"I Will Always Love You ...": Sing Along With Your Favorite Whitney Houston Hits at 'The Bodyguard Musical,' Jul 22-30

Back in the simpler times of 90s pop ballads, nobody could hit, let alone hold, the lofty high notes attained by beloved diva Whitney Houston. And yet rising star Carole Stennett pays a more than moving and effective tribute to the late icon’s songs in The Bodyguard Musical, a stage rendition of the hit 1992 movie in which Houston starred and sang, and which Beijingers can see at Dongsi Shitiao's Poly Theatre from July 22-30.

This stage version – a blockbuster since its 2012 West End debut that has gone on to have major runs around the world – features all the classic songs from the film including, of course, “I Will Always Love You.” Other Houston highlights include songs like "Queen of the Night," "So Emotional," "One Moment in Time," and others. Its live treatment of those movie musical moments — from the bestselling soundtrack of all time — lead the Sunday Mirror to call it "the hottest ticket in town" and the Daily Mail to declare it a "runaway gold-plated musical hit."   

A reviewer at Monstagigz was fond of how this stage version differed from the silver screen original in numerous scenes, including one that depicts the protagonist having fun at karaoke. And while that writer said Stennett was still settling into the lead role in comparison to her predecessors (X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and Beverley Knight, who was nominated for Best Takeover In A Role in the WhatsOnStage awards in 2014), he still called the current star a talented singer and dancer with clear potential to soon do so "in this top drawer feel good musical with added jeopardy." When the play stopped in Canada, a critic at the Toronto Star fawned over its "delicious excess, world-class singing" that helps the production "overcome plot issues," a sentiment furthered by a reviewer who saw its Sydney run and called it unintentionally funny and corny at times, not to mention overly simple in terms of story, but never less than entertaining in a shamelessly campy, not to mention the "tonne of fabulous musical numbers to get to."

And that's really why we'd be lining up for this play anyway, right? So be sure to do your vocal warmups and get ready to sing along with those neverending, heartwrenching high notes as this hit musical makes its Beijing debut.

See The Bodyguard Musical at Poly Theatre from July 22-30, 7.30-10pm. Tickets are RMB 180-1,000. Call 6500 1188 ext 5126/5127 for more information or click here.

Photo courtesy of the organizers