BEVERLY — There is definitely a downside to being a celebrity — an issue that’s explored in the production of “The Bodyguard” that debuted Wednesday night at North Shore Music Theatre.
Of course, there’s an upside too. People adore you. You get to go on stage night after night singing all of Whitney Houston’s best songs. You have an entourage that tends to your every need. Your son sleeps in a bed that looks more like a sports car.
But sometimes, people admire you too much. They become obsessed, invade your privacy in insidious ways, and they create the need for bodyguards to help keep you out of harm’s way.
And that’s the albatross hanging around the wildly popular Rachel Marron’s neck. A deranged fan has broken into her presumably secure dressing room, left her a threatening message, and stolen one of her outfits. One of her handlers hires former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer to be her bodyguard.
In somewhat predictable fashion, Rachel first spurns Frank, and doesn’t even want him around. She’s going to do what she wants to do, regardless of threats from outside.
Then, something happens during a show, Frank rushes her out, they hide in the mountains, and fall in love. Then, Frank realizes that he can’t protect her if he’s, you know, involved with her.
Complicating things, Rachel’s sister Nicki also falls for Frank. But she makes contact with the stalker they’re all trying to avoid, mainly out of jealousy toward her sister and a desire to feel that kind of adulation. And it ends up costing her dearly in the end.
That’s the plot. It basically follows the same plotline as the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner movie, so if you saw that, you know how it all comes out.
But what about the production?
Let us begin.
First is Cheaza Figueroa, who plays Rachel. She is what you’d call a professional belter. At Wednesday’s debut she got better as the show progressed, and really came into her own at the end, when she got to sing “I’ll Always Love You.” It was the very definition of a show-stopper (that’s because the show actually stopped due to the standing ovation she got before she was finished).
If you ever lowered yourself to see “Major League 3: Back to the Minors,” there was a pitcher, Hog Ellis, who had a very funny scene confronting the moody, muscle-bound superstar on the other team. The guy who played him was Judson Mills, who portrayed Frank Farmer in this production. Mills was very, very good. He may be the only male lead in a musical who couldn’t sing, but he didn’t have to. He was very funny in the nightclub scene when he does Karaoke to “I Will Always Love You”
However, for my money, Nicole Henry (Nicki) stole the show. Your eyes were on her every moment she was on stage. She just had a presence.
Where Figueroa was a belter, Henry was a classic chanteuse. She had a beautiful delivery, especially on “Saving All My Love For You,” which was the song she sang in her nightclub scene.
And that only makes her ultimate fate in this show even harder to take. But at the same time, it also underscores the danger of stalking, and the randomness of what happens when deranged people carry out their plots.
This production has some seriously dramatic moments that are very well done.
Nick Kenkel (director/choreographer) deserves a shoutout, because the dancing was phenomenal. And Wendell L. Vaughn did a first-rate job as music director. I don’t know what other shows costume designers Alexander Cole Gottlieb and James Nguyen have done in the past, but they outdid themselves with this show.
“The Bodyguard” tackles a serious issue that, sadly, is more prevalent than any of us know. But at the same time, it provides a whole lot of entertainment.
“The Bodyguard” is up at the NSMT through Nov. 10. Tuesday and Thursday shows start at 7:30, and Friday and Saturdays begin at 8. There are matinees Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
For ticket information, all 978-232-7200, or visit nsmt.org, or visit the box office at 62 Dunham Road, Beverly.
