The soundtrack from The Bodyguard became formative through my teen years. The capacity of the original soundtrack to move people through decades is what holds this stage adaptation of The Bodyguard together.
This production of The Bodyguard is stunning and powerful. It opens with a bang, quite literally. Several heads bounced on their seats as the opening gunshot startled the audience, including my cousin who grabbed my arm. Having demanded attention, the performers did not disappoint. We were treated to flawless performance of perfect renditions of singer and song-writer Whitney Houston's classics. Alexandra Burke, who plays the lead character of Rachel Marron (originally played by Whitney Houston), was pitch perfect throughout. Her voice was stunning, as were her costumes.
The stage adaptation of The Bodyguard runs through some of Whitney Houston's greatest hits, including those that did not originally feature in the movie. Within the first 20 minutes of the show, we had already heard hits such as 'Queen of the Night', 'Saving All My Love', and 'The Greatest Love of All'. It was better than being at a smooth performance of a distinguished cover-band. The story progression of the stage show is certainly more interesting than the original film's but, like the film, the characters seem rather two-dimensional, although the dresses, and gig-like ambiance, makes up for this.
Nostalgia is powerful. Throughout last night's performance, projections reminiscent of film scenes capitalised on this. Clever stage lighting and slow motion movement helped project the broken and damaged characters of those scheming to harm Rachel Marron, including her sister – Nicki Marron. Nicki Marron is played by Melissa James who – like Burke – brings some of Houston's spirit to the stage with her versions of 'Saving All My Love' and 'I Have Nothing.'
This is a tour de force of 1990s pop music. I enjoyed swinging my hips and smiling to 'I Want to Dance with Somebody' as the band grooved on until the last members of the audience filtered out.
