Whitney Houston fans in Leeds dancing in their seats and belting out some of her favourite hits as The Bodyguard open its run.
Leeds Grand Theatre presents five back-to-back nights of the popular international, and smash-hit musical this week. The show, based on the famous film, included fire, dazzling outfits, powerful vocals, graphics, a death scene, and even a raunchy scene.
The opening number of the show provided an instant wow-factor. It begins with a bang that made the audience jump out of their seat. The story takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, but ends with the audience getting up from their seats, dancing and singing - it is the perfect show for a fun night out.
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You might recall, this tour of The Bodyguard did earn a degree of infamy for being the show where audience members kept singing over the cast at Manchester's Palace Theatre. During that incident, the musical was forced to end early after audience members refused to stop singing over performers, despite being warned - and a 'mini riot' broke out. Ayden Callaghan, who stars as Frank, told Leeds Live that this hasn't happened since.
A warning ahead of the show told audience members not to sing, but they would get an opportunity later in the show. It was fantastic to see everyone clapping, up on their feet, and dancing along with the cast. The show constantly kept the audience on their toes and I didn't want to take my eyes of the stage. You know a show is good when the interval comes around so quickly - taking you by surprise.
Multi-platinum Grammy nominee and former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton takes on the lead of Rachel Marron - following in the footsteps of Alexandra Burke and Beverley Knight in the first UK tour of the show. Stepping into a role, originated by Whitney Houston - who was literally known as 'The Voice - is no walk in the park.
Step aside Nicole Scherzinger; while Melody was not the lead singer in Pussycat Dolls, she certainly proved she deserves to be up front during Monday's opening night in Leeds. Her performance of I Will Always Love You was a tear-jerking moment.
Her pop background and dancing shone through in numbers such as I Wanna Dance With Somebody, I'm Every Woman, and her admitted "fiery" favourite Queen of the Night. Her passion for this musical shone through and did the songs and character justice. Whatever Melody Thornton does in the future, I will be booking to see it. Outstanding singer.
Former Emmerdale and Hollyoaks star, Ayden Callaghan, spoke to Leeds Live and shared how excited he was to return to his former home of Leeds with his role as Frank Farmer in The Bodyguard. I think the star was perfectly cast for this role. The karaoke scene, in which his character finally lets down his guard, is one of the best scenes in the show.
The two leads are without a doubt spectacular double, but Emily-Mae, who plays Nicki Marron stands out as the best vocalist in the show. While Melody is a fantastic singer, Emily proves she is has the perfect musical theatre voice. Some may wonder why the supporting actress didn't land the lead role, but it fits in perfectly with the storyline - Nicki dreams of being a singer just like Rachel but doesn't get noticed in the same way. I particularly enjoyed her rendition of Saving All My Love for You, and I loved the scenes in which Rachel and Nicki sang together.
During the first half, I was a little disappointed by the basic set. It seemed just a colour-changing curtain and some props were used - which I thought was strange for a show which is supposed to bee so spectacular. The set stepped up in the second half and I particularly liked the log cabin-style set used for the powerful scene where (spoiler alert) Nicki dies.
The finale was one of the best I have ever seen and left me wanting to come back for more. The Bodyguard is a must see.
The Bodyguard will run at Leeds Grand Theatre until Saturday, June 17. You can find out more and buy tickets here.
Musical numbers
- All At Once
- All The Man That I Need
- Greatest Love Of All
- How Will I know
- I Have Nothing
- I'm Every Woman
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody
- I Will Always Love You
- Jesus Loves Me
- Million Dollar Bill
- One Moment In Time
- Queen of the Night
- Run To You
- Saving All My Love
- So Emotional
- Where Do Broken Hearts Go
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