The Bodyguard The Musical Playhouse Edinburgh 20th February 2023
Melody Thornton as Rachel Marron
The Bodyguard The Musical is at the Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh this week (Mon 20 - Sat 25 Feb) and with Melody Thornton (of the Pussycat Dolls fame) in the lead role of Rachel Marron, fans of the band and the show itself were obviously out in large numbers for this evening’s performance.
Without any doubt, Melody Thornton is someone who has literally been performing most of her life, and with the Pussycat Dolls, someone who is more than accustomed to performance and fame on a global scale, but can even she overcome the two big problems that The Bodyguard has as a stage musical? These problems are that no matter how hard anyone on stage tries, this show is forever linked to the 1992 film, on which it is based, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, and in particular that amazing five octave voice that Whitney had and her ability to make so many of the songs so identifiable with her as a performer.
It is a simple fact that very few singers have the vocal range that Whitney Houston possessed and even fewer have that vocal control too, and Melody Thornton does not have that wide vocal range at her disposal either. What Melody has is a voice that is perfectly suited for some of these songs, and the opening show number “Queen of The Night” and later in the show “I’m Every Woman” are two songs that were obviously perfectly in her vocal and performance comfort zone. A few other songs in the show were less so, particularly when coming down to the lower vocal ranges required for them, and for a moment or two Melody Thornton did seem a little bit tired on vocals, and given the touring schedule that this show has, that is no surprise as it is such a demanding role for any singer. There were also a few moments in Act I when Melody just seemed to be taking a little time to settle into some scenes, but to be fair Act II brought a far stronger and confident performer to the stage.
The role of “The Bodyguard” in this show goes to Ayden Callaghan as Frank Farmer and what dramatic elements are in this show are pretty much down to his abilities on stage. By the very nature of this show as a stage musical trying to fit in so many songs, there is little room or time left for Ayden to really explore his character in any real depth. There is a scene however where he sings (well deliberately badly sings) “I Will Always Love You” in a Karaoke Bar. Strangely, this very simple version of the song was far closer to the original Dolly Parton song that somehow has an emotional depth to it that in my opinion the re-arranged Whitney Houston cover version somehow failed to match.
This is a bit of an odd show as the focus is clearly on the songs, and one song in particular, and there are of course the big stage routines around some of these songs. Oddly though, at times a few of the dancers seemed to be struggling a little with some of the choreography and timing of these “numbers” and the end result looked less than smooth too many times. In this show, Rachel’s stalker is reduced to a silent figure pretty much walking on and off stage with at times less than the dramatic response intended. A mention does have to go to Emily-Mae, who as Rachel’s sister Nicki stole more than a scene or two with her vocal performance. This itself is interesting to me as although this story is primarily about the relationship between Rachel Marron and “The Bodyguard”, so much of it is also about the relationship between Rachel and her sister, and we never have time to do little more than skim across the surface of this very complex issue.
At the end of the day though, judging by the audience’s reactions and their comments after the show, “The Bodyguard” did everything that was expected of it as a show and gave many people a memorable night out at the theatre.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Without any doubt, Melody Thornton is someone who has literally been performing most of her life, and with the Pussycat Dolls, someone who is more than accustomed to performance and fame on a global scale, but can even she overcome the two big problems that The Bodyguard has as a stage musical? These problems are that no matter how hard anyone on stage tries, this show is forever linked to the 1992 film, on which it is based, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, and in particular that amazing five octave voice that Whitney had and her ability to make so many of the songs so identifiable with her as a performer.
It is a simple fact that very few singers have the vocal range that Whitney Houston possessed and even fewer have that vocal control too, and Melody Thornton does not have that wide vocal range at her disposal either. What Melody has is a voice that is perfectly suited for some of these songs, and the opening show number “Queen of The Night” and later in the show “I’m Every Woman” are two songs that were obviously perfectly in her vocal and performance comfort zone. A few other songs in the show were less so, particularly when coming down to the lower vocal ranges required for them, and for a moment or two Melody Thornton did seem a little bit tired on vocals, and given the touring schedule that this show has, that is no surprise as it is such a demanding role for any singer. There were also a few moments in Act I when Melody just seemed to be taking a little time to settle into some scenes, but to be fair Act II brought a far stronger and confident performer to the stage.
The role of “The Bodyguard” in this show goes to Ayden Callaghan as Frank Farmer and what dramatic elements are in this show are pretty much down to his abilities on stage. By the very nature of this show as a stage musical trying to fit in so many songs, there is little room or time left for Ayden to really explore his character in any real depth. There is a scene however where he sings (well deliberately badly sings) “I Will Always Love You” in a Karaoke Bar. Strangely, this very simple version of the song was far closer to the original Dolly Parton song that somehow has an emotional depth to it that in my opinion the re-arranged Whitney Houston cover version somehow failed to match.
This is a bit of an odd show as the focus is clearly on the songs, and one song in particular, and there are of course the big stage routines around some of these songs. Oddly though, at times a few of the dancers seemed to be struggling a little with some of the choreography and timing of these “numbers” and the end result looked less than smooth too many times. In this show, Rachel’s stalker is reduced to a silent figure pretty much walking on and off stage with at times less than the dramatic response intended. A mention does have to go to Emily-Mae, who as Rachel’s sister Nicki stole more than a scene or two with her vocal performance. This itself is interesting to me as although this story is primarily about the relationship between Rachel Marron and “The Bodyguard”, so much of it is also about the relationship between Rachel and her sister, and we never have time to do little more than skim across the surface of this very complex issue.
At the end of the day though, judging by the audience’s reactions and their comments after the show, “The Bodyguard” did everything that was expected of it as a show and gave many people a memorable night out at the theatre.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com