Let’s make this perfectly clear: No one can sing like Whitney Houston. No one.
But Deborah Cox certainly comes close in the musical play “The Bodyguard,” based on one of Houston’s movie starring roles. It opened recently at the Oriental Theater, for a limited two-week engagement.
Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard Frank Farmer (Judson Mills) is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron (Deborah Cox) in the romantic thriller.
Cox does an impressive job working her magic through the Houston catalogue of songs. She opens with Queen of the Night and goes through one Houston hit after another. “The Bodyguard” features 16 of Houston’s timeless classics including, Greatest Love of All, How Will I Know, Saving All My Love For You, I Have Nothing, Run To You , All At Once, So Emotional, I’m Every Woman and one of the biggest- selling tunes of all time, “IWill Always Love You.
Cox began her recording career as a backup singer for Celine Dion, before securing her first record deal with Clive Davis. Her biggest hit was Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here, which held the record for the longest running #1 R&B single for 14 consecutive weeks and earned a Soul Train Award. The song was originally written for Patti LaBelle, who turned it down. In 2000, Cox teamed up with Houston on the hit duet, Same Script Different Cast.
No stranger to Houston’s music, Cox’s rendition of her songs were heard in the 2015 TV movie Whitney, directed by Angela Bassett. The actress, Yaya DaCosta who portrayed Houston, lip-synched the tunes to Cox’s voice.
And don’t be surprised if you catch yourself singing I Wanna Dance With Somebody on your way home after seeing “The Bodyguard.”
“I’ve been in love and lost my senses, spinning through the town….oh, I wanna dance with somebody… somebody who loves me.”
The Bodyguard closes this weekend on Feb, 12. Hurry and get your tickets.
