Any CHESS Fans?- Page 2

[jaystarr]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 5:59pm

I love "One Night In Bangkok & I Know him so well "

J*

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 6:43pm

Dear DayDreamer,

Good luck directing "Chess." You'll need it. The only available version for production has a terrible script by Richard Nelson. And you'll find that the two "Big" numbers that everyone loves "One Night In Bangkok" and the "Arbiter's Song" have virtually nothing to do with the story and will be such bitches to stage that you will wish that you could cut them. And that several other songs ("Pity the Child" and "Nobody's Side") don't have all that much to do with the story, either.

You will start to think that AIDS didn't kill Michael Bennett, trying to direct "Chess" did.

In the same manner that "The Scotish Play" is referred to by actors as "The Scotish Play", you may start referring to "Chess" as "The British/Sweedish Musical"...

[Holly Therese]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 8:12pm

I've never seen the show, but the music is amazing. My favorite version that I have come across has to be the 2003 benefit. Perfection.

[DidYouReallyHearMe]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 8:21pm

I have directed this show twice. The first was a conceptual concert mixing in my staging ideas for a general audience reaction. And the second was a full production. Samuel French Inc. has the Richard Nelson book and those are the only rights available. I did however recieve a letter from Samuel French asking if I wanted the London score of the Broadway score and I suggested London and they sent me a London performance package.

My show was very well recieved and it was the 4th show I had ever directed.

[Danielle2]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:07pm

do you know where one might get a recording?? haha but seriously

[cunegande2]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:11pm

I ADORE Chess!!! I've never been able to see it but the music is incredible.
I've got the Broadway recording and the concept album and wish that the 2003 concert cast had been recorded because the videos that I've seen of it were fantastic.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:11pm

I was really disappointed that the 2003 cast wasnt recorded. That was some serious talent

[cunegande2]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:13pm

Yeah, I wish that more concerts were recorded, like they did with the Hair concert a few years ago

[alastor]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:23pm

there are a lot of clips from the 2003 concert on youtube

here is Julia Murney and Josh Groban rehearsing "Mountain Duet"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgFvaYen4jQ

[sanda]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:30pm

I just saw the LA Chess Benefit concert. To me, Kevin Earley's the definite Anatoly.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:30pm

There are, but still, a professional recording would have been fantastic.

[JustJakUK]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:56pm

The Swedish production on dvd is worth a watch . I don't speak Swedish but it was interesting to see some of the choices they made. I saw the original in the West End and loved the giant rotating chess board. The Swedish production has none of that and went instead for two large wooden frame structures that get pulled about by stage hands.If I'd been a Swede I would have felt cheated. How can you stage Chess without the big Chess board? It's like doing Les Miz without the barricade or Miss Saigon without the helicopter.One lovely thing was the aerial ballet in You and I. The trapeze artists were choreographed so beautifully it was like Florence and the Russian's spirits connecting as they fell in love. Gorgeous! A low point was the terrible use of One Night In Bankok as background disco music in a nightclub with very dodgy choreography. It's got to be seen to be believed. THIS is the production Tim Rice wants to bring to London. Lucky us!!

[Pascal/Menzel/Bundy]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:29pm

2003 Benefit Concert was the best!

Adam Pascal singing Pity the Child gave me more chills than Adam Pascal singing One Song Glory. Which is a big deal by my standards.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:34pm

The best? How many have you actually heard?

[jennafan]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 11:00pm

I love CHESS! The music is amazing.

[Boq101]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 2:22am

they recorded Dreamgirls on CD (live)
they got everyone to record Hair in a studio a month after the concert.

AND WHEN THEY FINALLY GET A BIG NAME OUTSIDE OF THEATRE THEY DON'T RECORD!

[IMissNYC]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 9:28am

I've been a fan of the music for a long time, but like others have said, I have never seen a very good staged version.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 9:36am

I'm really quite amazed at the number of people who love the 2003 concert. Perhaps it was because they are fans of the performers? I find it unlistenable. It starts off strong, but the actors' voices quickly get tired out. So much painful straining to reach for notes they never quite hit and way too much outright off-pitch singing. It's the most depression rendition of the score I've ever heard.

The original concept and Chess in Concert are my two favorite recordings. Not only are the perfances wonderful, the orchestrations are sublime.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 10:29am

I LOVED the 2003 Concert, but there's nothing that compares to the Complete Danish Cast Recording for me (it's in English). It's extremely hard to find (Colony doesn't even have it), and usually expensive (the last time they did, it was almost $100). eBay has it now for $45 to start.

But price aside, if you can get a copy of this recording, it's killer. I pray this makes its way back to Broadway in a decent production sometime soon.

Updated On: 10/22/07 at 10:29 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 11:00am

The Danish recording is ok if you want something more complete (and with an alternate ending). But I'm not fond of Freddie's voice and I hate the orchestrations. It's not awful, but it's not great. Like a scaled-down small regional production.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 11:05am

Really, MisterMatt? Which recording do you prefer? I don't have all of them, so I'd be interested to know.

If you're not a fan of this Freddie, how did you feel about Adam Pascal? I found them to be somewhat similar in voice.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 11:14am

I saw the original Broadway version. David Carrol's singing of Anthem is one of my favorite memories in 50+ years of musical theatre going. It is truly one of the tragedies that he was taken away from us so soon -- way too soon. He was just beginning to peak in Grand Hotel. Also Judy Kuhn and Phil Casnoff make the Broadway recording the one to have, if you're going to have only one.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 11:21am

Adam just didn't have the chops to sustain the performance. His voice started giving out and it was incredibly strained. The original recording is the best by far in my opinion. Murray Head's performance is incredible. I also love the 1994 concert recording and the 2002 Swedish recording is quite good (and available on DVD in Europe), though sung in Swedish. The Broadway recording, the farthest removed from the original version, is a guilty pleasure of mine simply for Judy Kuhn.

I did see a production many years ago with Steve Blanchard as Freddie and other than his ridiculous mullet hair, he was excellent.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 11:59am

Adam Pascal's voice strained? NO, you don't say...

Sorry, I'm bad. I do like me some Adam, but at the same time I do understand what you're saying. I felt that the Danish Freddie had the "raw" qualities that Adam has, but executed them in a much better way. I do not have the Swedish recording (nor the DVD), so I'll have to check them out.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 12:18pm

they recorded Dreamgirls on CD (live)
they got everyone to record Hair in a studio a month after the concert.

AND WHEN THEY FINALLY GET A BIG NAME OUTSIDE OF THEATRE THEY DON'T RECORD!

That's the point. Groban actually had record deals and contracts that they couldn't work out to get him in the studio with everyone else. I find it really unfortunate.