Debbie Kurup will join the previously announced Heather Headley and Lloyd Owen in new musical The Bodyguard when it opens at the Adelphi theatre in December.
The musical theatre star, who originated the roles of Dee Dee in Tonight’s The Night at the Victoria Palace and KT in Sister Act at the London Palladium, will be joined in the Whitney Houston-inspired musical by a host of other West End regulars, including Ray Shell (Miss Saigon, The Lion King), Nicolas Colicos (Wonderful Town, Sunset Boulevard), Mark McKerracher (Les Misérables, The Phantom Of The Opera) and Mark Letheren (The Country Girl).
Also joining Thea Sharrock’s production is National Theatre regular Sean Chapman, David Page, who starred in Chicago at its former home at the Cambridge theatre, Oliver Le Sueur (The Fairy Queen) and The Lion King’s Gloria Onitiri.
Packed full of Houston’s greatest hits, The Bodyguard, which opens on 5 December (previews from 6 November), is the stage adaptation of the 1992 smash hit film starring the late singer and tells the story of superstar Rachel Marron whose life is put in danger by an unknown stalker. When former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard Frank Farmer is hired to protect her, both expect to be in charge but neither expect to fall in love.
The new musical will also see young performers Luis Buddy, Caius Duncombe, Jaydon Fowora Knight, Kwame Kandekore, Taylor Lockhart and Malaki Paul, all aged between 10 and 11 years old, take to the stage, alternating the role of Rachel’s young son Fletcher. 10-year-old Paul has already had a taste of the London stage after wowing the nation’s TV viewing audience with his audition for this year’s Britain’s Got Talent.
Joining the rest of the cast are Nigel Barber, Jordan Darrell, Yasmin Harrison, Shanay Holmes, Holly James, Robert Jezek, Melissa Keyes, Gil Kolirin, Janet Kumah, Nick Maude, Richard Murphy, Ashley J Packer, Dharmesh Patel, Lucinda Shaw, Paul Smethurst, Charlotte Watts and James Wooldridge.
Director Sharrock, who recently worked with Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths on Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, directs the romantic musical, which will take the place of Sweeney Todd at the Adelphi theatre later this year.