‘The Bodyguard The Musical’ is no ‘Chicago’, but what it lacks in character development and narrative, it makes up for in pizazz.
Based on the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the Australian stage production stars Paulini Curuenavuli as Rachel Marron and Kip Gamblin as Frank Farmer. A jukebox musical, the production not only features songs from the Grammy winning soundtrack, but other hits from Houston’s catalogue.
Opening with a literal bang which resulted in myself and the majority of the audience jumping clean out of our skins, the show quickly introduces the star of the show, Paulini, in her first musical number, ‘Queen Of The Night’. Surrounded by buff, shirtless male dancers and framed by live flames erupting from the front of the stage, the number is the perfect vehicle for Paulini to stamp her position as a singer worthy of tackling Houston’s legacy.
With a five octave range, Paulini is undeniably a vocal powerhouse and she does absolute justice to Houston’s hits, hitting and holding the high notes of ‘I Will Always Love You’ and bringing the house down with dance hits including ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’. What really surprised me though were her dialogue scenes. When I closed my eyes, I could easily imagine that I was listening to Houston herself, with Paulini doing a fabulous job at mimicking the clipped yet velvety tones of the late diva. Bravo dialect coach.
Swinging between stoicism and annoyance, the character of Frank isn’t the meatiest to play, however Kip did a good job of bringing some depth to the character, particularly in the scenes he shares with Rachel’s son, Fletcher. Tenderness was also hinted at when the frost between Frank and Rachel eventually thaws, however I can’t say that the chemistry between the two leads was believable.
Image © Jeff BusbyPrinnie Stevens who plays Rachel’s overshadowed sister, Nicki Marron, more than holds her own vocally, with my personal highlight being her soulful ‘Saving All My Love’ solo.
The Stalker, played by Brendan Irving, isn’t the menacing threat I was yearning for. No real sense of danger is felt, and if it weren’t for my companion elbowing me to alert me to the fact that he had appeared at the front of the stage in the climactic Oscars scene, I would have missed him altogether. And that is what I think lets this production down. The lack of suspense prevents the audience from truly investing in the characters and storyline, leaving the show feeling a tad one-dimensional.
Easily my favourite scene of the night was the karaoke bar, which injected some humour into the show, and showcased the comedic timing of the leads and ensemble.
Without the soundtrack and star power of Houston and Costner, the only accolades ‘The Bodyguard’ movie would have likely received is its numerous Razzie Awards nominations. For me, the musical can therefore be forgiven for lacking any real gravitas. The scenes served their purpose, and that was to bridge the smash hit songs, and really, isn’t that what we are there for?
'The Bodyguard The Musical' Tour Dates
19 July-13 August – Queensland Performing Arts Centre24 August-15 October – Regent Theatre (Melbourne)
