Review: The Bodyguard Musical: Should You See It?

The Bodyguard The Musical is touring the country and made a stop in Akron this week. The tour is making its way through smaller, regional markets across the country, with stops in cities including Erie, Pennsylvania; Syracuse, New York; and Fort Wayne, Indiana, as well as larger markets such as Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

While I’m not usually a fan of taking culturally iconic movies and turning them into stage musicals. But The Bodyguard musical got it right. In fact, I kept thinking this show is a masterclass on how to adapt a beloved movie to the stage. And please don’t come for me about not reading a book version of a movie to understand a stage play. This show was how we avoid all those hot takes.

The need to know:

• Should you see it? yes
• Will you like it? yes
• Does the music and singing stand? yes (you will not be disappointed and might refrain from singing along cause you just want to listen)
• Would I see it again? Yes
• Would I travel to see it again… Yes, I’m already thinking about which nearby cities I can see it in
• Is it for us? Yes even the non-Broadway theater lovers (think The Wiz in Cleveland a few seasons ago) 
• Did I play and sing my heart out to the soundtrack on the way home from the show? No comment… (yes)

The plot

The musical sticks to the basic story we know and love. Rachel Marron is a superstar in the middle of her Oscar campaign when she starts receiving some pretty concerning messages from a stalker. And when those messages start showing up in her home and dressing room, it’s clear that this is more than just a harmless fan. Enter Frank Farmer, the security expert brought in to protect her.

The cast is all the familiar characters, including Rachel’s sister, Nicki Marron; her manager, Sy Spector; publicist Bill Devaney; Tony the original bodyguard and her son, Fletcher. But instead of trying to recreate the movie scene by scene, the musical takes the story and makes it work for the stage.

There are a few changes from the movie, including making Rachel’s agent, Sy Spector, a woman, and Tony Scibelli, Rachel’s OG bodyguard, is a Black man. As for the bad guy(s), there’s only one, in fact, in the playbill his character is listed as “stalker”. The musical also seems to put a little more focus on Frank Farmer, the bodyguard, while the movie felt very much like Whitney Houston’s story. In fact, when I opened the Playbill and looked at the character list, I had a moment of, “Wait, who is Rachel Marron?”

Of course, the show is called The Bodyguard, so Frank being the focus makes sense. It’s just an interesting shift when you think about how closely the original movie is tied to Whitney Houston and her portrayal of Rachel Maron. In the musical the music, musicians and the song choices are the star of this show. Rather than sticking to only the songs from the movie and performing them in the same order, the musical brings in other popular Whitney Houston hits. That change allowed the songs to help tell the story of the relationships between Rachel, Nicki and Frank instead of a focus about a high profile celebrity with a stalker.

I’ll get into the story changes, what worked and what didn’t in a little more detail, but for now, here’s what you need to know: You don’t have to be a Broadway fan to enjoy this show.

Deeper Dive

If you don’t want to know more about how the musical reimagines the movie, you might want to stop reading here. You’ve been warned!

So, remember when I said The Bodyguard got it right? I meant it. But that doesn’t mean everything was right.

And before anybody asks, yes, I did wonder if I was becoming a Broadway snob. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some Tony Award-winning productions, including shows with costumes and staging that leave you sitting there thinking, ” Wow, I see why it won a Tony.” This performance wasn’t quite that.

Let’s start with what worked. That would be the music and story. The arrangements were excellent and you could feel the the musicians in there zone jamming to playing Whitney Houston hits. I cannot emphasize enough that the music and the vocals were the strongest parts of the entire performance.

Now some of the acting… at times that had me questioning the overall performance and where this review was going to land. At times, it felt how the influencers describe Tubi movies or make fun of Tyler Perry movies than a national touring musical. I’m not saying that to dismiss anybody’s work. I’m saying there were moments when the acting didn’t quite match the level of the music or felt inconsistent. I think I just wanted the performances to pull me into the story the same way the singing pulled me into the songs.

And We Gotta Talk About The Costumes?

What I said earlier about wondering if I was a theater snob, it happened here, especially after getting some behind-the-scenes sneak peeks from other productions. The costumes leaned into a “vintage” ’90s look, which makes sense for the story. The problem wasn’t the decade. It was the execution.

Some of the materials looked cheap, and certain pieces didn’t have the polished look I’d expect from a national tour. And those nude tights? They looked more like beige leggings or the thick tights we see ice skaters wearing during the Olympics.

Look, I know costumes aren’t the reason most people buy a ticket to The Bodyguard, but the clothing does contribute to the overall experience.

Act One Had Me. Act Two Had Me Asking Questions.

This was probably the biggest shift for me.

During the first act, I was completely enamored with the show. I was enjoying myself and already thinking about where it might rank among my favorite musicals.

Then came the second act.

Suddenly, I had questions. Who wrote this? Did the director sign off on this, and who is the director for this show? Why did they put her in that dress? And at a few points, I found myself wondering whether some of the creative and casting choices needed another look, and who I would recast or revise in the show.

The production started to feel uneven in the second act, and I couldn’t help wondering whether some of what I was seeing was still being workshoped. Maybe it was opening-night jitters. Maybe some scenes just didn’t land the way they were intended to. Whatever the reason, the second act didn’t hold me in the same way the first one did. And with only two performances in Akron, there’s not much time to make adjustments before the production moves on to its next stop.

Wait, What Happened at the Oscars?

Then we get to the final scenes at the Oscars, and things didn’t get much better for me.

The way the attack unfolded felt odd. This is where the stage interpretations failed me. Having seen the movie, I knew there was a scene where Rachel was getting ready to go on stage and there was another woman performing on stage. I also remembered that she presented an award and her winning the Oscar. Neither of those scenes happened, but what we got was a mash-up of all three scenes, what looked like a laser pointer and then we see Frank run out to take a “bullet” for Rachel.

From the scenes when Frank takes the family to the cabin until the end, the writing also started to feel rushed. It was as if the production was trying to squeeze in a few scene to get us to the ending instead of giving the story the time it needed to get there.

Between the awkward staging, cosutmes and scenes that didn’t always work and an ending that felt hurried, the second act had me going from “This might become one of my favorite shows” to “Dang, I should have done my reaction video during intermission.”

So What’s the Verdict

Even with my criticisms, I enjoyed The Bodyguard. The music alone gave me plenty to appreciate, and I still left wishing more people in Northeast Ohio had the chance to see it and I’m hoping to catch it again at a nearby city.

Upcoming tour dates through 2027