The Bodyguard at Papermill

[ChrisTyler12882]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 7:51am

Is anybody going? I'm a huge Deborah Cox fan and I'm wondering how it is.

[Cfried]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 8:38am

I'll be there in a couple weeks but I've heard it's UNBELIEVABLE. My friends say Deborah has great stage presence and nails the role. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 8:46am

I'm going December 4th, and I can not wait! I absolutely adore Deborah.

[jbm2]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 2:08pm

Curious about this one....

Will it ever make it to Broadway?

[ChrisTyler12882]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 2:53pm

I fear that if it did it would have the same fate as the most recent production of Jekyll & Hyde with Deborah. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 3:23pm

ChrisTyler12882 said: "I fear that if it did it would have the same fate as the most recent production of Jekyll & Hyde with Deborah. 

I would think that the property itself, coupled with the score that has been long popularized by Houston, would keep it running for a decent time.

 

[ChrisTyler12882]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 4:53pm

Agreed, and there is a string of women I'd love to see tackle Rachel Marron. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 4:56pm

^ Exactly. Plus, The Bodyguard was well received on the West End and the UK tour got some pretty good notices too. It's an already established production that was (mostly) well received, whereas the Jekyll & Hyde tour/revival (which I loved), pretty much struggled from the get go with reviews. If I remember correctly, it did okay with road critics, but absolutely tanked when i reached Broadway.

[Cfried]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 5:51pm

jbm2 said: "Curious about this one....

Will it ever make it to Broadway?"

 

The possibility of a Broadway transfer was discussed here: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1097429#4871175

But from what I've heard, a Broadway run for this production is in the future. 

 

[Grace Omalley]

Posted: 11/26/16 at 6:57pm

We're season ticket holders and seeing this on Sunday, November 27. I'll fill you in during the week.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 2:46am

December 8th, matinee and evening. Does anyone know if there's an alternate Rachel? In all the productions I saw of BG (London, tour, Germany, Netherlands) there has always been an alternate Rachel but there's no word on this for the US tour. 

[silent]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 8:06am

Former En Vogue singer Amanda Cole was asked to audition to be the alternate Rachel but she declined the audition at the last minute. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 12/3/16 at 3:16pm

Boy am I disappointed.  I shlepped all the way out to see The Bodyguard today and after about 45 minutes, they experienced a technical glitch.

We sat and waited for about 20 minutes and then Mark Hoebee (artistic director) came out and said that due to a small medical situation and the technical difficulty, they needed to cancel the rest of the matinee performance today. 

Hope everyone is okay.  I was enjoying the show.  

 

[Chistery88]

Posted: 12/3/16 at 3:47pm

i am curious about an alternate too. is she doing all 8 performances?!  for anyone who has been, does it mention anything in the playbill?  also who is the understudy or standby or however it is listed?

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 12/3/16 at 5:20pm

I saw the show at the first preview last Friday and really enjoyed it. Cox and the sister were fantastic and the music is still really good. 

[Cfried]

Posted: 12/3/16 at 5:51pm

I'm sorry to hear that, Melissa25. 

 

It's funny because a very similar situation happened to me a few years ago when Paper Mill staged the premiere of EVER AFTER starring Christine Ebersole. The performance began and not even 5 minutes in, the power went out. We waited about 30 minutes as the cast entertained us in the dark with improv and Broadway standards until Mark Hoebee said that the performance would not be able to go on. 

 

I'm REALLY looking forward to BODYGUARD though. I keep hearing phenomenal things! 

Updated On: 12/3/16 at 05:51 PM

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 12/3/16 at 6:49pm

I was there as well this afternoon and it feels like something very serious happened. In the orchestra you could hear the commotion backstage and some yelled out to call 911 just seconds before the announcement was made that the show would be holding.

An usher had confirmed that someone backstage had been hurt and that their first aid squad was responding. There seems to be conflicting reports over whether it was a crew member or an actor.

I was luckily already in line at the box office exchanging my tickets when Hoebee cancled the rest of the performance.

I sincerely hope that everyone is okay! I was really enjoying the show.

 

[Cfried]

Posted: 12/3/16 at 11:01pm

"There seems to be conflicting reports over whether it was a crew member or an actor."

 

Paper Mill tweeted, "Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers. The member of our crew with the medical emergency this afternoon will be okay."

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 6:52pm

I made the trip to New Jersey today to see this. I was very disappointed upon arriving at the theatre to find out that Deborah Cox was out. Her understudy, Jasmin Richardson, was passable, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much better the show would have been with Deborah Cox. Jasmin had a pretty rough first act, but she seemed to find her footing for the second act.

 

The show itself is, sadly, not in that great of shape. The book is a clunker. It is poorly written and structured. Plot points that were clear in the movie become overlooked and muddled in the stage adaptation. The set is very cheap looking, and it is not that pretty to look at. The projections are laughable.

 

The supporting cast was fine, but there are no real standouts. I had been looking forward to seeing this ever since they announced the tour with Deborah Cox, so needless to say I really wanted to love this. I will definitely manage to see this again with Deborah when it goes out on tour. I still had a great time, but I was definitely a little disappointed.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 7:20pm

Cox missed a show already. OUCH! Yet it appears an alternate isn't assigned.

[Cfried]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 7:27pm

ACL2006 said: "Cox missed a show already. OUCH! Yet it appears an alternate isn't assigned."

Jasmin Richardson filled in for Deborah at today's matinee. I believe Deborah took the day off to prepare for tonight because it is opening. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 7:39pm

Cfried said: "ACL2006 said: "Cox missed a show already. OUCH! Yet it appears an alternate isn't assigned."

Jasmin Richardson filled in for Deborah at today's matinee. I believe Deborah took the day off to prepare for tonight because it is opening."

My thoughts exactly. However, the producers of the tour are REALLY emphasizing that she is the STAR of the production... Missing a show before the show even goes out on the road is not good. Especially since it appears she just missed this afternoon to rest up for tonight's opening. 

 

[drewalexander]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 7:43pm

Jasmin Richardson was AMAZING at today's matinee of The Bodyguard at Papermill! Chfried is inncorect, a friend of mine who works there informed me that Deborah called in sick and couldn't make it to the matinee. Hopefully she's performing right now! I'm sure she would want a practice performance before she got reviewed. 

 

Anyways, The Bodyguard was a very well put together show! Papermill NEVER disappoints me and even though I wanted to see Cox go on, I'm glad Jasmin could step in. She was not a let down!

 

The overall show was amazing and I would highly recommend if you are in the area and could go! The little boy today that was in the show of you were wondering was meh. His acting wasn't believable, for being on broadway, and he couldn't hit any high notes. 

The set, lighting, and projections and overall production was Phenomanal! 10/10!

Updated On: 12/4/16 at 07:43 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 7:47pm

Luckily he wasn't on Broadway, then.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 8:02pm

I thought the boy playing Fletcher did a great job...