Confirmed! Tony Winner Heather Headley to Lead BODYGUARD Musical; Talks West End, Broadway

[macbeth]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 11:43am

Very excited about this one, at least musically.
Click Here to Read Confirmed! Tony Winner Heather Headley to Lead BODYGUARD Musical; Talks West End, Broadway

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 11:47am

I'm not excited if it's going to be a jukebox musical, which is what Headley's comment suggests. I can understand using "I Will Always Love You" due to its connection with the film, but why use "the Whitney Houston catalogue"? This material has so much potential for original music!

And I guess Headley's bitchy comments about not returning to the theatre until her fifties didn't really pan out.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 12:25pm

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I truly hope she brings this to Broadway. While I wish it were a musical i cared about, I'm very excited to just see her live again.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 12:35pm

I know I shouldn't think this, but I can help but imagine Kermit the Frog starring in the stage version of THE BODYGUARD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nptZDHH8Ug4

[Donthatecongratulate]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 1:45pm

Her voice is a little tinny to take on Whitney Houston's best work no?

Don't get me wrong, I love Heather Headley and I think this will be a powerful acting role, but it's like covering one of the best soundtracks of all time. I'd love to see her in a role that doesn't take on a better singer.

[Blactor]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 2:15pm

AC,

What did she say about not returning to the theater??? When did she say it?

I respect her though, she had an admirable R&B recording career for a "hot minute", as we say in the urban parlance :)

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 2:40pm

This is one show I can't get excited about at all.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 2:42pm

Another juke box musical, this one using the Whitney Houston catalogue?
I couldn't care less.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 3:13pm

i never saw the flick,besides I ah I ah I WILL ALLLLLLLWAAAAAAYS LOVE YOU-OUHHHOUHH, What else did she sing?

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 3:14pm

I am wondering if this "cataloug" is just the songs from the movie or other Whitney Houston songs.

I am with Matt on this. Not excited at all about it. As far as Ms Headley is concerned, I enjoyed her 1st solo CD but was not impressed with her statement about coming back/not coming back to Broadway a few years ago. She made it sound beneath her. I lost some respect for her. Plus this will be a jukebox musical and I am not one to go to them. JMO

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 3:36pm

Blactor--she made a comment several years ago, in an interview, about how she'd return to Broadway/theatre when/if her music career stopped being viable. Her quote was something like, "I can always do Broadway when I'm 50." A lot of people found it obnoxious, like that Broadway was beneath her if she could do something more lucrative. (I seem to remember her also making comments about her consciously using Broadway as a stepping stone for what she really wanted--a solo music career--but I don't have the documentation in front of me)

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 3:41pm

Yup. I lost all interest in her and her career after her obnoxious remarks.

Something also happened between she and Sherie Renee Scott because Scott often alludes to the fact that one day Headley just stopped talking to her and never told her why. It seems to have really bothered Sherie.

[Blactor]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 5:02pm

LOL wow. Those are definitely some salt-worthy comments!

[Brick]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 5:20pm

Let's be honest here, people, what show could she have been in? She's also made comments in recent years about a desire to return, even titling her NY concert in a Bway house "Home".

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 6:07pm

Off the top of my head...the recent Dreamgirls tour, the Ragtime revival, Hair...there are plenty of possibilities.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 6:21pm

If your question is race-based, Brick, I'd then ask why that would matter. We live in the era of color-blind casting, so she wouldn't necessarily have to play a role associated with a black actor, or be in a "black show".

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 6:32pm

Except no one liked her in the Dreamgirls concert (she might have been better as Deena), she looks her age so HAiR was kinda out, and she doesn't have the high notes for Sarah in Ragtime...

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 6:35pm

Except no one liked her in the Dreamgirls concert (she might have been better as Deena)

She was the best part of the DREAMGIRLS concert to me, with White phoning in her eighties interpretation and McDonald severely miscast.

And, like I said, why would she be strictly confined to "black" roles in "black" shows?

[theatreguy]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 7:30pm

Who said she had to be strictly confined to black roles? Adamgreer mentioned Ragtime and Dreamgirls (though I don't think it would have made sense for her to do either of those) but, as he said, there are plenty of possibilities.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 7:44pm

I was merely commenting on his suggestions. And AC1, you may be the only person I've ever heard say that about her in Dreamgirls. (I agree with you about the other two, though).

Honestly, I like Headley, I just can't think of anything I've wanted to see her in.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 8:06pm

A jukebox musical based on a sh**ty movie featuring the boring songs of Whitney Houston? I'm sure strident fankids of dubious taste will chime in on how AMAZING it is. I'll pass.

[Blactor]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 9:22pm

We can't really say we live in an era of colorblind casting, as far as Broadway--if that were true, shows such as "Ms. Warren's Profession" or "The Importance of Being Earnest" would have taken advantage of the huge talent pool of highly-trained non-white actors available. Plus a trip to Ripley-Grier or Pearl Studios is evidence of a myriad of ridiculously talented and diverse pools of ethnic performers...whom you usually see peppering chorus lines, not in principal roles. It's more accurate to say that we live in an era where colorblind casting is a less-remote possibility than it used to be.

But I actually agree with Brick, I can't think of a show that's been on the boards recently that Hedley could have done or would have been considered for. Hmmm...

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 9:26pm

"We can't really say we live in an era of colorblind casting, as far as Broadway--if that were true, shows such as "Ms. Warren's Profession" or "The Importance of Being Earnest" would have taken advantage of the huge talent pool of highly-trained non-white actors available."

Yeah, that statemtn comes off as a really racist to me. There are still a lot of white actors who work as well and you're saying that they shouldn't be cast because there are black actors who deserve it more because they're black? I'm certainly not going to get into a "color blind casting" argument over this but I think that's a really stupid argument.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 9:40pm

Who said she had to be strictly confined to black roles?

Well, the three shows Adam mentioned either center around, or feature major subplots that deal with race. I'm not suggesting this is racist by any means, but it seems like the assumption that Headley hasn't been on Broadway is because there aren't sufficient "black" roles. (Also, the ludicrousness of her playing roles like Sarah or Dionne, to which she's completely ill-suited, suggests hypothetical casting based on color) Interesting thing to note: race is never mentioned in THE BODYGUARD. The film was written with Madonna in mind, but when Houston was cast, the script was never changed in any way to reflect Rachael's race or the interracial relationship between her and Frank.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/10/11 at 9:43pm

Off the top of my head...the recent Dreamgirls tour, the Ragtime revival, Hair...there are plenty of possibilities.

You just justified exactly why Headley has been waiting so long to return to the stage. Any ill-will toward her absence should be directed at the writers who aren't creating enough quality roles for African-American actresses, not Headley herself. As she's said numerous times when asked, she's always been open to reading scripts and considering stage work should something worth committing to come along. It was always a question of when the right vehicle would present itself to bring her back to theater, not if it would.

The quotes about her "disrespecting" Broadway are being (and always have been) completely misinterpreted. What she conveyed at the time was that, after having achieved significant success in theater, she wanted to take the opportunity to challenge herself in a medium in which she didn't have much experience (the music industry.) She rightfully said that theater was something she knew she could always and would always come back to later on in her life. What's wrong with admitting that? It doesn't make her commitment to wanting to do theater any less. People conveniently leave out the fact that she also got married, moved to Chicago, and started a family in the ensuing years, which played an equally big part in why she's relied on the less demanding schedule that concerts and albums have afforded her.

The role of Rachel in THE BODYGUARD is a dynamite leading character that will give her the opportunity to sing some of the best music of the last twenty years. It's the perfect vehicle for her return, and I applaud her for waiting for the right project to come along instead of just doing whatever was offered to her.

Updated On: 10/10/11 at 09:43 PM