'I am a massive fan of Whitney Houston!' Alexandra Burke succeeds Beverley Knight in lead role in The Bodyguard musical
Former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke is joining West End musical The Bodyguard to take on the role made famous by Whitney Houston in the film version.
The singer takes over from Beverley Knight, who currently plays the role of superstar Rachel Marron, in June.
'I couldn't be more excited about joining the cast of The Bodyguard and to play the iconic role of Rachel Marron will be a dream come true,' Alexandra gushed. 'I am a massive Whitney Houston fan so to be given the opportunity to play a role made famous by her every night will be a real privilege.'
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Change of Guard! Alexandra Burke (left) takes over from Beverley Knight (right) in The Bodyguard musical
Alexandra begins rehearsals very soon with her new cast masters and creative team but said she was doing so with 'a little trepidation'.
Nonetheless, she enthused, 'I am looking forward to our first performance in June.'
The show, based on the hit 1992 film which starred Kevin Costner in the title role, runs at the Adelphi Theatre until the end of August.
The former Bodyguard cast: Beverley with Tristan Gemmil
The film gave Whitney Houston the biggest music hit of her career through the ballad I Will Always Love You.
The song, originally a country song by its writer Dolly Parton, was brought to the movie's producers by Kevin Costner who insisted that it be used in the movie. It would up becoming one of the biggest selling singles of all times.
That wasn't the only smash that the movie spawned either with Queen Of The Night another big hit.
The original Bodyguard: Kevin Costner keeping Whitney Houston safe in the 1992 movie version
The stage musical was written by Alexander Dinelaris with a number of other Whitney Houston classic pop songs being added into the mix including One Moment In Time, How WIll I Know, All At Once, I'm Your Baby Tonight, Saving All My Love For You, So Emotional and I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The show began its run at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End on November 6, 2012, winning the Best New Musical award at the Whatsonstage.com Awards the subsequent year.
Originally the show starred Heather Headley in the role of Rachel Marron originated by Whitney in the film. After Headley left she was replaced by understudy Gloria Onitiri for a short time before Beverley Knight took over from September 9, 2013.
Stage debut: In 2012 Alexandra performed 'On My Own' in West End musical 'Les Miserables' for BBC Children in Need POP Goes the Musical
While the London production announces a major cast change, the producers are currently planning to take the production to Australia, Germany, the Far East and, perhaps more importantly, Broadway.
Taking on the musical role is a smart move for Alexandra. Not only does it mean she gets to sing songs made famous by her biggest influence/idol, but it could help bolster her somewhat flagging recording career.
While her first album, 2009's Overcome, hit #1 on the UK charts, 2012's follow-up Heartbreak on Hold could only manage a peak of #18.
The 2008 winner of The X Factor's most recent charting single was Let It Go in 2012 which peaked at #33, while her debut album saw three #1s hits - Hallelujah, Bad Boys and Start Without You.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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