Review: THE BODYGUARD: THE MUSICAL at Theatre By The Sea

I generally don’t get into love stories all that much-just a general preference-but Theatre By The Sea’s third entry into its 90th season, “The Bodyguard: The Musical” was so much more.

Packed with more than a dozen songs we’ve all heard and sung along to (some of us quietly in our car when no one’s around) for decades from Whitney Houston, “The Bodyguard” is a fabulously acted and choreographed musical tour de force with a lot of heart.

Based on the 1992 film featuring Houston and Kevin Costner, “The Bodyguard” tells the tale of an emerging superstar singer Rachel Marron, played spectacularly by Jenay Naima, stalked by a demented fan that seems to find ways to infiltrate her dressing room and private areas despite her having security.  After the stalker’s latest threatening note leaves Marron and her staff spooked, her long-time manager Bill Devaney, played by Law & Order: Organized Crime alum Alfred C. Kemp, reaches out to old friend Frank Farmer to help, played wonderfully by Blacklist’s Robb Sherman, a former secret service agent not so keen on being a bodyguard in the limelight of a superstar.  LaDawn Taylor plays Marron’s sometimes jealous sister Nicki, though Taylor’s voice easily matches Naima’s, providing an incredibly stirring rendition of “All at Once”.

The cast also features Theatre by the Sea’s “Footloose” and “Beautiful” alum Kyle Braun as a terrifying stalker; Stephen Foster Harris as Marron’s original security detail Tony Scibelli; Blue Bloods actor Matt Wall as Rachel’s anal agent Sy Spector and Emjay Roa as a wonderful Fletcher, Rachel’s young son, who joins in a number of song tunes including the spectacular finale “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”.

While there is certainly love undertones throughout the show, the musical is more a show of perseverance, belief in oneself and the importance of trust.  I wasn’t really expecting to like it as much as I did, but my wife and I played Whitney songs the whole ride home as we compared notes on the musical and the classic movie and the plot points we still needed to iron out.  Let’s just say there are plenty of performances we’ve seen where none of that ever happens.  The songs itself, from Naima’s incredible “I Have Nothing” at the end of Act 1, to me her best song of the night, to the Olympic-charged “One Moment in Time” and the deeply touching “I Will Always Love You”, the musical felt like an old friend that you wanted to see more of.  Like when you reconnect with someone and ponder where they went all this time.   

Like many, I had heard of the well-publicized canceled show back in April in Manchester, England because the audience took their singing to an extreme and the show was stopped. Here, Theatre By The Sea playfully asked for people to wait until the last song to sing their lungs out and they certainly did.  That finale was so much fun, not only because people could finally sing as loud as possible but it also featured a number of the non-singing actor like agent Sy and macho security officer Tony joining in, which helped lighten an already great moment. 

From a nostalgic side or just to see some great music and dancing, “The Bodyguard: The Musical” is more than a crowd-pleaser.  It’s a good story with incredible acting and singing that will have you singing all the way home and beyond.

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