'The Bodyguard: The Musical' Adelphi Theatre ****

There have been many stage musical adaptations of popular films recently and I can say that the stage adaptation of 1992 film 'The Bodyguard' was a brilliant piece of theatre indeed. The lead role Rachel Maron, played by the excellent Heather Hedley was highly emotive indeed and I found that she captured how Whitney Houston played Rachel but of course she added her own unique style and poise to the role. The relationship between Rachel Maron and her bodyguard Frank Farmer, played so tenderly by Lloyd Owen were terrific and you could believe the romance by them throughout all sensual scenes. In addition to Lloyd Owen's superb portrayal I thought that the collaboration between him and Joshua-James Thoma (Fletcher) was so beautifully acted that I became quite touched by this and this made me relate to the relationship I have with my own father. Thea Sharrock's directing was exceptionally pleasing as I was able to understand her on vision for the theatrical stage. The choreography from Portuguese choreographer Arthur Pita was created with such precision but also organic shows the level of good this musical actually is. The work by Chris Egan, the Orchestrator and Musical Arranger and Mike Dixon, Musical Supervisor and Vocals Arranger were of a high standard of finish as the detail of the music and vocals were presented highly by the orchestra and the company. The set and costume design by Tim Hatley were exceptionally thought about and designed with how 'The Bodyguard' could be worked on the West End stage. The costumes were dramatugically accurate to the 1990's time period. I enjoyed the production of 'The Bodyguard: The Musical' immensely.