Sarah Beck, ‘Doah Staff Writer
February 4, 2015

Composer Alan Menken will be making the movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” into a musical. “It’s going very well; it’s in its early stages, and that’s probably all I can say,” said Menken. Menken has won several Oscars and Grammys for his work on “Pocahontas,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

The movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” takes place in San Francisco, where Robin Williams plays actor, Daniel Hillard. After a horrible divorce, Daniel disguises himself as a Scottish nanny in order to spend time with his children who are in the custody of his ex-wife. This character is one of Robin Williams’s most known roles.

Alan Menken, who is known for composing famous Disney hits such as “The Hunch Back of Notre Dame” and “Tangled,” will also be working with David Zippel. Zippel is working on the lyrics of the songs for the musical and is known for writing the musical lyrics for both “Mulan” and “Hercules.” He’s the man who wrote a majority of the music that is most memorable to 1990’s kids who watched numerous Disney movies throughout their childhood. Menken and Zippel paired up for the score and soundtrack in the classic Disney movie, “Hercules.”

Along with Menken and Zippel, Harvey Fierstein will be writing the book. Harvey Fierstein is well known in the theatre and film industries with his success as being an actor and a playwright. His roles as an actor go from “Independence Day” and “Murder, She Wrote.” Not only has he done live-action films, but he has also been involved in animated movies. He played the masculine role of Yao in “Mulan” and the creepy role of Argus Panoptes in the TV show, “Hercules.” As a playwright, his well-known musicals are ones such as “Kinky Boots” and “Newsies.” It is intriguing to know that he will be writing the book to yet another musical. What really takes the cake is that Fierstein has a strong bond with “Mrs. Doubtfire.” In the original film, he played Frank, the fabulous makeup-artist who is the brother of Daniel Hillard. Frank gives Daniel the professional help that he needs to go through the dramatic physical change. Menken, Zippel and Fierstein are a strong group to be working on this project together, and hopefully, they make the musical as memorable as the film was.

With intentions, this musical should be dedicated to the wonderful comedian, Robin Williams, who died in his home this past August.

There is no knowledge of who will play William’s legendary role, but hopefully, it will be someone who can take on the challenge.