The Bodyguard Dances With Paulini
The sun and surf of Summer Bay seem a million miles away from The Bodyguard, though Australian Idol probably hits far closer to home. Stars of the musical, Paulini and Kip Gamblin, chatted to Neil Litchfield ahead of the show's Australian premiere.
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Playing roles created on film by Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, Paulini (Rachel Marron) and Kip Gamblin (Frank Farmer) star in the Australian production of the stage musical adaptation of The Bodyguard.
In the iconic movie, when FBI agent Frank Farmer is hired to protect pop Diva Rachel Marron from a stalker, romance and on screen fireworks blossom.
While Logie winner Kip Gamblin is better known for TV roles like Scott Hunter in Home and Away, Dr Adam Rossi in All Saints and Brad Willis in Neighbours, he’s actually a classically trained dancer (Macdonald College and the Australian Ballet School) who performed leading roles with the Australian Ballet and film credits including Moulin Rouge and Mao’s Last Dancer.
“I find it hard when people write ‘who we know from Home and Away, and Neighbours’,” says Kip. “I get that because it’s a train that I jumped on, and I’m benefitting from it throughout my life, but it’s not entirely who I am or what I am.”
“People in Australia are quite easily pigeon-holed. Paulini and I may have reached bigger audiences through our TV work, but I think that’s mainly because it’s the loudest and biggest promoter. But we’ve both been cutting our teeth for years, Paulini with her singing all over the country, and her family upbringing, and the same with my dancing.”
Paulini first became known to national audiences when she reached the final four in the first season of Australian Idol. She’s gone on to a successful performing and recording career, which includes both a number 1 single and album. The pop classic score has great synergies for Paulini, as many of the songs have formed part of repertoire.
“I still do a lot of her songs in my sets now. The difficult part for me is that I’m going to have to story-tell while I sing the songs, while I’m used to singing them going strong from the beginning to the end.
“I perform ‘Run to You’ in concerts and gigs. It’s my favourite ballad, but (in the musical) it comes out of the scene where she’s fallen in love with Frank. She can’t believe that she’s fallen in love, because she hasn’t been in a relationship for such a long time. In the beginning she’s almost talking the first verse.”
Paulini isn’t the first popular TV reality talent to play Rachel Marron on stage. While the role was created in the West End by Tony and Grammy Award winning artist Heather Headley, who was subsequently replaced by soul performer Beverley Knight, 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke eventually took over the role.
The strength of the storyline of the original movie coupled with its amazing songs made The Bodyguard an obvious choice be adapted into a stage musical.
The 1992 box office smash had a readymade score drawn from its triple Grammy Award winning album (the top-selling soundtrack of all time), complete with five individual Whitney Houston hits. The stage version has numerous additional Houston tracks.
Six years in development, the stage musical opened in the West End in November 2012, only closing after two years to make way for another musical at London’s Adelphi Theatre.
A UK tour followed, before the production returned to the West End in mid 2016. International versions have followed in the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Canada and the U.S, with a Spanish production to open later this year.
Whilst the 1992 film starred Kevin Costner as the former FBI agent and real life pop icon Whitney Houston, it could have been very different.
One can only speculate on how different the film, which had been in the works since 1976, and its score might have been if it had gone ahead with original star choice Diana Ross, opposite Steve McQueen or Ryan O’Neal, or with Olivia Newton-John, Pat Benatar, Madonna, Cher, Deborah Harry, Janet Jackson, Donna Summer and Dolly Parton or one of the other pop divas who were in the mix for the role of Rachel Marron at various stages.
But could Costner, McQueen or O’Neal dance like Kip?
“My father said to me once, when I started ballet, ‘Look, you’ve chosen a very narrow field for your career.’ But I take a lot of strength from my background; it’s where I learned my chops. When people come up to me and recognise me from my time in contemporary dance I’m thrilled, because I know that I wouldn’t have gotten my start in TV without it.”
“So (whilst) neither of us have done a lot of musical theatre per se, what we can bring as performers is our professionalism, and that we are going to suit these characters. I love the fact that people know the real me and the blood, sweat and tears that I’ve put into it. I’ve worked with actors who were literally plucked off the beach, because they had good skin over the right bones, but I can guarantee you that Paulini and I are not those people.”
Kip may be a newcomer to musical theatre, but it is clearly in his blood.
“My mum was an actor/dancer (who) went to NIDA, and then she did Hair in Kings Cross with Reg Livermore and Marcia Hines. She did Sail Away, The Sentimental Bloke and Camelot. She even did a tour with Vanessa Redgrave. And I did a little bit of acting when I was a kid. But I fell in love with a ballet dancer when I was very young; I went headlong into classical ballet, and I’m really grateful I did.
“Mum was a bit like me. She was a bit of an actor/dancer. Singing wasn’t her strong point. So, thank god for musicals like The Bodyguard. I can get a run.”
When I ask Kip what he brings to the title role of Frank Farmer, he’s clearly keen to dispel some of those TV soap preconceptions.
“I’m ready for a role like Frank, where there’s a bit of groundedness. I feel that I’m getting to an age and level of experience where it’s not just about eyes and teeth. I’m excited to bring a level of maturity to my work.
“Frank knows what he wants. He walks into a room and he’s working out what’s the quickest way out of here, and what are the dangers of this place.
“I’m quite analytical of myself, and situations, so I think I may be good in that sense. And the love story. I really like that sort of partnership and frisson between the two characters. I’m looking forward to playing with that because I feel that there’s some really nice chemistry between us.
“And I’m digging that I’m getting to wear a suit and a tux. I’m over the board shorts and looking like I’ve just run out of the surf.”
And what does Paulini think she brings to the role of Rachel?
“Ever since I was a little girl I’ve grown up with Whitney Houston’s music - I love to perform her songs. And I can connect with Rachel Marron – just the busy lifestyle, and the exposure I’ve experienced through ‘Idol’. So I can bring a bit of that into this role. I’m not a huge star like Rachel was, but I can bring a bit of my experience into the role.
“I also think there are some definite advantages with both of us not being your classic musical theatre trained person,” Kip added. “When Whitney did the film, she was by no means someone who had graduated from the Julliard school. She was someone who grew up learning to sing in church, and became a pop star. It was very autobiographical for her. Sometimes unlearning that sort of training is something that’s not easy. I think Paulini can bring a realness and edge to the role.”
Will The Bodyguard help a popular music audience who wouldn’t necessarily go to musicals connect with the genre?
“I hope so,” Paulini said. “I think you’re going to get people who aren’t into musical theatre anyway, because the movie was such a huge hit. My nieces and nephews watch it now, and they just can’t wait to see the show.”
“That’s so true,” Kip agreed. “It’s not just your classic musical theatre crowd. There can be a lot of stigma involved with musical theatre as well, so to bring in an audience who are not going to see Les Mis or The Phantom of the Opera, and have them going, ‘OK, actually, that was really good. I might go and check out something else,’ would be great.”
And what sort of experience can audiences expect, that they can’t get from the original movie?
“The magic of theatre transcends genres. The movie was a great movie, but you’re so separated when you go to see it,” says Kip. “You’re lost in it when you’re in the movie theatre, but I think there’s such a special, magical thing happens when you’re in live theatre. Some of those songs that Paulini’s going to be singing are just such magic songs. I think people who come and see it will get a whole other level of experience.”
Following a successful season at Sydney Lyric Theatre in May and June 2017, The Bodyguard plays in Brisbane until August 13, then Melbourne from August 24.
Article originally published in the May / June 2017 edition of Stage Whispers.
Photographer: Jeff Busby.
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