The Bodyguard: A New Musical

The negotiations to adapt this movie for the stage for this musical were initially reported in 2009. Producer David Ian & Michael Harrison developed the stage property with Olivier Award winner Thea Sharrock directing & Alex Dinelaris writing the book. The production will open in November at London’s Adelphi theatre, with a Broadway run as an eventual goal. It will feature some of Whitney Houston’s biggest hits (‘I Will Always Love You’ has been confirmed), as well as numbers made famous by Houston. Tony & Grammy Award winner Heather Headley (Aida & The Lion King) has accepted the role of Rachel Marron. In response to her casting, Headley posted:

I've been offered the role of Rachel in the musical version The Bodyguard. Very Honored! The script has been rewritten a bit and it's very interesting. Needless to say, the music is great (they're using many of the songs of Whitney's catalogue) - - very challenging, but great. We'll start on the West End in London and then we'll move to Broadway (if all goes well - - I think it will).

The timing is obviously bittersweet & ironic, but it will undoubtedly provide the production with a commerical boost. It has a similar vibe to Michael Jackson’s tribute show Thriller Live. It opened in January 2009, was scheduled to close in May of the same year, was extended, and exploded in recognition after his death that June. It is currently still running in the West End and on tour.

The Broadway Community on Whitney Houston

Henry Kreiger, composer of Dreamgirls.

Houston never recorded any of the songs from Dreamgirls, but did perform Effie White's "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" and "I Am Changing" at several live events.

I never had the pleasure of working with Miss Houston directly but her rendition of 'I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' was revelatory in its pristine vocal performance, clear as a bell and without affectation.

Stephen Schwartz, composer of Pippin, Godspell, Wicked.

Schwartz penned the lyrics for the film The Prince of Egypt, which received the Best Music, Original Song Oscar for
"When You Believe." Houston also performed a duet with Mariah Carey that was featured during the film’s closing credits.

I was shocked and saddened to learn of Whitney's death. I shared only a brief time with her when she was recording her vocals for 'When You Believe,' but she was warm, gracious, charming, and completely professional, and of course her talent was enormous. To lose her so suddenly and at such a young age is very sad.
 

Frank Wildhorn, composer of Jekyll & Hyde. 

He wrote the 1988 pop ballad "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" which was featured on Houston's self-titled album Whitney.
The song debuted at #47 on the Billboard Charts and climbed to the No. 1 slot within nine weeks.

Losing Whitney is an incredibly sad thing, I can't tell you how important she was to me in my songwriting life. The truth is, it was the success of 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go?' that literally bought me the freedom and time to come to theatre. The late 80s was a very productive time for me writing and producing in the pop business. After the song was written and demo'd, I got a letter from Clive Davis and from Whitney saying they loved the song but that it needed a new bridge. I had run out of my demo budget money, so the only way to present it was to sit at the piano and play and sing it to them, which I did. A couple weeks later, I got another letter from Clive and Whitney saying they loved this second bridge, that they were going to go with it, and that, 'Frank, you should never sing your own songs!' She was such a beautiful artist and such a beautiful woman. She was wide-eyed and had an innocence about her. 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' was her seventh #1 hit in a row, which I think is still a record... I remember tracking it in Billboard Magazine every week all the way up the charts til we got to #1... that was a beautiful day!