Bodyguard The Musical - Bradford Alhambra

THE MUSICAL based on the hit movie of the same name explodes onto stage quite literally at the Alhambra Theatre.

The movie starred the amazing Whitney Houston and featured her songs, and those are some huge shoes to fill, but in Alexandra Burke (X-Factor) as Rachel Marron you have someone whose talent comes close to the icon.

Alexandra delivers a performance to wow the full and adoring audience on a cold wet night in Bradford.

The story is engaging and also very gripping and thrilling at times. Alexandra and Ben Lewis (Frank Farmer) had great on-stage chemistry and his professional persona as Rachel’s bodyguard meant that when he let himself go you were on his side.

I really loved the karaoke bar scene which added some much-needed comic relief to the tension.

Some of the performances of other cast members need a mention. I don’t remember the sister in the film version, but boy will I remember her from the musical – Emmy Willow as Nikki Marron was amazing and her duet Run To You with Alexandra was a huge highlight.

Also the young boy playing Fletcher was a joy to watch: sadly I’m not sure which actor was playing him at the performance. And an announcement at the start would have been nice as this young actor deserved the recognition he received for his performance.

Phil Atkinson as the stalker was very disturbing and made my skin crawl: the staging of him getting close to Rachel Marron during her live performance had me on the edge of my seat.

With a great supporting cast and fantastic dancers and some amazing costumes you will be hard-pressed not to stand at the end of this musical and join in with the finale of I Wanna Dance With Somebody and realise you have had a fabulous night’s entertainment.

* Until December 7. Visit bradford theatres.co.uk or call 01274 432000.