Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Broadway: “Mrs. Doubtfire” Musical Opens to Tepid Reviews in a Slow Fall Season

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“Mrs. Doubtfire” opened on Broadway last night to tepid, if not negative, reviews. The New York Times panned it, and so did The New York Post, and they never agree on anything. Variety and Deadline.com were also negative.

The mixed reviews came from the Washington Post and New York Magazine. Only the NY Daily News review, written by the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones, liked the musical based on the Robin Williams-Sally Field-Pierce Brosnan movie that hasn’t aged well. But even Jones failed to mention any of the songs or the music — and it’s a musical! So much for that.

So far, “Mrs. Doubtfire” has a rough road ahead selling tickets. The advance sale isn’t great even for a sbow with a brand name. But it’s doing a lot better than “Diana: The Musical,” which isn’t selling balcony seats and has seas of blue– unsold seats — for weeks and weeks– in the mezzanine and orchestra.

It’s actually a mystery how or why “Diana” is still playing since no one liked it on Netflix and the stage reviews were miserable. Getting through the holidays will not be easy. Look for closing notices right after January 1st.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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