Musical Archives - Detroit Duchess

The Bodyguard

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to Broadway in Detroit’s The Bodyguard. All opinions expressed are my own.

I remember the day when my mother finally let me watch The Bodyguard. It was a popular movie and rated R and I remember she had to go see it first and then decide if she was going to let me watch it. It was a big deal. I LOVED that movie! We had the soundtrack on tape and on CD and I remember playing I Will Always Love You before dinner and belting it out all around the house (until my mom couldn’t take it anymore haha).

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I found out The Bodyguard was a musical and coming to Detroit. I enlisted my bestie Jen to come along with me for the show and pre-warned her that I might sing along.

The Bodyguard takes the original movie to the next level by adding some of Whitney Houston’s most iconic songs to the mix including So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, and I Want to Dance with Somebody. In case you’re not familiar, The Bodyguard tells the story of former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer who is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from a stalker. Deborah Cox, a Grammy® Award-nominated and multi-platinum R&B/pop recording artist and film/TV actress plays the starring role. Folks, she is the real deal. Her voice was unbelievable. Here is a little taste of her encore performance from the show:

This was one of my all-time favorite shows that I’ve ever seen live. I knew every word to every song and it had me singing them all week – in the shower, in the car, to my niece Skyler. I couldn’t get enough! From the costumes, the performances, the songs and the storyline, this musical had it all! My favorites are Queen of the Night, Run to You, I Will Always Love You, I’m Every Woman and I Have Nothing (which is my favorite song from this soundtrack). I also loved that they included some of Whitney’s other songs – it just made it better.

I would highly recommend that you take your favorite gal pal out for a fun evening – especially if you are 90’s kids. The show runs through January 28 at the Fisher Theatre. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 1-800-982-2787 and online at Broadway in Detroit or Ticketmaster. The performance times include:

Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 8 p.m.
Sunday evening performances at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Special open captioned performance on Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The Fisher Theatre also serves beverages, so we were able to have some wine with the show (definitely helping with my sing-along skills).

I would definitely go and see this show again, it was fabulous! You can see the official trailer for the tour below:

Are you a fan of The Bodyguard? If you’ve seen this musical, I would love to hear your thoughts.

For more Broadway in Detroit posts, click here.

An American in Paris

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to Broadway in Detroit’s An American in Paris. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ladies, may I introduce you to my new friend, Gene Kelly:

I was thrilled to be invited to Broadway in Detroit’s presentation of An American in Paris this week. I had never seen the movie before but pretty much love everything Parisian. To get prepared for the show, I decided to watch the movie and was pleasantly surprised. First of all, HELLO GENE KELLY! Who knew he was so dreamy?

The movie reminded me a little bit of LaLa Land and surprisingly Cocktail, but since those all came after the original movie they may have taken their cues from my new friend Gene. Without knowing anything about the premise, I ended up knowing a lot of the songs. After seeing the movie I couldn’t wait to see the musical version so I invited my friend Carolyn out for a Parisian themed night on the town.

I wanted to find a French restaurant in Detroit and another friend recommended Cuisine. I had never heard of it (which is surprising since it’s been around for a long time) but was excited to make a reservation.

We went full on French and tried the duck leg confit and roasted breast with foie gras. If you know me, a lifelong picky eater, this was out of my comfort zone, but I liked it and am glad I tried it.

The staff was awesome and had us out of there quickly so we could head over to the Detroit Opera House for the show. Of course, I had to partake in some bubbly as we headed into the theatre. An American in Paris was inspired by the Academy-Award winning film and tells the romantic story about an American soldier, a mysterious French girl and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of World War II.

By the time we got to the show, I had been singing the songs all day, from “I’ve Got Rhythm” to “‘S Marvelous” I was in the perfect mood to see this. I thought the musical was so well done! They explained a lot more of the storyline in more detail than they did in the movie version. It definitely helped to set the scene for what was happening in that time period and why it was significant to the story. People didn’t really need that backstory for the movie because the audience was living it. The dancing and the talent in the show was stunning. It made me want to get up and dance.

You can see the show in Detroit at the Detroit Opera House through December 10. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 1-800-982-2787 and online at Broadway in Detroit or Ticketmaster. tickets will also be available for purchase at the Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre box offices. The performance times include:

Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 8 p.m.
Sunday evening performances at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Special open captioned performance on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

I highly recommend grabbing your bestie and taking her out for a French themed night on the town. Detroit was the first stop on the North American Tour so if you’re not local take a look at the official website to see if it’s coming to your area. You can see a little preview of this show below:

Broadway in Detroit has a fabulous line up this year with shows like The Bodyguard, Les Miserables and Cinderella coming to town this year. I can’t wait! If you’ve seen An American in Paris, I would love to know what your favorite song is or your favorite part of the movie.

For more posts about the local Detroit scene, click here.