played by Aaron Kaburick, who is a professional makeup artist.

To introduce the characters, Daniel is an extremely careless and absentminded man who forgets his responsibilities of not just being a good example as a father, but also as an adult in general. He often shrugs things off as if they didn’t affect his family and his future and tends to make extremely impulsive decisions.

The wife Maggie Hillard (played by Maggie Lakis) and mother of Lydia, Christopher and Natilie Hillard is a hard working mom who has had to deal with her husband acting immaturely while she is working hard to start her new clothing line.

It came to a point where Maggie was fed up with her husband not helping around the house or with the kids to keep them on the right track, so she decided they needed to split up.

During the first custody agreement, Daniel was ruled as in an unfit position to care for his children, and the judge decided that Daniel could have visitation rights every Saturday while his wife has sole custody. This shared custody decision will later be evaluated in three months based on Daniel’s job and residence status.

Throughout his experience of pretending to be the exact opposite of the person he really is, he learns things about his children, his ex-wife and him as a person. It took time, but he eventually found the father in him to step up and make sure that his kids are on the path to success.

By making sure his kids are caught up, he also has to better himself.

Daniel began to work as a janitor at a TV Station, where while actors were coming off set the audience hated “Mr. Jolly Show,” he began to freestyle and have a bit too much fun with himself, when eventually he was caught by the boss Janet Jundy (played by Jodi Kimura).

Jundy actually found his improv quite comedic despite her sarcastic personality and something that the audience can enjoy watching instead of the mundane “Mr. Jolly Show”. Now, Daniel is able to update the apartment he moved into after the separation to make it look more homier and welcoming for his children.

Just as he thinks he’s got a handle on everything for the first time, one thing after another happens and his plan begins to come to ruins.

Is he able to recover from his false front as a nanny? Guess you’ll have to watch and find out.

This musical, to say the least, was probably one of the best ones I’ve seen.

I loved how talented McClure is in his impressions because it really set the satire of the musical. He and his other character “Mrs. Doubtfire” made the musical an attention-grabber, one where you cannot divert your eyes from the stage.

Now. The singing. I absolutely loved it. I would never expect to say that about a musical.

But, the creativity, presentation and uniqueness of the lyrics made the songs, in my opinion, the most delightful portion of the musical.

The sets looked like they took hard work and dedication to make because of how extraordinary each one looked. For each scene, there was a new set that matches perfectly to how they were described by the actors.

For example, the apartment that Daniel moved into after the divorce started as a run-down home that looked like it was falling apart. But, as Daniel got his life back on track, you can see the changes made to his apartment that follow his changes.

I also thought it was an adequate decision to add in modern day references that the younger generation can connect to, such as ‘dabbing’ and ‘the floss,’ which I personally found a bit corny, but I appreciated the effort.

Along with those references, I also admired that the musical included the iconic scene from the movie in which Robin Williams pies himself in the face, yelling “Helloooo.”

All in all, this show was a must see. I can’t believe I doubted it for a second. I will forever remember this musical, and it made me extremely grateful to share this experience with my sister.

The next time Mrs.Doubtfire comes to Cleveland, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy tickets.

You can also able to watch the original movie “Mrs.Doubtfire” on Disney+ and Amazon Prime.