The Bodyguard to tour with Deborah Cox?

[theaterdrew]

Posted: 5/11/15 at 11:07pm

According to this twitter poster who is attending The Broadway League's Spring Road Conference, Deborah Cox will be starring as Rachel in The Bodyguard tour launching 2015-16 season.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/11/15 at 11:21pm

Now where near as awful as "Ghost" , but still nothing special. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/11/15 at 11:28pm

I LOVE Deborah Cox.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 5/11/15 at 11:32pm

I thought she was doing that new musical Josephine? 

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 5/11/15 at 11:44pm

She was AMAZING in Jekyll & Hyde. What a voice. Super excited to see this.

[silent]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:13am

I don't think a theater has been reserved for "Josephine." She'll be playing her at a theater in Florida. 

What is the purpose of a national tour before it hits Broadway? Jekyll & Hyde probably would have done better without that tour. 

[Tag]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:18am

With a good show doctor (to clean it up - especially the Oscars/shooting moment) and a new set design, this show could be quite good.  It was entertaining in it's West End incarnation.  The stalker character was a bit too creepy though.  There's a certain moment (that isn't in the film, which I won't spoil) where the audience loudly gasped.  I've never experienced that before in the theatre.  Creepy!

[bandit964]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 7:33am

http://asolorep.org/upcoming 

The Asolo Rep website still claims Deborah is playing Josephine April 27 - May 5 2016.

Updated On: 5/12/15 at 07:33 AM

[philly03]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 10:23am

Happy for Deborah.. She is really putting the effort to be a bigger part of the Broadway community and deserves all the success - what a voice.  Glad to see Josephine is finally taking off (one of the reasons she agreed/was approached to tour Jekyll was an agreement with the Nederlanders re Josephine). 

Updated On: 5/12/15 at 10:23 AM

[RW3]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 11:03am

If this is true, I'm excited. Also, the current UK and Ireland Tour staging has been completely retooled since the West End run. So, if it does tour, I think that staging would be used. In addition, The Bodyguard will be opening in The Netherlands in September.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 12:36pm

Cox ruined most of what she sang in J&H and really couldn't sustain the belting for the entirety of the tour/run.  She was out a ton and when she was in, she sounded a little gritty.  Frankly, once you've heard Linda Eder sing the songs, you can't imagine anyone else doing it better.  

Cox: She's got a great voice, but J&H didn't really showcase that.  I'd think if she can keep her voice healthy, The Bodyguard might do well for her.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 12:51pm

^^ She was certainly out of the tour quite a bit, but I think only missed one performance on Broadway (which granted, she had been performing the role for 7-8 months at that point). All of the performances on Broadway I saw her she was absolutely phenomenal vocally, so I have no clue what you are talking about, particularly for the huge reaction she got nightly for "A New Life." (I am, however, an unabashed huge Linda Eder fan)

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 1:10pm

maybe this will be a pre-Broadway tour?? Lasting only 6-8 months, then heading back into workshop mode, then arriving on Broadway by Spring 2017.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 1:13pm

I saw the closing performance of Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway, and while the show itself isn't worth much, Cox positively blew the roof off the theater. Whatever vocal issues she had on tour were nowhere in evidence at the Marquis. She sang thrillingly and fearlessly, and I would call it one of the best vocal performances I've experienced in the last decade or so on Broadway. Shame it was wasted on a lousy show, but I'm glad I got to hear her sing.

[RW3]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 1:19pm

ACL2006, I have to disagree with you. I think this will be a pre-Broadway tour and then straight to Broadway. The current tour has been completely reworked and I think the productions that are opening in Germany and The Netherlands in the Fall will be evidence of that. However, they could very well redesign the show again.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 1:53pm

As mentioned, Deborah Cox will be doing Josephine (her theatrical project she's been attached to for years) at the Asolo spring 2016. Assuming the Nederlanders are still producing this, I wonder if they want Cox to tour to "guarantee" a theatre for Josephine (also produced by the Nederlanders as was Jekyll), and Heather Hadley will originate on Broadway.

[getatme]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:16pm

FWIW, the girl who understudied Deborah on tour only went on 4 times on the road and once on Broadway. Not really sure 5 times qualifies as a lot. Maybe he vocal performances were inconsistent because she called out infrequently, but I've heard the exact opposite about her attendance record during that production.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 3:50pm

I hope the revert back to the West End design and choreography for the tour, and eventually Broadway. I think American theaters can handle larger sets than regional theaters in the UK. The new UK tour is certainly scaled down in terms of set, some characters have been completely written off (Frank's father, the second detective) and the stalker has less to do and is not as sexy as the West End version. For the person who wrote about the gasping moment-that is still there in the tour. 

The new choreography is awful, and the original Queen of the Night has been replaced by something really tacky. 

The Dutch and German productions (the former NOT directed by Thea Sharrock, Germany TBC) will probably inform what the US tour will be like. 

I wonder if Heather Headley is still poised for Broadway. She was truly sensational, despite the endless absences. 

[sparepart973]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 3:50pm

I hope the revert back to the West End design and choreography for the tour, and eventually Broadway. I think American theaters can handle larger sets than regional theaters in the UK. The new UK tour is certainly scaled down in terms of set, some characters have been completely written off (Frank's father, the second detective) and the stalker has less to do and is not as sexy as the West End version. For the person who wrote about the gasping moment-that is still there in the tour. 

The new choreography is awful, and the original Queen of the Night has been replaced by something really tacky. 

The Dutch and German productions (the former NOT directed by Thea Sharrock, Germany TBC) will probably inform what the US tour will be like. 

I wonder if Heather Headley is still poised for Broadway. She was truly sensational, despite the endless absences. 

[Pauly3]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 8:56pm

Deborah Cox is the only reason I am now interested in seeing this.  I saw one of her first few J&H performances and really liked her a lot, but I was in awe 5-6 months later on opening night at the Pantages in LA.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 7:08pm

I have been listening to the new UK tour cast album a lot. Alexandra Burke sounds fantastic, but I seriously can not wait to hear Deborah Cox sing these songs. I think she is absolutely perfect for the role of Rachel. I am really looking forward to this coming over to the U.S.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/29/17 at 10:53am

Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I wasn't sure which thread would be best to ask this in. 

Has the show been offering rush at any of the stops? or does anyone know if they will be offering rush in Chicago?   

[sephyr]

Posted: 1/29/17 at 6:15pm

They had a rush night in Memphis but not a general rush.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 1/29/17 at 6:44pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I wasn't sure which thread would be best to ask this in. 

Has the show been offering rush at any of the stops? or does anyone know if they will be offering rush in Chicago?   "

In my experience with touring shows, the rush policies are set by the theatre, not the production. So best to contact the place where the tour stops in whichever city you're interested in.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 1/29/17 at 7:30pm

Is Josephine coming to Broadway?