In 1992, Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner bought The Bodyguard film by screenplay writer Lawrence Kasden to the big screen. With the rise of “stalking cases” against celebrities, this film showed the extremes these “obsessed fans” would go to to get what they desired.
Press night saw Mireia Mambo step into the female lead role as the infamous singer and Grammy award winner Rachel Marron. Mambo’s performance became stronger as the night went on, and she relaxed into the role. Whitney Houston is a tough act to follow, and Mambo covered perfectly a range of her well-known songs from the original film.
Adam Garcia plays the highly experienced bodyguard, Frank Farmer. Employed to protect Marron from the elusive stalker who is getting closer to the singer and managing to remain invisible. Farmer is met with hostility at first, and Marron kicks back at everything he wants her to do in order to stay safe. Inevitably, her attitude changes when the danger becomes real and she’s face to face with her stalker. Then the “cat and mouse games” begin, and Farmer has to step up the protection.
The musical has been updated since the film was launched. One of these is the shared Instagram post from the karaoke bar showing where Marron and Farmer had been for the evening.
For this performance, Marron’s son Fletcher is played by Phoenix Beharry. Despite all the craziness going on in his homelife, he remains grounded and polite.
Set and costume designer Tim Hatley combines the glitzy entertainment side of Marron’s life alongside the “normal” every day. The audience is treated to a range of her fabulous stage costumes to her casual jeans and a sweater. The picture above features Marron in a stunning outfit, which can be seen during the musical.
Choreographer Karen Bruce brings the magic of this musical to life. With an incredibly strong ensemble of dancers who accompany Marron on stage with ease.
Although The Bodyguard The Musical is a fictional storyline, these situations can be faced by celebrities on a daily basis and echoes the rise in dangerous stalkers who will go to any length to breathe fear into they victims.
For more information about The Bodyguard The Musical, and future productions at Woking Theatre, please use the link below.
Four Stars.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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