Review: The good, the bad, THE BODYGUARD

Reviewing a show and giving my opinion does not come naturally to me because I believe that it is not for me to say what others should like or not like. Clearly, many people went to the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis and enjoyed THE BODYGUARD this week. And for those folks, I say that I'm truly glad you enjoyed it.

If I have to say what I thought, take it for what it's worth. I hope nothing more than to be honest and give others a little of what I felt when I got home from the theatre and read Facebook where friends were talking about their feelings about what they'd just seen. I had some mixed reactions but they were saying a lot of things that I totally agreed with.

THE BODYGUARD, as you likely know, is based on the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. I never saw that film. But as a young adult in the early 90s, I certainly heard that music on the radio. A lot. So there's definitely the nostalgia factor. It's a bit comforting to hear music you know well and see it performed live. And I think that is a huge part of the draw for those who enjoyed the production. I saw groups of women with drinks in hand dancing in their seats (and even heard at least one singing along -- which, by the way, is not very kind to your section-mates who paid to hear Grammy Award-nominated Deborah Cox sing them). The music was pretty good for 90s music. Cox and co-star Jasmin Richardson sung all the songs -- all hits of Houston's, including some that were not in the film. I found it a bit disappointing that the ensemble was not used more - they did about two numbers, maybe three, with Cox. That was the extent of the choreography, too.

Cox's first number, "Queen of the Night," actually felt like something you'd see from Beyonce. Much later, the curtain call/encore, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," was a big disco-dance party with the audience singing along and sending them out into the cold night feeling all warm and fuzzy. While these and the other songs were technically sung well by Cox and Richardson, there was not as much emotion behind them as I'd expect. But I think that may be because the story dragged them down.

Starting out with a gun shot in the dark, the story itself was pretty cheesy, as you might imagine a 1992 film on stage to be. A bit rushed on stage, there was little build up to suggest a love relationship was developing between Cox's Rachel Marron, a pop diva, and her bodyguard played by known television actor Judson Mills as Frank Farmer. The script felt thin and underdeveloped. Rachel's sister Nicki (Richardson) fell for him first, completely out of nowhere. Then Rachel and Frank fell into a love affair after he saved her from danger during a performance. Not feeling it, I was not rooting for the couple -- there just was no spark or reason for them to embrace and kiss when they did.

The Stalker, played by a muscle-rippling, shirtless (part of the time) Jorge Paniagua, started appearing early on in odd, larger than life projections on the screen that made up most of what was the set as we watched him prepare to go after his victim, Rachel. When he attempted to grab her in the show that resulted in Frank & Rachel's romance, there was no reveal as to why he was not caught right then. Later, the dialogue reveals that he is a former military man who has lost his marbles but is trained and dangerous. I don't know if that was the case in the movie but in the stage version, he was an Iraq War veteran. Wily and creepy, the Stalker gains access to Rachel's home and workplaces quite easily. When Frank whisks her away to his family cabin to protect her, the Stalker not only shows up on the doorstep but walks right in because they apparently didn't think to lock the door. After he commits a murder he apparently is caught, but we're not really sure -- it's never addressed what happened to him. But one figures he got caught because Rachel goes back to a normal life again in the end.

However, in an effort to make audience members feel safe again (or just OK with the actor), Paniagua, who gets a "boo" from the otherwise appreciative theatre-goers, joins Cox on stage and gives her a big hug before singing a verse of the dance party number and joining in on the big fun.

Speaking of big, the huge projection screen takes over again near the end when Rachel and Frank part ways and large, unnecessary images of them are shown as cover while Cox does a quick change to her finale dress while singing, "I Will Always Love You." The use of the screen as set has been popping up more and more in stage productions--especially touring shows recreating movies (I'm looking at you, GHOST and DIRTY DANCING). While I think they can be used effectively, it's a bit concerning that stage craft seems to go by the wayside in favor of projecting filmed images on large scrims these days. In this show's case, I found the screen to be a distraction that took away from the show; I spent way too much time looking at it and trying to figure why they didn't just have a set.

At first, I was not sure if this adaption was a period piece or not. It soon became clear the modern-day additions like taking selfies definitely made for a current time setting but the music was clearly from another era, so it felt a bit disconnected throughout for me.

There's my take. It may or may not match yours. If you loved it, good! If you didn't, I hope this gives you a bit of comfort or some ideas to chew on as I had after reading my Facebook friends' thoughts. Sometimes, I hope, it's OK to talk about the things you didn't love about a show.

THE BODYGUARD never played Broadway. After a stint on London's West End and some other international productions, this new U.S. national tour is having its debut in Minneapolis, where it played Jan. 10 through this weekend. Sunday's show remains but it is moving to Appleton, Wisc. this week and then to Chicago Jan. 31, if you want to wind your way south to catch it there.

More info: www.thebodyguardmusical.com or www.hennepintheatretrust.org.

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