There was much excitement earlier this year when it was announced that the Mrs Doubtfire musical - based on the hit 1993 movie - would be getting its UK premiere right here in Manchester. A month-long preview run of the show would run here in Manchester before it transfers to the West End.
Ever since September 2, audiences have been packing in to Manchester Opera House to see the show about the dad who dresses up as a redoubtable Scottish nanny to be able to see his kids - and by all accounts giving it rave reviews afterwards. But you may be wondering why there's been no official reviews on news and culture sites, as is customary for big shows at Manchester's biggest theatres.
I've even had emails sent in from readers asking why there's been no reviews of the show in the MEN - after all it's a huge four-week run at one of Manchester's most famous theatres. The reason, I explained to them, is that press sometimes aren't allowed in to big new shows until it has "bedded in" a bit with preview shows for a week or so.
Read more: Review: Bob Dylan musical Girl from The North Country at The Lowry
It's something we've seen here before with big exclusives ahead of West End runs, like the launch of the Meatloaf musical Bat out of Hell, or the Ghost musical based on another huge 1990s hit movie.
But finally, this week, I had been invited in to review Mrs Doubtfire at the Opera House. Or so I thought - until I got an email yesterday politely asking me NOT to write anything, but to come down and see it anyway.
Now, I've been reviewing theatre shows in and around Manchester for the past 20 years and this is something that has never happened to me before. Never.
Why on earth would they invite me as a member of the press and then not want me to review it? Their explanation was that it is an "evolving production" ahead of the as-yet-to-be-announced West End run, although rumoured for later this year.
They've even kept photos of the production under wraps - so the images you see here are from the original Broadway production, not of the Manchester cast.
But I'm sorry, Mrs Doubtfire producers. You can't invite me in to watch one of the best damn musical productions I've ever seen here in Manchester (and I've seen A LOT) and expect me to just keep it a secret.
Especially when there's still a chance for people here in Manchester to grab a ticket at the Opera House before it heads off to the West End.
I mean, why wouldn't I want to rave to the city's theatre-goers about the extraordinary production levels of this show? Of the stunning vocals and interplay of a brilliant ensemble cast?
Or about the moments when I was near falling off my chair roaring with laughter? Or being comforted by my friend alongside me as tears streamed down my face at the show's biggest, heart-breaking anthems about love and loss?
It's a true ensemble success at every level - but special praise to the show's lead actor Gabriel Vick as Daniel who has literally just nailed one of the biggest performances of his life here.
I mean, how do you follow a star like Robin Williams in the massive matronly shoes of Mrs Doubtfire? A role so perfectly portrayed on the big screen that the character has become something of an icon of the modern movie era.
Well, somehow, Gabriel matches it and then some. He does it without copying or mimicking Williams, he makes this role his own, while being entirely respectful to the characterisation the late, great film star captured back in 1993.
On the off-chance you don't know the plot, it begins with out-of-work actor Daniel Hillard losing a custody battle for his kids in a messy divorce from wife Miranda who is at her wits' end. In a desperate bid to keep seeing his three children, he creates the character of Euphegenia Doubtfire who businesswoman Miranda gratefully hires as the kids' nanny, unsuspecting it's her ex behind the formidable Scottish matriarch.
Daniel then must enlist the help of his showbusiness make-up artist brother and his partner (the brilliant double act of Cameron Blakely as Frank and Marcus Collins as Andre in this production) to "Make me a Woman" and bring his alter-ego to life. It is hilariously played out on stage with an all-singing and all-dancing cast of iconic divas and battleaxes before Mrs Doubtfire is "born" complete with her plaid skirt and cardi.
Mrs D's magic is then weaved at the Hillard mansion with just scene-after-scene of joy, layered with some truly poignant moments of theatre.
If you've ever been involved in, or lived through, a marriage break-up, then the show manages to touch a lot of emotional nerves. I was in floods of tears through two of the standout songs of this production - Let Go with the simply stunning vocals of Laura Tebbutt's Miranda, and Just Pretend as father Daniel and daughter Lydia (with epic vocals from Amy Everett) duet at the finale. It's just beautiful, heart-wrenching stuff on stage.
For those who know and love the film, this production really does have all the best bits of the story - with the added joy of some brilliantly hilarious song and dance numbers. I mean, does it get any better than an entire chorus line of Mrs Doubtfires doing the Riverdance?
Or laugh-out-loud as Daniel does his best to bring Miranda's new love interest, the hunky and adorable "James Bond-a-like" Stuart (Dominic Andersen) down a peg or two with the song Big Fat No around a gym.
It's also brought bang up to date from the original 1990s story, with Mrs Doubtfire's cunning ways of turning off the WiFi in the household to get the kids to do their homework. Or the nanny's hilarious attempts to get nifty in the kitchen thanks to celebrity chef Youtube videos.
The audience here in Manchester gave the talented cast a richly-deserved standing ovation on Wednesday night, and from what I hear that's been happening at each performance too.
I have no idea why theatre bosses don't want the press to write about this show because it's just wonderful - witty, heart-warming, laugh-out-loud funny and with songs you're still singing the following morning. It's got West End hit written all over it, and the good news is we've got it here in Manchester for another week (until October 1) to save you the expense of the train trip to London.
And I think that's something worth shouting about.
READ NEXT:-
- Manchester to get its biggest ever outdoor ice rink for Halloween and Christmas
- The giant inflatable monsters are back for Halloween
-
The world's largest chicken wing festival is coming to The Trafford Centre for the first time
-
The new food hall and live venue made ‘with love’ that’s breathing life into an ‘iconic building’
