The Bodyguard

When I first saw The Bodyguard in London I thought it was a show that would work in Australia provided they cast a performer who could sing the Whitney Houston songbook and sing it well. Is Paulini up to the task? She certainly is. When she’s belting out those pop-diva arias she’s the real deal, delivering powerhouse after powerhouse performance and pulling the maximum emotional weight out of every key-change. “I Will Always Love You” was simply goose-bump thrilling. She also moved well and more than held her own in the dancing department especially on “I’m Every Woman”. OK, she’s not the world’s greatest actress, neither was Whitney Houston, but with an electric stage presence she owns the Rachel Marron role.

Prinnie Stevens as her sister Nicki also impressed with her vocals, rendering a nice low-key “Saving All My Love For You” and soaring with Paulini on “Run to You”. Kip Gamblin as Frank Farmer the Bodyguard love interest brought spunk and eye-candy to a wafer-thin part and used his ballet background to good effect in the finale dance-mix.

Eye-candy was also on display with a chorus of buffed males and female cuties who brought a world of energy to their routines whenever the plot needed an adrenaline-rush, which was frequently.

The other standout performer on stage was young Rome Champion as Marron’s son Fletcher. This kid’s already a triple threat.

The production was based on the UK touring production, which used a slightly different song-stack to the West End and added some spectacular effects like flame torches and a wall of dry-ice. Mark Henderson’s lighting used every trick in the rock-concert arena from lasers to mirror-balls, Duncan McLean’s full-stage video-images were a plus whilst Karen Bruce’s choreography instantly transported us back to dance-clubs of the period.

David Skelton’s eight-piece group sounded amazingly lush on the quieter ballads in arrangements that mirrored Houston’s recordings.

The plot is highly melodramatic, opening with two gunshots and a murder and Farmer still secretes Marron away in a lakeside retreat where naturally her Stalker finds her, but although it’s risible, it’s fun.

It’s a jukebox musical, no better and no worse that many others, which is basically aimed at a 30-something female audience. They should love it, after all it’s the soundtrack of their youth. For others it’s a guilty pleasure. Don’t miss it.

Peter Pinne

Photographer: Jeff Busby