Sunday 16th June 2013 by Will Langdale
This week has seen the incredibly exciting news of a cast change in The Bodyguard. The incredibly talented British soul singer, Beverley Knight, is taking over in the lead role of Rachel Marron. With hit singles including Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Greatest Day and Get Up!, we’re incredibly excited for Beverley to take on the role that’s absolutely perfect for her. As if that wasn’t enough, Casualty’s dishy doc Tristan Gemmill will be opposite her, playing the eponymous bodyguard Frank Farmer, who expects to protect Rachel, not fall in love with her.
The musical is based on the wildly popular 1992 film starring Whitney Houston as Rachel and a smouldering Kevin Costner as Frank. Frank is hired to protect Rachel, a superstar diva nominated for an Oscar, when she is threatened by an unknown stalker. Though Frank sees Rachel as spoiled and careless, the two grow together, and find something neither of them had ever expected – love. With a screenplay that had actually been written for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross in 1976, and the film’s soundtrack is the best-selling of all time, with over 42 million sold worldwide.
The star of the film, Whitney Houston, tragically passed away just months before the musical of The Bodyguard opened in 2012, with producers wisely leaving a few months before announcing the project, which had been in the works long before the singer’s untimely death. Though Whitney’s passing was a loss for the world of both stage and screen, reviews managed to stay upbeat, with The Independent touchingly commenting that "with Whitney's star role reborn, it seems we'll always love her".
The Bodyguard has been a huge success since it opened, with Heather Headley and Lloyd Owen, who have originated the stage roles of Rachel and Frank, receiving wide acclaim. Heather was even nominated for Best Actress in the Whatsonstage.com awards, which are voted for entirely by the theatregoing public. Reviews were very strong, with plenty of stars from the critics at the Daily Mail, Independent and Telegraph. The show has been enjoyed by thousands of happy theatregoers already, and is among several musicals who have this week announced extensions through to 2014, putting it in such glittering company as The Mousetrap, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Once.
Hopefully Beverley Knight and Tristan Gemmill can successfully take over from the wonderful performances put in by Heather and Lloyd, and take the roles to new heights. Both are talented and experienced performers who have a huge amount of energy to bring to the roles. With such a fantastic pedigree, The Bodyguard is set to become a runaway West End success – here’s hoping it’s celebrating an extension through to 2015 this time next year!
Deal of the week
Why not book one of our Bodyguard theatre breaks? If you do it in the next week just use the voucher code BODYGUARDBLOG to get a sly 5% off – choose from one of our centrally-located hotels and enjoy a fantastic night in the West End.