Whatever happened to musical comedies about cowboys and beautiful Oklahoma mornings? Or pushy stage mothers like Mama Rose?
With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jule Styne, and musical-theater traditionalists everywhere, we present “The Bodyguard: The Musical.”
Based on the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston as a pop diva pursued by a stalker, and Kevin Costner as the former Secret Service agent hired to protect her, “The Bodyguard” may be the only musical you’ll ever see that begins with a shotgun blast and no music to speak of — just lots of metallic scraping noises — and ends with a triumphant chanteuse having an Evita moment.
With a book by Alexander Dinelaris and catalog of Houston’s greatest hits, “The Bodyguard” is a creepy suspense thriller with all the taste and charm of a lurid TV melodrama.
First seen on London’s West End in 2012, just months after Houston’s untimely death, directed by Thea Sharrock and running at the Fox Theatre through Sunday, “The Bodyguard” is about the strangest “musical” I’ve witnessed.
With slinky dance choreography reminiscent of a Madonna concert and a starkly chilling design scheme worthy of a style magazine (sets and costumes are by Tim Hatley), it is also morbidly fascinating and gorgeously sung.
It also features the stiff-as-a-board Judson Mills in the title role of bodyguard Frank and Jasmin Richardson as Rachel’s competitive sister, Nicki. Indeed, the sibling rivalry between these two women, who both want Frank, is one of the more interesting attributes of this clunker, albeit in a tawdry, Bette Davis-meets-Miriam Hopkins kind of way.
That’s the good part. There’s tons of bad stuff, too.
Dinelaris’ treatment plays up the story of Rachel while de-emphasizing the bodyguard’s tale. (In the movie, he was haunted by his time in the Secret Service, including the moment in 1981 when President Reagan was shot.) It also brings the story up to the digital age, with cellphones and selfies, email and viral videos included.
But it can’t mask the ridiculous stretches of credibility that drive the plot: that the stalker (played with menace by Jorge Paniagua) could get so close to his prey, invade her son’s bedroom, kill her sister, even sneak into the Academy Awards ceremony with a handgun. Puhlease.
Or that Rachel could go from despising Frank to desiring him, quite suddenly, with little explanation other than the fact that she wants to dance with somebody, wants to feel the heat with somebody. That said, this unlikely duo’s first date, at a karaoke bar of Frank’s choice, is pretty fun to watch.
Still, I’m saving all my love for Cox. Richardson, too, for that matter. Both are marvelous singers, and though Cox might be made up to look a little more Hollywood than her stage rival, Richardson holds her own.
While the part of Frank is intended to be rather dry, Mills, a veteran TV and film actor, makes him almost deadly. Not feeling that one.
In the end, it comes down to my original point: Calling this show a “musical” is a misnomer, and a disservice to the form.
It’s a bad play with Whitney Houston music. The songs were not written to move the story forward, though they may at times describe a character’s inner drama. Still, if you are a Houston fan, or if you are drawn to material on par with “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” this tingly cat-and-mouse thriller was meant for you.
As for me, I will always not love it.
THEATER REVIEW
“The Bodyguard: The Musical”
Grade: C
Through April 2. 7:30 p.m. March 29-30; 8 p.m. March 31 and April 1; 2 p.m. April 1; 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 2. The role of Rachel Marron will be played by Jasmin Richardson for the 2 p.m. April 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 2 performances. $33.50-$128.50. Presented by Broadway in Atlanta. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 1-855-285-8499, foxtheatre.org/bodyguard.
Bottom line: For lovers of Whitney and cheesy crime drama.
