"The Bodyguard", Regent Theatre, Wednesday September 6th 2017"
"The Bodyguard" The Musical" played at the Regent Theatre on Wednesday September 6th 2017"
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"The Bodyguard" The Musical" adapted from the Warner Brothers movie played at the Regent Theatre and we saw a performance on Wednesday September 6th 2017"
Paulini Curunavuli as Rachel Marron sings well and pays homage to Whitney Houston. Some of her notes were a bit wonky at times but she created the essence of the diva superstar role. Her acting was wooden but under the circumstances created the diva distance. Paulini Curunavuli sounded tired. Her acting was wooden but she sang quite well.
Kip Gamblin as the Frank Farmer/bodyguard role is dry and understated. His is an underestimated role as he has to always make sure he is making Rachel Marron look good. His best moment is his relationship and interaction with Rachel's son Fletcher played by one of the children.
The other standout performance was Prinnie Stevens as Rachel's sister Nicki Marron as her singing was more in tune but sadly lacked the diction of Paulini Curunavuli.
The ensemble singing was ordinary with harmonies of a fair quality. There was nothing to get excited about and say you must see this show.
The staging was high school drama quality with some very basic blocking.
The drama by exposing "The Stalker" in the programme notes, and by revealing his face on stage reduced any potential drama. Had we not seen his face would have had the audience more on edge and attentive.
The ending was satisfyingly succinct with the Frank Farmer slightly upstage right of Rachel Marron. I thought this worked better than the film to create a polished ending.
The Lighting Design by Mark Hendersen has the obligatory simple facade of flashiness to be able to transport quickly between cities. What it lacks is the ability to rev up an audience with anticipation and a sense of an event.
The opening scene reminded me of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard" with the famous chase scene and the shadows. It was a good strong opening with the jump-out-of-your-seat gunshot as it blasting through the theatre. This gunshot certainly gained our attention. "The Bodyguard - the musical" has one of the strongest openings of a musical. Sadly this standard was not to continue.
The Set and Costume Design by Tim Hatley is adequate and functional. The best part is the venetian blind effect of transitions. The framing technique to create various locations worked most of the time, but needed more support from the direction and the lighting design to complete the process. The best set design was the log cabin scene as it framed the scene well and created visual and dramatic tension to the story line. The curtain with horizontal lines framed the set by continuing the lines of horizontal log exterior and created a ceiling line for the cabin to both heighten the tension and create a sense of realism. Easily the best set design.
The first act was very stilted. The stalker should not have been revealed on the screen or by revealing his face from underneath his hoodie. This reveal reduced any potential tension in the story-line.
The choreography by Karen Bruce was was ordinary to say the least but adequate. Sadly, only the girls were up to Karen Bruce's choreographic realisation. The dancing by the girls was slicker than the guys. The men were beefed up and some porgy and puffed up to the point that they could not dance. Yes, the men could move and had reasonable bodies with their six packs but should learn how to support a partner with a plie and preparation. The men's pirouettes were off and any extensions were either nonexistent or choreography absent. One man "marked" or "walked" the entire show without any sign of effort or excitement. The back roll needs work or you will damage both your bodies! These men may have reasonably good bodies and move well but few of them could really dance well.
Half of the dancers when hitting their marks or spots for positions in the choreography were sloppy. The dance captain needs to discipline them while the Bodyguard is present!
I can understand why this show has never reached Broadway. It reminds me of "Ghost - the musical' which died a death on Broadway but has been touring the world for years to recoup costs with a reduced touring set and lighting design.
The scene when Frank Farmer enters the rehearsal is contrived and looks like an amateur High School musical director has blocked the scene. It lacked any truth to what happened with the business and excitement in the movie . This scene lost the opportunity to make a first impression on Rachel Marron with blocking and lighting.
I lent my young neighbour my programme before the show started. As the show began she tried to hide her phone under her coat for her texting addiction. I had to use my programme as a shield to hide the light. At interval, I asked her not to turn on her phone and text as it was distracting. Her mother said "I told you so and you would not listen..." I thought she was young and excited to see the show, so I took some leeway and thought my offering her a loan of my programme may appease her. No, sadly a feral!
"The Bodyguard" The Musical" obtained a generous 6/10. My partner wanted to leave at interval and gave it 4/10 only because the second half was better than the first act.
Paulini Curunavuli as Rachel Marron sings well and pays homage to Whitney Houston. Some of her notes were a bit wonky at times but she created the essence of the diva superstar role. Her acting was wooden but under the circumstances created the diva distance. Paulini Curunavuli sounded tired. Her acting was wooden but she sang quite well.
Kip Gamblin as the Frank Farmer/bodyguard role is dry and understated. His is an underestimated role as he has to always make sure he is making Rachel Marron look good. His best moment is his relationship and interaction with Rachel's son Fletcher played by one of the children.
The other standout performance was Prinnie Stevens as Rachel's sister Nicki Marron as her singing was more in tune but sadly lacked the diction of Paulini Curunavuli.
The ensemble singing was ordinary with harmonies of a fair quality. There was nothing to get excited about and say you must see this show.
The drama by exposing "The Stalker" in the programme notes, and by revealing his face on stage reduced any potential drama. Had we not seen his face would have had the audience more on edge and attentive.
The ending was satisfyingly succinct with the Frank Farmer slightly upstage right of Rachel Marron. I thought this worked better than the film to create a polished ending.
The Lighting Design by Mark Hendersen has the obligatory simple facade of flashiness to be able to transport quickly between cities. What it lacks is the ability to rev up an audience with anticipation and a sense of an event.
The opening scene reminded me of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard" with the famous chase scene and the shadows. It was a good strong opening with the jump-out-of-your-seat gunshot as it blasting through the theatre. This gunshot certainly gained our attention. "The Bodyguard - the musical" has one of the strongest openings of a musical. Sadly this standard was not to continue.
The Set and Costume Design by Tim Hatley is adequate and functional. The best part is the venetian blind effect of transitions. The framing technique to create various locations worked most of the time, but needed more support from the direction and the lighting design to complete the process. The best set design was the log cabin scene as it framed the scene well and created visual and dramatic tension to the story line. The curtain with horizontal lines framed the set by continuing the lines of horizontal log exterior and created a ceiling line for the cabin to both heighten the tension and create a sense of realism. Easily the best set design.
The first act was very stilted. The stalker should not have been revealed on the screen or by revealing his face from underneath his hoodie. This reveal reduced any potential tension in the story-line.
The choreography by Karen Bruce was was ordinary to say the least but adequate. Sadly, only the girls were up to Karen Bruce's choreographic realisation. The dancing by the girls was slicker than the guys. The men were beefed up and some porgy and puffed up to the point that they could not dance. Yes, the men could move and had reasonable bodies with their six packs but should learn how to support a partner with a plie and preparation. The men's pirouettes were off and any extensions were either nonexistent or choreography absent. One man "marked" or "walked" the entire show without any sign of effort or excitement. The back roll needs work or you will damage both your bodies! These men may have reasonably good bodies and move well but few of them could really dance well.
Half of the dancers when hitting their marks or spots for positions in the choreography were sloppy. The dance captain needs to discipline them while the Bodyguard is present!
I can understand why this show has never reached Broadway. It reminds me of "Ghost - the musical' which died a death on Broadway but has been touring the world for years to recoup costs with a reduced touring set and lighting design.
The scene when Frank Farmer enters the rehearsal is contrived and looks like an amateur High School musical director has blocked the scene. It lacked any truth to what happened with the business and excitement in the movie . This scene lost the opportunity to make a first impression on Rachel Marron with blocking and lighting.
I lent my young neighbour my programme before the show started. As the show began she tried to hide her phone under her coat for her texting addiction. I had to use my programme as a shield to hide the light. At interval, I asked her not to turn on her phone and text as it was distracting. Her mother said "I told you so and you would not listen..." I thought she was young and excited to see the show, so I took some leeway and thought my offering her a loan of my programme may appease her. No, sadly a feral!
"The Bodyguard" The Musical" obtained a generous 6/10. My partner wanted to leave at interval and gave it 4/10 only because the second half was better than the first act.
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