The musical version of 90s romantic thriller The Bodyguard has returned to the Theatre Royal for a festive run until the new year. The entertaining plot features X Factor winner Alexandra Burke in the role of Rachel Marron, originally played in the movie by Whitney Houston. Rachel is a Grammy award winning singing sensation who at the height of her spectacular career finds herself harassed and stalked by an obsessed fan, endangering her life and her 10 year old son Fletcher.
Her team hires the disciplined and aloof Frank Farmer played by Benoit Marechal to protect her, however his strict and vigilant methods often clash with the feisty and independent Marron. The show unfolds through a dangerous cat and mouse game to catch the stalker and protect Marron at any cost.
From the shock opening gun shots at the start of the show (startling many audience members still settling into their seats!) the show continues to grip and delight with plenty of action, suspense and romance intertwined with show-stopping performances from Burke throughout which are the real highlights of the show.
Each song is delivered like a live show from Whitney herself, with plenty of choreography, phenomenal vocals, pyrotechnics and dazzling costumes that are worth the admission ticket alone. The chemistry sizzles throughout between Burke and Marechal as their stand offish, difficult relationship quickly blossoms into a romance, leaving the women in the audience swooning as much as they did for Kevin Costner back in the 90s.
Burke delivers a flawless, lively performance as a sexy and sassy superstar but also as a vulnerable and scared woman who fears for the life of her and her son. It is clear the soundtrack is the main attraction of the night, featuring all the Whitney Houston classics such as Queen of the Night, Run to You, How Will I Know and of course the feature track from the film, I Will Always Love You.
The soundtrack from the original film was a Number 1 album for weeks and is the best selling soundtrack of all time – so it was inevitable that much more focus would be on the show stopper classics over plot development. The musical was also updated to include some of Whitney’s later hits such as Million Dollar Bill.
Marron’s overshadowed sister played by Micha Richardson is given more of a beefed up role in the musical in comparison to the film and gives an excellent vocal performance to rival Burke. Richardson brings much needed compassion and empathy to the plot as her character longs to shine and shake off the shadow of her sister.
By the end of the show, everyone in the theatre was leaping to their feet to dance along with the final number, I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and gave the cast an enthusiastic standing ovation. A full-on entertainment show, catch it over the festive season.