MUSICAL THEATRE
Book by Alexander
Dinelaris; based on Warner Bros film & screenplay by Lawrence Kasden
Produced
by John Frost, Michael Harrison & David Lynn (with others)
At Regent Theatre, Melbourne, until October 29, 2017
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
This review is NOT published in Herald Sun Arts & was not commissioned by Herald Sun. It is published only here on this blog. KH
Paulini Curuenavuli
certainly has the powerhouse voice capable of delivering Whitney Houston’s distinctive
and wildly successful hits but, disappointingly, The Bodyguard remains a series
of great songs in search of a musical.
Fans of Houston will not
be disappointed by Curuenavuli’s performance of the power ballads, catchy dance
tunes and bold anthems. The repertoire of songs
is extensive, including How Will I Know, Queen of the Night, One Moment in
Time, Run to You, I’m Every Woman, Greatest Love of All and Saving All My Love.
In this musical with book
by Alexander Dinelaris (based on the 1992
movie starring Houston and Kevin Costner), Curuenavuli plays Rachel Marron,
a pop diva whose life is threatened by a Stalker (Brendan Irving) thereby forcing
her manager, Bill (Patrick Williams), to employ bodyguard, Frank Farmer (Kip
Gamblin), to protect her.
The show doesn’t take off
until the end of Act One when three goofy, tipsy gals perform a hilarious
karaoke version of Where Do Broken Hearts Go that is followed by Curuenavuli’s bold
and moving delivery of the power ballad, I Have Nothing.
The highlight in this
production is the finale of I Will Always Love You followed by a kicker encore
of I Wanna Dance With Somebody during which Curuenavuli comes to life as herself and urges the opening night audience to stand and dance in their seats.
At this final point in
the show, after the curtain call, Curuenavuli morphs into a pop singer
effectively working the crowd in a way that she cannot do while in the
character of Rachel, inside a story, in a musical.
The problem with this
show is that the adaptation from screen does not work for the stage.
Yes, this is a jukebox
musical, but the scene structure is bumpy, the songs are not contextualised,
they do not advance the story and do not illuminate the characters’ journeys as
they should or can do in a musical, so the tunes seem to be strung together as
if on a musical washing line.
This show, directed by
Thea Sharrock, focuses on one character, Rachel, and is a vehicle for the lead performer. It therefore relies almost
totally on only one singing voice and, although Curuenavuli’s voice is often
thrilling, the show cries out for some dynamic range, a few duets or a layering
or variety of voices.
Another issue is that
Curuenavuli is a singer but not a skilled actor and dancer, so the character of
Rachel lacks the charisma required for such a role, and the choreography (Karen
Bruce) generally masks her limited dance skill by surrounding her with a sassy
and talented dance ensemble.
The songs eclipse the paper-thin
story about Rachel’s quest for an Oscar, her pursuit by a menacing Stalker and the
side-plot about Rachel’s sister’s jealousy (Prinnie Stevens).
The Bodyguard is really a
concert with a bit of a story between songs, but it is a fine tribute to
Houston’s stellar but too-short career.
By
Kate Herbert
Director – Thea Sharrock
Choreographer – Karen
Bruce
Set & Costume Design –
Tim Hatley
Lighting Design - Mark Henderson
Cast
Paulini Curuenavuli -Rachel
Marron
Kip Gamblin- Frank Farmer
Prinnie Stevens- Nicki
Marron
Glaston Toft -Ray Court
Andrew Hazzard -Sy
Spector
Brendan Irving- The
Stalker
Patrick Williams -Bill
Devaney
Damien Bermingham -Tony
Aston Droomer - Fletcher
(on opening night)
No comments:
Post a Comment