The Bodyguard – The Musical. The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
Bringing the heat to Birmingham this Christmas is The Bodyguard – The Musical.
For those that haven’t seen the movie (who hasn’t seen then movie?!) it’s the story of former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, who is hired to protect pop superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. It was originally written in the 70’s as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross but didn’t happen. Fast forward to the 90’s where it was picked up by Kevin Costner who starred in it alongside an already hugely successful Whitney Houston where it catapulted her to even greater heights. The film was the second highest grossing film of 1992 (only losing out to Disney’s “Aladdin”) and the soundtrack went on to sell 45 million copies – the biggest selling soundtrack EVER (Kevin Costner hand-picked Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” for Whitney to cover which was a stroke of genius).
The film transfers wonderfully to the stage. The action is non-stop and even though you probably know what’s going to happen it’s thrilling. The role of Rachel is played by New Zealand’s Emily Williams (Australian Idol). Emily’s voice is incredible. Whitney’s songs are famously hard to sing but Ms Williams sails through them without even breaking a sweat. She literally sounds CD quality. Taking on Frank is Ayden Callaghan (Emmerdale, Hollyoaks) who plays the part so cool you imagine him to be icy to the touch. They are ably supported by the beautifully voiced Emily-Mae as Rachel’s envious sister Nicki in an absolutely gorgeous performance. The whole cast are electrifying.
The star of the show however is the music. Alongside the Oscar nominated songs from the movie there are NUMEROUS songs from Whitney’s back catalogue. In my opinion some of the best pop songs ever written. They are glorious to hear and lend themselves wonderfully to the storyline.
Hit, after hit, after hit.
5 stars. Houston, we have no problem here.
(Darren Haywood)
