An entertaining, but fatal blow to the musical theatre scene.
Now touring the UK, The Bodyguard: The Musical adapts the cult classic story of a pop-star and a bodyguard’s forbidden love to the stage. This jukebox musical brings the songs of Whitney Houston to the stage, performed by the titular character Rachel Marron, who Houston originally played in the 1992 movie. A homage to Houston’s work, both from the movie and across her music career, this decision is logical, but also creates a peculiar presence in the play.
The huge irony with this musical is that, despite Houston’s star-power and the endless barrage of hits her career offers, the audiences attended for the cultural behemoth that is this story. We all know the beats: pop-star in danger, cold no-nonsense bodyguard hired, forbidden love rises into sensual love, which falls apart so they can overcome danger. And these moments are emphasised to the nth degree, including Frank’s iconic princess-style carry of Rachel, which the show emphasises with a spotlight and slow motion.
This musical is an example of what happens when a story we all know is adapted by a team that is resistant to making committed and stimulating decisions. The audience laughed at moments of high tension, like when The Stalker appeared and murdered Nicki, and show sequences of dance numbers and pyro-technics to Houston’s music offered the potential of meta-theatricality, but nothing came to fruition. Unfortunately, every musical number in this show fulfils the same purpose: to express longing, yearning, love and lust. As any musical theatre aficionado will tell you, each song should deliver a unique emotional release, or reveal some new information. Spread across two hours and twenty minutes of theatre, the message is clear: here is a story you know, with some Houston karaoke in between.
The Coup de Grâce came during the bows, where the audience booed at the villain, applauded at the romantic leads, and the entire cast broke out into a free-form “everyone on their feet” dance number. The framing became evident; this is a deeply dramatic story about desire, told through an unhinged serial killer and a deeply taboo love, turned into a pantomime. It was an extremely discordant reception.
The potential this show had for sharp creative direction was immense, but ultimately it is the show’s direction as a whole which fails its talented cast. While Frank may have been portrayed as genuinely cold and hardboiled, instead he was portrayed as a quasi-suave straight man. And while Rachel’s portrayal was certainly more effervescent, it had a hard time moving into any kind of unpredictable area. Altogether, direction has led these performers to speak and embody the most obvious of emotions, leaving nothing up to interpretation as the evening produces a simulated nostalgia for a been-and-gone 90s America.
The true shame is that this is an incredible team. The cast is packed with extremely talented and confident performers, with a particular standout being Sasha Monique as Nicki Marron. Vocal performances are magnetic; Monique and Sidonie Smith will certainly knock your socks off. Finally, dance numbers and action sequences are truly well-choreographed and punctuated delightfully with tech, including an opening sequence that’ll undoubtedly have your ears perked up. A highlight was the Karaoke bar scene, where Adam Garcia showed fantastic and infectious comedic timing. These elements all create the most entertaining elements of the production.
Unfortunately, The Bodyguard: The Musical fails to adapt the source material meaningfully. This is The Bodyguard, but engineered for the fantasy-erotica crowd that later embraced the flick: complexity removed to make way for Jukebox sing-alongs. While entertaining, filled with excellent performances across the board, The Bodyguard: The Musical (plus the increasing list of nostalgic West-End movie musicals) certainly makes one wonder if this is the best commercial theatre can do.
The Bodyguard: The Musical runs at the Edinburgh Playhouse until the 23rd of May, before moving on to Glasgow. Tickets here.