Producers Michael Harrison and David Ian have announced that Alexandra Burke and Jennlee Shallow will play the role of Rachel Marron in ‘The Bodyguard’ at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre at selected performances from Tuesday 25 June – Saturday 6 July.
Joining them will be Benoît Maréchal as Frank Farmer, Micha Richardson as Nicki Marron, Peter Landi as Bill Devaney, Craig Berry as Tony, Gary Turneras Sy Spector, Phil Atkinson as The Stalker and Simon Cotton as Ray Court.
The rest of the company includes Rosie Cava-Beale, Callum Clack, Myles Cork, Kerry Crozier, Sia Dauda, Gustav Die, Chris Edgerley, James Lee Harris, Holly Liburd, Jack Loy, Hannah Millichamp, Helen Parsons, Daniil Shmidt, Jessica Simmons, Yiota Theo and Michael Wade Peters.
Alexandra Burke returns to the role of Rachel Marron following her triumphant run in the show in both the West End and the subsequent sell out 2015/2016 tour. She first rose to fame after winning the fifth series of The X Factor and her debut number one single ‘Hallelujah’ sold over one million copies in the UK, a first for a British female soloist.
She most recently appeared as Svetlana in ‘Chess’ at the London Coliseum and as Roxie in Chicago at the West End’s Phoenix Theatre. In 2017 she reached the final of ‘Strictly Come Dancing.’ Her other theatre credits include Deloris Van Cartier in the national tour of the musical ‘Sister Act.’
Jennlee Shallow’s many theatre credits include Nala in ‘The Lion King’ in both Australia and Germany, Deena in ‘Dreamgirls’ and Sarah in ‘Ragtime.’ Jennlee has also performed in the Cirque du Soleil shows ‘Kooza’ and ‘Viva Elvis.’
Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, ‘The Bodyguard,’ directed by Thea Sharrock with book by Oscar winning (Birdman) Alex Dinelaris, had its world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End in 2012 and was nominated for four Olivier Awards. A sell out 18 month UK and Ireland tour followed, before the show returned to the West End at the Dominion Theatre. ‘The Bodyguard’ has also played in the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Australia, Madrid, France, and on tour throughout the US and can currently be seen in Stuttgart.
Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. A romantic thriller, ‘The Bodyguard’ features a host of irresistible classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest hit songs of all time – I Will Always Love You.
