By Christopher Benincasa, JerseyArts.com
originally published: 12/22/2016
Whitney Houston’s smash hit single “I Will Always Love You” was everywhere in the nineties. It was the musical centerpiece of the 1992 Oscar-nominated romantic thriller “The Bodyguard,” starring Houston and Kevin Costner. In a way, the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack was as big as the movie.
Now, a musical version of “The Bodyguard” has been created for the stage, and the songs are front and center. It recently opened at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey – not far from Whitney Houston’s hometown, Newark. Christopher Benincasa spoke with Paper Mill’s Producing Artistic Director Mark Hoebee about what it takes to pull off a musical based on a blockbuster and some of the most iconic pop songs of an era. “The Bodyguard” runs through January 1 at Paper Mill Playhouse.
About the author: Christopher Benincasa is an Emmy Award-winning arts and culture journalist. He produced content for NJ PBS for a decade before co-founding PCK Media. Christopher currently works as a freelance producer, video editor, writer, and communications specialist for a diverse set of commercial, non-profit, and government clients. His work has been featured on various PBS stations, and in American Abstract Artists Journal, The Structurist, Paterson Literary Review, and JerseyArts.com.
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Discover Jersey Arts, a project of the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
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