THEATRE REVIEW: The Bodyguard - The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford.

The Bodyguard starts with a bang, quite literally! Straightaway you’re thrown into this dramatic, sometimes overly cheesy but fun-filled musical-slash-concert. Smash hit musical The Bodyguard is back and starring in the leading role, originally made famous by Whitney Houston in the film, is Melody Thornton. You may know her from her Pussycat Doll days and TV appearances. This lead role is that of a pop-star-on-the-rise, and when Thornton starts to belt out those famous Whitney songs you can understand why she was picked for the role. However, that being said, Thornton is definitely more of a pop star than a musical theatre performer as her acting was really lacking throughout. It was often quite wooden and the delivery of certain lines was off.  

 

The Bodyguard is an intense but romantic story following up-and-coming superstar Rachel Merron. She has millions of fans but with that comes danger. After receiving threats from an unknown stalker, bodyguard Frank Farmer is hired as her protection. From hate to love in a matter of scenes, it quickly becomes a love story. Ayden Callaghan makes a stern, uptight but charming Frank Farmer. I feel the chemistry between Callaghan and Thornton isn’t quite there however and it actually felt quite jarring. I felt there was definitely more romance created between Callaghan and Emily-Mae. 

 

For me, the standout star of the show is Emily-Mae as Nicki Marron. What an incredible performer! Her silky and soulful vocals gave me goosebumps every time she sang a note and her very natural and believable acting really pulled on my heartstrings. 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the sinister moments that weaved their way through the show, causing me to be on the edge of my seat at every knife glimmer and red dot from a gun. The tense thriller moments were expertly created with the fantastic cinematic like music and of course by the fabulous Marios Nicolaides who played 'the stalker'.

 

Some sweet moments were created by Reno Kusi-Appauh who played Fletcher, he had fantastic vocals for such a young actor and had sharp choreography. Again, chemistry lacked between Thornton and Kusi with me feeling Emily-Mae's character as the aunt was more motherly.

 

It was a glittery production with quite a simple set at times and slick transitions. The ensemble were extremely talented with high energy during the dance numbers and created very light scenes in between the drama. I especially liked the karaoke bar scene, there were definitely a few laugh-out-loud moments mostly created by the ensemble. 

 

This is very much a cheesy love story kept dramatic with the stalker plot threaded through, it was an interesting balance which I really enjoyed. The only time I felt uncomfortable, and not in a good way, was during an image the was projected of Farmer before the big finale – just a bit too tacky and really took away from the emotion created by the famous “I will always love you”. The evening ended with the audience being encouraged to have a boogie after the bows which was definitely enjoyed by all. It's unquestionably a must-see just for the Whitney songs alone.

Reviewer - Bethany Vakulich
on - 8.2.23