San Francisco, CA
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ musical causes stir in San Francisco, is hammered for being 'transphobic'
As the “Mrs. Doubtfire” musical returns center stage to San Francisco today, critics are accusing the play of containing “tired, transphobic tropes.”
“Never once did we want to be asking the audience to laugh at the notion of a man putting on a dress,” actor Rob McClure, who plays Daniel Hillard in the live-action production, told SFGate.
“To see them celebrate a story that ends with a guy in drag getting his own children’s television show, they’re giving it a standing ovation, not realizing they’re cheering against their own preconceived biases… In a weird way, they’re showing their hand, that their issue isn’t drag, it’s homophobia. It’s that if the character isn’t gay, they’re not scared of it,” the Tony nominee added.
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Robin Williams in the kitchen in a scene from the film ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’, 1993. (20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
The initial premiere of the musical version of this beloved classic in Seattle was met with outrage from its audience, catapulting 457 offended viewers to sign a petition pushing for the removal of the production in 2019. The petition demands “the tired, transphobic tropes in Mrs. Doubtfire should be left in the past.”
Inspired by the words of trans theater critic, Brin Solomon, the petition cited the premise of men wearing dresses as a “ridiculous” joke.
“The core premise of the man-in-a-dress joke is that it’s ridiculous and unnatural for a man to wear a dress. Because mainstream society, by and large, thinks of trans women as “men in dresses” instead of women, the man-in-a-dress joke perpetuates the idea that trans women are “unnatural” and fit for ridicule and scorn,” Solomon wrote.
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FW5ERC Madame Doubtfire Mrs Doubtfire 1993 real : Chris Columbus Robin Williams Sally Field COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL (COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL)
A “New York Times” review of the musical brought cause for concern about the potential for the production’s revival to live up to that of the original 1993 film starring Robin Williams.
The critique read that McClure’s version of Daniel was “more irritating than entertaining” and that the character’s behavior came off as “more creepy than kooky.”
According to SF Gate, McClure will once again be the lead of “Mrs. Doubtfire” in 2024.
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Robin Williams brooms in a scene from the film “Mrs. Doubtfire,” 1993. ( 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
The comedic classic was set in San Francisco, a fact that remains consistent in the remake, which will also highlight the local landmarks of Steiner Street and the Painted Ladies.
“The musical language of the show was born out of what’s going on for the kids in the family… [The writers] thought that was an unexplored thing from the film, the real struggle that the family is going through, and the kids’ point of view of that messy divorce was something that could sing beautifully,” McClure said.
The Broadway production will be at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco throughout the month of July.
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San Francisco, CA
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San Francisco, CA
49ers Sign DL Gracen Halton to a Four-Year Deal
The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have signed DL Gracen Halton to a four-year deal. With the signing, the 49ers now have all eight of the team’s 2026 draft picks under contract.
Halton (6-3, 293) was the first of two fourth-round draft picks (107th overall) selected by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Oklahoma. He appeared in 47 games (10 starts) over four seasons at Oklahoma (2022-25) and finished with 84 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two passes defensed. In 2025, he appeared in 13 games (seven starts) and tallied 33 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble (returned for a TD), earning Second-Team All-SEC honors. In 2024, he appeared in 13 games (three starts) and recorded 30 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. In 2023, he appeared in 11 games and tallied 11 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. As a true freshman in 2022, Halton appeared in 10 games and recorded 10 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss.
A 22-year-old native of San Diego, CA, Halton attended St. Augustine (San Diego, CA) High School.
San Francisco, CA
Multiple people lose eyes, hands in illegal fireworks-related injuries in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco emergency departments and first responders experienced a sharp increase in serious injuries over the Fourth of July weekend, with illegal fireworks and electric scooter crashes contributing to some of the busiest days in recent years.
At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, medical teams treated a wave of patients suffering severe trauma. In one incident, bystanders rushed to help a person who was bleeding heavily after a hand injury. A 911 dispatcher described the call as “Extreme Trauma. Hand injury.”
Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, said surgeons worked to treat patients with devastating injuries.
“We are able to do a lot with and sometimes save the function of the hand and eye. Unfortunately, there are injuries that exist every year where we are not able to do that even with the expertise that we have,” Colwell said.
MORE: SF police in riot gear crack down on 4th of July illegal fireworks shows: ‘It was crazy’
According to Dr. Colwell, four people lost eyes, five lost hands and at least 15 people suffered serious injuries related to electric scooters over the weekend.
“We saw a lot of electric scooter accidents. And I think part of it was that their traffic was such that that was a more efficient way of getting around town. But we also learned very clearly that the combination of electric scooters and how fast you can go in San Francisco, particularly going downhill along with not wearing a helmet and adding alcohol on board, is a really bad combination,” Colwell said.
ABC7’s data team reviewed San Francisco EMT data and found that medical incidents on July 4 and July 5 were about double the number reported during the same period in 2025.
Lt. Mariano Elias of the San Francisco Fire Department said emergency crews handled significantly more calls than usual.
“We had almost 200 more calls than we normally have so we had roughly 576 calls in a 24-hour period,” Elias said.
MORE: Over 400 people arrested during chaos at Newport Beach July 4th celebrations, police say
Illegal fireworks activity also sparked fires across the city. Firefighters responded to Telegraph Hill, where crews quickly contained a blaze.
“We did have two house fires that night on the 4th of July, due to fireworks activities,” Elias said.
City officials estimated that more than 100,000 people were in San Francisco to watch Fourth of July fireworks, creating traffic congestion that complicated ambulance response efforts.
“All the gridlock between, people coming and going from, the Golden Gate Bridge. The city was very impacted on the streets. So that was an issue. The one particular ambulance did, involve themselves in an accident. So, someone hit the ambulance. So that patient had to be transported and moved to a different ambulance,” Elias said.
First responders warned that illegal fireworks activity typically continues for days after the Fourth of July and urged the public not to take unnecessary risks.
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