Review: The Bodyguard at Sunderland Empire

“…a strong love story with a timely message… accompanied by some fantastic songs…”

The Bodyguard by Lawrence Kasdan, Sunderland Empire

By Kay Wilson

The opening scene of The Bodyguard couldn’t have had more impact on its audience. I won’t spoil the surprise of what happens, but let’s just that the say global events of the last two days seemed to be brought very near home.

After the dramatic opening, everyone buckled in and seemed to enjoy this energetic ride of a show. Based on a very successful Warner Bros. film from 1992 starring Whitney Houston, the plot tells the story of Rachel Marron, played by Sidonie Smith, a female megastar at the height of her singing career. There are twists and turns as the implications of success take their toll on Rachel and her family’s lives.

The show’s premise is lightweight but still works well. Rachel needs to be protected from a stalker, very well played by James-Lee Harris. There are dilemmas and tension about this as she has to perform profile-raising shows, to help her achieve a childhood dream of winning an Oscar. The scenes in this storyline were chilling and full of impact.

Sidonie Smith had just the right amount of charisma for this leading role as well as strong chemistry with the well-established actor from stage and screen, Adam Garcia, playing the role of her bodyguard, Frank Farmer. Garcia delivered a strong performance with a great mix of stage presence and quiet authority which worked well in the role. The couple’s relationship was believable and helped carry the show.

One of the strongest supporting performances was Sasha Monique as Rachel’s sister, Nicki. Her voice was outstanding and shone in every number where she was the lead. The relationship between the sisters had an interesting depth that really added to the show’s impact. Their feelings for each other ranged from caring to jealousy and pain at unfulfilled ambition.

Rachel Marron’s entourage – namely Bill Devaney, Tony Scibelli, Sy Spector and Ray Court, played respectively by John Macaulay, Jonathan Alden, Matt Milburn and Ryan Bennet – worked well. Their behind-the-scenes dramas of how to deal with a superstar and all of the trappings of success versus personal safety were strong performances.

Rachel’s striving for the ultimate success gave a great excuse to introduce an unrivalled list of hits including I Will Always Love You, Greatest Love of All and I Wanna Dance With Somebody. These musical numbers were one of the highlights of the show. All of the tracks were also great reminders of the star of the original film, Whitney Houston’s virtuoso performance and back catalogue. She left huge shoes to fill and there were occasions where this show didn’t quite hit the mark, though this was mainly due to the occasional dip in the sound quality which hit rock-concert-loud levels at times.

The ensemble and swing performers were excellent and gave the show a lively atmosphere. They were as good in the smaller-scale scenes as they were in the big show depictions of Rachel, the superstar, on stage. There was a particularly funny scene in an intimate karaoke bar which was a lovely and welcome shift in tone, compared to the depiction of large-scale concert performances. I liked the touch of Rachel Marron’s character stepping up to sing one of her own hits in this tiny venue.

All of the set designs worked well and I particularly enjoyed the way the large-scale theatrical show depictions used fantastic pyrotechnics. We, the audience, also became part of the actual scene. The finale was a totally unexpected, great and entertaining surprise which sent everyone out into the night on a high. I would recommend this show as it’s a strong love story with a timely message about the power and danger of fame, accompanied by some fantastic songs.

The Bodyguard plays at Sunderland Empire until Saturday 02 May. Tickets are available here.

Kay Wilson is a North East-based writer. She won Runner-Up in the Self-Published category at the Comedy Women in Print awards for her debut novel, The Stand-Up Mam. It was inspired by her own experience of performing comedy for two years and charts the adventures of a perfect mother who does stand-up. It transforms her but blows up family life. Described as ‘hilarious and heart-warming’, signed copies can be bought at The Bound bookshop, Whitley Bay. The novel is also available on Amazon here. Kay has a website which promotes extraordinary women and gives updates on her writing life.