Review of The Bodyguard at The Palace Theatre Manchester
The Bodyguard, starring Alexandra Burke, has arrived at the Palace Theatre Manchester and we were invited along to check it out. Here is what we thought.
Running until Saturday 4th January 2020, the Bodygaurd has now opened at Palace Theatre Manchester and we were kindly invited along to their press night for the purpose of an honest review. We sent along our reviewer Gemma and her mum to check it out and here is what they thought.
Review of The Bodyguard at The Palace Theatre Manchester
The 1992 hit film The Bodyguard starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner is one of my and my mum’s favourite films of all time and we was therefore over the moon to be invited to watch the stage show at the Palace Theatre Manchester press night.
Like the film, The Bodyguard stage show follows the story of Frank Farmer a bodyguard who is hired to protect music superstar “Rachel Marron’ who is being threatened by a stalker.
Opening with a bang, literally, which made the whole audience jump, the stage was soon filled with dancers, pyrontechnics and Rachel Marron (Alexandra Burke) as she performed Queen Of The Night. I instantly gave me goosebumps. It felt like we were at live concert.
Whitney Houston left some very big shoes to fill in the Rachel Marron role, but Alexandra Burke definitely held her own. The Bodyguard wouldn’t be complete without an array of Whitney Houston hits and Burke certaintly did them justice. From ‘I Have Nothing’, to ‘I’m Every Woman’ and ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ she did not disappoint. In fact there were moments where I thought that she might have been been lipsyncing – which of course she wasn’t, she was perfect in the role.
It will come as no surprise that the big number of the show is ‘I Will Always Love You’ and if you have ever tried to sing it you will know it is not the easiest song to master. Burke, however, hit all the highs effortlessly, stunning the audience. It is the first time I have seen an audience interupt a song with applause and it was well deserved.
Emmy Willow playing Rachels jealous sister Nikki Marron, also deserves a mention. She wowed with Saving All My Love and her Run To You duet with Burke showed she would do well with a bigger role.
Ben Lewis played the role of Frank Farmer, and although he is no Kevin Costner, he does bring a lighthearted side to the show, with his karaoke version of I Will Always Love you had everyone in stitches.
Rachel’s son Fletcher, was played in our performance by Caleb Williams and he had the role down. He proved he could not just act but also has the moves; and his solo lines serenading Burke in final number is one of the cutest things I have seen on the stage.
Although the show generally follows the film, in some parts scene for the scene, there are some variations to this well loved story however these seemed well recieved by all.
The show finished with a big rendition of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, where those itching to sing-a-long were encouraged to get up from their seats and sing and dance. This was a perfect ending to this fabulous show
The Bodyguard at the Manchester Opera House is a must see show and would make a great pre Christmas night out or an amazing Christmas present.
