Theater News

Harvey Fierstein and Alan Menken Are Creating a Mrs. Doubtfire Musical

The ”Newsies” scribes plan to bring the classic Robin Williams film to the stage.

Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire.
Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire.
(© 20th Century Fox)

Tony Award winners Alan Menken (Aladdin), David Zippel, and Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots) are collaborating on a stage musical adaptation of the classic 1993 Robin Williams film Mrs. Doubtfire, according to published reports. No timeline for the production has been revealed.

Menken, a Tony winner for Newsies and an eight-time Oscar-winner for songs from the films The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast (among many others), will write the music, with Zippel, a Tony winner for City of Angels, pens the lyrics. Fierstein, who worked with Menken on the stage version of Newsies and played Frank Hillard in the film version of Mrs. Doubtfire, is reportedly crafting a book based on Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon.

Mrs. Doubtfire tells the story of a divorced dad who starts posing as a proper British nanny in order to remain close with his three children. Williams, who died in 2014, led the cast as Frank Hillard (who morphed into the title role with help from an Oscar-winning make-up team), alongside Sally Field, Mara Wilson, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, Pierce Brosnan, and Fierstein. Chris Columbus served as director.

The movie is a property of 20th Century Fox, which is currently working with Broadway producer Kevin McCollum and others to turn several of its films into stage shows.