By J.K. YAMAMOTO
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Nearly three years after it opened on Broadway, Southern California audiences can see the musical adaptation of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which features a local actress and singer, Jodi Kimura.
The show runs June 4-9 at the San Diego Civic Theatre and June 11-30 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
Based on the 1993 movie starring Robin Williams, the musical is about out-of-work actor Daniel Hillard (played by Rob McClure), who will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the kindly alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.
The Hollywood Reporter called it “a feel-good, family-friendly comedy that delivers,” while The Chicago Tribune hailed it as “the lovable, big-hearted musical comedy we need right now.”
Kimura made her debut on Broadway in 2021 originating the role of TV station manager Janet Lundy in “Mrs. Doubtfire” (Robert Prosky played Jonathan Lundy in the movie). Before that, she played Huong in Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone” at American Stage in St. Petersburg, earning a Theatre Tampa Bay Awards nomination; played Rosie in Sacramento Music Circus’ “Mamma Mia” right after doing it at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, N.Y.; and appeared as Mrs. Kipfer in Tim Rice’s new musical, “From Here to Eternity,” at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine.
She was featured in “If All The Sky Were Paper” alongside Annette Benning, Laura Dern, Brad Hall, Common and Gary Cole at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in L.A. and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Kimura starred as Bloody Mary in the first national tour of Lincoln Center’s Tony Award-winning production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” for which she was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Best Supporting Actress. She took her Bloody Mary across the pond and was the only American in the first national tour of Lincoln Center’s “South Pacific” in the U.K. She has reprised the role at Maltz Jupiter Theatre and Riverside Theatre (Florida), Gateway Theatre (New York), Musical Theatre West in Long Beach and most recently La Mirada Theatre.
Rafu: Have you been doing the show continuously since it opened on Broadway?
Kimura: I did the entire (and too-short) run on Broadway: Previews began Oct. 21, 2021, opened Dec. 5, and went on hiatus on Jan. 9. We reopened April 14, 2022 and closed for good on May 29. We started rehearsals for the tour in August 2023 and opened in Buffalo in September. We’ve been on tour ever since.
Rafu: Were you able to return home to SoCal from time to time?
Kimura: I was able to come back to L.A. during the hiatus on Broadway and after it closed. Once rehearsals for the tour started, May was the first time I was able to go back to L.A., nine months later, as they moved the set to the West Coast.
But I did get to go back to Maui (my family home) in April to celebrate my Aunty Winnie’s 100th birthday! She is really the only “grandma” I’ve had on the Kimura side since my actual grandmother passed away when my dad was very young, so it was very special to be able to share that celebration with her!
Rafu: Has the cast remained the same throughout the run?
Kimura: Four of us from the Broadway run are doing the tour: Rob McClure and I, in the roles we originated on Broadway; David Hibbard, who is doing many of the roles he did on Broadway plus one he understudied; and Aaron Kaburick, who understudied the role of Frank on Broadway and is doing the role on tour. Since we started the tour, the cast hasn’t changed except for two of the kids, Cody and KK, who left, and Sam and Charlotte, who replaced them.
Rafu: What kind of response has the show gotten from audiences and critics?
Kimura: Audiences and critics all over the country have really enjoyed the show and it’s received rave reviews!
Rafu: What responses have you gotten personally from audience members?
Kimura: Janet Lundy is really only on for the last 15 minutes of each act. She is what’s known colloquially in the business as a “princess track”! She doesn’t have a lot to do but what she does do is pretty fun, in a very odd way. No spoilers but people often quote one of my phrases back to me after the show and laugh. It’s fun!
Rafu: Please describe your character.
Kimura: Janet Lundy runs the TV station where Daniel Hilliard (aka Mrs Doubtfire) works. In the movie, it was JACK Lundy and lucky for me, the writers of the musical turned it into a woman. She is also very different than the character in the movie. I love playing her because she has so little time and text to establish who she is and to land her comedy, so it’s a really fun challenge every show.
Rafu: Did you have the opportunity to see other Broadway shows while you were there? Which ones impressed you the most?
Kimura: I got to see a lot of Broadway shows while I was in NYC and my favorite was “Kimberly Akimbo.” Not only is it one of the best shows I’ve seen but my student Michael Iskander made his Broadway debut in it! My wife and I directed shows for three years with Marina High School and he came to us his sophomore year, never having been on stage. He did all three years with us, won Best Actor at the local Macy Awards and competed at the Jimmy Awards, where he got an agent. His first job out of high school was “Kimberly Akimbo”! Amazing!!
One of my other favorites was seeing my friend Carmen Cusack (who was the Nellie in my tour of “South Pacific”) in “Flying Over Sunset.” I told her after the show: “You’re totally gonna get a Tony nomination.” And sure enough, she did! She was spectacular and I’m so glad I got to see her in that show.
Rafu: Does the tour end in Los Angeles?
Kimura: The tour goes on but my last show will be the last show in L.A., a perfect place and time for me to end this wonderful ride with this show: in my “home” town. Sixty members of my family (from L.A., Vegas and Maui) will be there watching the show, some who came to see it on Broadway. It will be a special way for me to say goodbye to this sweet little show.
Rafu: What projects do you have coming up?
Kimura: I am THRILLED to announce I’ll be Disney’s newest Broadway Guest Artist on board their newest ship: The Treasure. I will be originating the role of Grandma Tala in the first-ever stage rendition of “Moana” as well as playing Mrs. Potts in “Beauty and the Beast.”
We start rehearsals in Toronto immediately after my last show with “Doubtfire” and then we go to Germany in October to get on the ship. There will be test cruises, press and influencer cruises, and then the inaugural voyage is scheduled for Dec 21. I’ve been involved in this since the first reading during the pandemic and then the workshop in NYC in 2022 with director Connor Gallagher, who I first worked with on “South Pacific” in Florida in 2018.
Hopefully, if all goes well, you’ll get to see me as Grandma Tala off and on for years to come!
Showtimes for “Mrs. Doubtfire”
San Diego Civic Theater, 1100 Third Ave., San Diego
Tuesday, June 4, at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, June 5, at 7 p.m.; Thursday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m..; Friday, June 7, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 8, at 2 p.m. (ASL) and 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 9, at 1 p.m. (Open Caption) and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: https://www.broadwaysd.com/upcoming-events/mrs-doubtfire/
Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
Tuesday-Thursday, June 11-13, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 14, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 15, at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 16, at 1 and 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, June 18-20, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 20, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 22, at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 23, at 1 and 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, June 25-27, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 28, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 29, at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 30, at 1 p.m. (ASL/Open Caption/Audio Description) and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: https://www.broadwayinhollywood.com/events/detail/mrsdoubtfire