'The Bodyguard' starts with a bang, quite literally! Leeds Grand Theatre is playing host to another UK tour of the hit musical based on the iconic film. Straightaway you’re thrown into this dramatic, sometimes overly cheesy, but fun-filled musical-cum-concert.
A world-famous superstar singer has been targeted 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, with an 'ah' factor again, very predictably, provided for by the singer's young son with no father.
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. The music, under the direction of Sam Hall sounded great the whole evening, or at least would have if I had been able to hear it at an appropriate level. Sadly the sound the whole evening was earpiercingly high, especially those 'pop' songs such as the opening sequence. I was forced to wear earplugs the whole evening, and still the sound was too loud! Such a shame, since this really does dampen one's enjoyment of the evening. Can all sound directors please take note... we are in a theatre, not a rock concert arena!
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.
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, projected images of filmed action, and of course by Marios Nicolaides who was a very creepy 'Stalker'.
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. Ayden Callaghan was a very uptight, 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 Callaghan 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 curtain call sequences I have ever witnessed, for him to have sung and danced a little with Thornton. Melody Thornton, perhaps best known as a former member of Pussycat Dolls takes on 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 square-on, and her lack of diction (understandability) of the lyrics was at times quite astounding! 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 was one other rather disappointing element to this production too. A smaller thing, but niggled nevertheless. This is 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 Emily-Mae) 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 Callaghan and Thornton, at least not during the first act, and then suddenly we see them in bed together! Whilst his never-to-be-requited 'affair' with her sister was very real and his fatherly love of young son, Fletcher, immediately likeable.
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 4 young actors (Kaylenn Aires Fonseca, Frankie Keita, Iesa Miller, and Reneo Kusi-Appauh). 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 - 12.6.23
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