The Palace Theatre in Manchester plays host to another UK tour of the musical based upon the 1992 iconic film of the same name: The Bodyguard. A world-famous superstar singer has been targetted by an unknown stalker, and an ex-Secret Service agent is recruited to be her bodyguard. Inevitably they end up falling in love and tensions and jealousies are provided for rather predictably from the singer's sister, and an 'ah' factor again very predictably provided for by the singer's young son with no father. It's a romantic thriller, but the storyline is so lame that I had predicted the outcome even befoe the end of the first act. [and I have yet to watch the film].
That being said however, this show has very high production values, and those responsible for the set design (Tim Hatley) - a series of sliding panels shutting off areas of the stage was smooth and clever, and the accompanying set always fitting, and never too much - the costumes, the lighting and the special effects (Mark Henderson), all of which were excellent, giving the correct moods, venues, times, etc an authenticity and adding a touch of flair too, when allowed to let their talents run wild, such as the opening scene at one of the diva's concerts. (above picture). The music, under the direction of Michael Riley sounded great the whole evening, and sound levels (Richard Brooker) were kept at a respectable and acceptable level too. This I was more than thankful for. How often do I attend a musical, not just at The Palace Theatre, but many other venues too, and the volume is turned up to max and the floor starts to jump up to meet me. I was afraid that because the show features pop concert style scenes, that this might have been the case here too, but I am more than happy to report that Brooker realised the fact that we are a theatre audience watching a musical, and kept things that way for the entire show. Thank you sir!
Perhaps the one thing this evening which impressed me more than anything was the choreography (Karen Bruce). It was funky and modern when it needed to be, mellow and tender when it should have been, and always fresh, alive and beautifully executed.
As with the film, the musical showcases the songs of Whitney Houston, a whole evening full of some of her more well-known and popular hits... "I Will Always Love You", "Greatest Love Of All", "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "Saving All My Love" etc etc. The film starred Whitney Houston herself alongside Kevin Kostner, and so anyone portraying either of these roles on stage opens themselves up to comparison, rightly or wrongly. Where both of this evening's protagonists scored very highly is that neither of them tried to copy or emulate their more famous film counterparts, but forged their own path through the narrative and gave differing performances. Ben Lewis was a very upright, forthright, but also disarmingly charming Frank Farmer, bodyguard. There was a realism and credibility to his acting which made him instantly likeable and eminently watchable. I feel pretty certain though that Lewis is capable of singing and moving to a high standard, despite him having to act incapable to do so... and so it would have been a nice touch at the end of one of the best curtian call sequences I have ever witnessed, for him to have sung and danced a little with Burke. Alexandra Burke (best known for her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing and her debut solo 'Hallelujah') reprised the role of pop diva Rachel Marron. Her acting was OK, but sadly for me at least, I found her vocally lacking. In at least two of her solos she was singing flat; she did not hit all of the notes (especially the higher ones) square-on, and her breathing and phrasing techniques were awful, taking big breaths mid-word and seemingly not understanding the phrasing of the lyrics. I did not expect her to be Whitney Houston's standard, but at least I did expect her to be able to come close - especially for a huge UK tour. I found this very disappointing. {I hope she was just having an off-day}.
There were a couple of other rather disappointing elements to this production too. Much smaller things, but niggled nevertheless. The two which stand out most are the fact that there was absolutely no build-up to the romance between the protagonists. We are given a couple of scenes where Rachel's sister (played superbly, with a lovely voice by Emmy Willow) and Frank have dalliances with a little flirting thrown in, and we are being led to believe that this relationship will blossom. There is absolutely no chemistry between Lewis and Burke, (at least not during the first act), and suddenly we see them enjoying an intimate moment of karaoke in the same bar that Farmer first met her sister. It jarred, it felt wrong, and the romance came from nowhere. The second thing which didn't work for me was that three characters throughout the musical are either injured or killed, and yet only one of them had any blood. Curious.
The smaller roles and ensemble cast were all excellent and gave high energy and enjoyable performances. A special mention should go to the young boy who plays the singer's son, Fletcher, he has quite a large part and is on stage more than you might realise. The role is split between 6 young actors (Lemar Bucknor Jr, Noah Burnett, Rioiafari Gardner, Sheldon Golding, Ethan Marsh, and Caleb Williams). The ensemble singing (and as I have already mentioned the dancing) was delightful, and all told it was a feel-good Musical with a little suspense and murder thrown in for good measure. I think if you have already seen the film, it may be an advantage, but nevertheless, there is still much to applaud and enjoy from this current tour.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 11/12/19
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