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Meet the 2022 Tony Nominees: MRS. DOUBTFIRE's Rob McClure
May 17, 2024
The countdown to the Tony Awards has a officially begun! On June 12, the brightest stars of the 2021-22 season will shine even brighter as they gather at the iconic Radio City Music Hall to celebrate Broadway's biggest night. Leading up to the 75th Annual Tony Awards, BroadwayWorld is getting up close and personal with the nominees. Today we're studying up on Rob McClure!
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0:00
Hi, I'm Rob McClure and I'm nominated for a Tony for playing Daniel Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire the Musical
0:10
It is Tony Day my friend. Holy cow. How does it feel? It's an astonishing feeling because this season in particular is a larger celebration, right
0:20
It's not just about us. It's not just about our shows. It's a celebration of the return of the theater in the largest definition of that word
0:29
worldwide really and So this is a particularly wonderful year to be a part of
0:36
You've all been through so much. I mean you were supposed to open
0:40
You just had to get previews and everything. We just opened for the third time in two years
0:44
Yes we did. Yes we did. Third time's the charm. But isn't it so weird though
0:48
You normally do a show, you get cast, you do six weeks of rehearsals, previews and you open
0:54
And then it's like you've had a whole tour. Yeah, we did an out of town tryout
0:58
We did three previews. We closed for 18 months. We came back. We opened. We did a month
1:02
Then we closed for Omicron. Then we came back. It is, you know, for any show to get anywhere close to Broadway requires millions of miracles under normal circumstances
1:15
So the triumph, the resilience and the repeated triumphs take courage that our producers and our audiences have given us a gift to be able to still be here
1:33
and to have our work be celebrated in this way today is a wonderful validation of that work
1:40
And it's a validation that the heart of our show is landing in the way that we all hope it is
1:48
It's that wonderful thing that comedy does subversively. It's that you laugh, you laugh, you laugh and then you cry
1:54
And looking out at the audience and seeing that land on their hearts is a wonderful feeling
1:58
So as I'm asking, you have the audience in the palm of your hands the second you walk out and then you become Mrs. Doubtfire and you're in both their hands. Yeah
2:08
It must be so wonderful for a performer to have that connection with an audience
2:12
It is a profoundly moving feeling. But also in this experience particularly, there is a third party affection at play which is for Robin Williams and what he did in that film
2:25
And there is a requirement of me to earn the audience's trust with that character for them to sign the permission slip to go on this journey with me
2:36
And it's a visceral feeling when they sign it. I can feel it
2:40
I can feel the moment in the show when the audience signs the permission slip
2:44
And when the curtain goes up is not the moment. I will tell you it's not the moment because they know, right
2:51
They know that they cherish this thing. And is this guy who's not Robin Williams going to break the thing I love
2:58
Don't break the thing. I don't want to break the thing you love. But I want to honor it in a way that feels like it's mine
3:04
Because you don't want my version of his version. You want my version
3:08
But what I hoped to do was to try and make the audience feel the way I remember him making me feel
3:15
And that's that thing you were talking about when an audience goes on the ride with you and you can take them somewhere new
3:23
It's an amazing feeling. I think back on Broadway. Come on. Come on
3:30
It's the best, right? It's the best. It's a beacon of what the theater should and could be
3:35
And the continuing growth and the evolution. When you look at the shows that are being celebrated
3:41
When you look at the artists who are being celebrated. It is a reflection of the world around us in a pretty wonderful way
3:47
And it's my hope and I think all of our hope that this year we're not just celebrating a return of Broadway but a rebirth of Broadway
3:57
Come on. Come on. 2022. That will be a reminder. A reminder of just how insane it was getting here
4:09
Because if I was lucky enough to get this pin in the first place, it would have said 2020
4:14
So it's been a long road
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