The Bodyguard Musical

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'The Bodyguard', a well known film starring the infamous talent of Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, Whitney in my opinion, will always be the number one musical diva of her time, I have always admired her natural talent.

This performance however was not a film but a theatrical musical performed at the Adelphi theatre in London, and the stars of the show were Lloyd Owen and Gloria Onitiri. The cast was small but and the staging was very intimate, it was lovely to see a show that involves only a handful of people, I felt there was a lot more focus on each character which I truly enjoyed.

I was treated to the ticket by my partner for our anniversary, I was very excited, we took our places in the dress circle and we waited for the steady progression of the lights dimming down and the silence spreading amongst the audience but to our surprise we were not met by this traditional routine but by a loud gun shot noise- BANG. The whole audience were shocked and silenced at the same time as the curtain started to rise and the show began. In my opinion, a very clever and fitting way to start the show, great idea! And trust me, I've been to more than a few theatre/operatic performances, this was a refreshing change.

The musical talent was fantastic, it must be great pressure knowing that the original score was performed by such a big talent as Whitney Houston, we started with the classic 'Queen of the Night' song from Rachel Marron's new film, all the songs performed on stage by Gloria and her sister Nicki (Debbie Kurup) were simply amazing. The vocal talent of Gloria was outstanding, when you think how many performances she performs, you have to admire the stamina of not only her but all the characters on stage. Also, the acting was what set the stage alight and for me formed the basis of this heart warming love story then for the luxurious topping all of the songs were sung with such power and emotion- perfection. I would recommend a box of tissues, especially for the amazing finale with one of the most famous love songs of all time - 'I Will Always Love You'. As he walks away from her life she sets off by singing the song he sang for her at the karaoke bar, where they shared their first kiss, very emotional.

The show lasted around 2 hours including a short interval but it managed to incorporate the whole story with all the music from the original soundtrack along with some extra songs of Whitney's. Including a spectacular encore of 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' where it turned our sad frowns into happy smiling faces as we were asked to join in and help sing the song. I left with a very big smile on my face. An extremely enjoyable show the whole way through, and amazing staging/pyrotechnics.

As a major fan of Whitney I was very cautious when entering the show, but they paid a huge tribute to her memory along with the original film but also managed to add their own original spin.

Highly recommended to anybody who enjoys musical theatre at its best. It was a lovely change from the heavier shows, a light hearted musical- truly fabulous.

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