Chess From Royal Albert Hall - Review- Page 3

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:03pm

I think Kerry's voice sounds warm and smooth like Paige and Idina's sounded high and sharp. I dont think they blended at all.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:10pm

I got a bootlegged copy of this last year, and I wager that there has been a lot of major clean up work done on this presentation on right now on PBS.

I dunno, I suspect a lot Pro Tooling went on here because there were a lot of bum notes that the singers hit on my copy that have been nicely cleaned up for this broadcast.

The sound is weird. Like it's piped directly into the TV's speakers and that the cast isn't singing in a live hall with good acoustics. You can't even hear the applause that well. The whole concert sounds very different from, let's say, the LES MIZ 10TH ANNIVERSARY DREAM CAST CONCERT in terms of sound engineering and production.

I still like it, as I've been a fan of the score since I was a kid. Not sure if I like certain choices like reassigning songs to certain characters, moving songs from the order that they appeared in in the London and Broadway versions and some harmony changes.

The pop score is still great. The story remains awful. I think this show's book is just unfixable no matter how many times they try to tweak it.
Updated On: 6/17/09 at 10:10 PM

[ThereIs1Director]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:12pm

I Still Think This is Sir Tim's Best shot at the book, but I have to digress and say, just sing the songs, leave everything else out.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:16pm

The sound went wonky on my TV early inthe second act--i though my speakiners were breaking but it's that way on both my TVs...Nice touch PBS.

[ThereIs1Director]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:17pm

Its not PBS its a problem with the mastering and engineering. Its the same way on the DVD, and I understand that it was even worse in the hall.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:22pm

Wow... can we redo that with Kerry as Florence? Idina was awful, minus one or two redeeming moments ("Heaven Help My Heart," which is one of the weaker songs in the show anyway). Josh Groban, though, BLEW ME AWAY. I liked him in the Actor's Fund concert, but that Anthem and Endgame.... chills. Probably the best I've ever heard Anthem sung. Adam Pascal also did a really nice job, particularly with the acting. It's a pity that Florence was so weak in comparison to the rest of the principals.

I love that show so much.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:22pm

That was my thought: the book scenes should just have been excised and only the songs should have been performed.

Preferably without the cheesy choreography.

[Pippin]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:23pm

the choreo looks like it was put together the morning of the show.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:24pm

I'm on the beginning of Act II now. Josh Groban is surprisingly good but his "Anthem" was strained IMO. Adam Pascal is good, but I think this role is perfect for him actually. Idina Menzel is... um, I like her until she opens her mouth to sing.

My mom basically just came in for "One Night in Bangkok," haha.

Btw, the guy playing the Arbiter is INTENSE.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:27pm

I can't believe I'm gonna say this because I'm one of the first to say immediately that WICKED effectively destroyed her voice, but Idina Menzel acquitted herself nicely in tonight's telecast. In my bootleg, Kerry Ellis was all over the place in SOMEONE ELSE'S STORY and was flatting on I KNOW HIM SO WELL, both of which are not really challenging songs melodically or range-wise. Idina also shat on the money notes on NOBODY'S SIDE in the bootleg, which had been noticeably cleaned up tonight.

But again, I really think thanks to the magic of sound engineering, a lot of the flaws from the bootleg I heard had been cleaned up for the DVD. I wonder if there were further tweaks with the CD...

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:29pm

What I'd give to have had Anthony Warlow play Anatoly instead. His ANTHEM is almost what I would call a definitive rendition of that song.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:31pm

Between CHESS and the Tonys Im losing my faith in sound people.....

[Craww]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:31pm

Yeah. Idina was basically awful. Shrill, girlish, bad rhythm/enunciation/phrasing, the completely wrong vibe. I Know Him So Well was her best moment for me, but...I admit I was a little tipsy by the time that came on. I don't deal with Adam Pascal performances without alcohol.

Adam was a mixed bag. A few great moments, a few laughable moments, a few mediocre moments.

Kerry was good, Josh was good. I don't mind Josh's lack of acting skill. I'd rather he undersell it than Pascal's overselling it at the end of Mountain Duet. Give me the Grobes and his blankness over Pascal's prissy ironic take on the acting any day.

The orchestrations were disappointing. Technically good, I suppose. But they lacked punch or flair. I think that was actually the biggest disappointment for me. Maybe tied with Idina.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:33pm

Here's the fundamental problem with CHESS, as I saw it tonight.

Who is the show about? The Russian? The American? The random chick whose sleeping with them both and is looking for her father?

Even after generations of retooling, it's still a mishmosh of plot lines.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:33pm

I just want folks who can sing in tune.

Royal Albert Hall has great acoustics, but you wouldn't know it from tonight's telecast...

[Craww]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:37pm

Why does Pascal play Freddie so gay? Is that an acting choice or merely incidental?

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:37pm

I enjoyed Adam being groped during One Night In Bangkok and a stray hand coming up between his legs... nice touch on the choreographer's part...

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:39pm

Even after generations of retooling, it's still a mishmosh of plot lines.

Even after generations of retooling, the original (granted, quite flawed) storyline is still the most sensible. That's more or less the one we saw tonight. Any attempts to fix it have only made it worse. At least here, the focus is more on the Anatoly and the final match makes sense (as opposed to a defected Anatoly playing the American and Molokov still being involved -- why?). Endgame works better as Anatoly's battle with himself.

Why does Pascal play Freddie so gay? Is that an acting choice or merely incidental?

My guess is incidental, but it worked for me, so whatever. I think he's fortunate that the character's not too much of a strain for him. Either way, I enjoyed him a lot.

re: the audio touch-up debate: Am I misremembering, or didn't they perform the concert two nights in a row? It's possible that certain parts worked out better on a given night and they spliced together the best parts. Unless I'm completely wrong about that. I'm sure there was some cleanup done, though. Updated On: 6/17/09 at 10:39 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:47pm

Doesn't Adam Pascal play everything gay. I just discovered he was straight a few months ago...

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:51pm

"Nobody's Side" A BIG disappointment. It just finished here.

[Craww]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:51pm

Doesn't Adam Pascal play everything gay. I just discovered he was straight a few months ago...

LOL. Did you find out because you heard he's married, or because you heard all those rumors about him and Nicolette Hart?

Ahem. Moving on. You know what I love? Chess. Great score.

[Pippin]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:53pm

yeah, his Radames was gayer than the day is long on June 21st....

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:54pm

What I'd give to have had Anthony Warlow play Anatoly instead. His ANTHEM is almost what I would call a definitive rendition of that song.

Really? I thought Tommy Korberg was considered to hold that title.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:58pm

Anthony Warlow's version is what made me love "Anthem," to be honest. I would love him to play Anatoly; it would also clear up my issues with the character's age (I think he has to be older).

Kerry Ellis is AMAZING, at least in the cleaned up version. She sings circles around Idina.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 11:00pm

I'm a Korberg loyalist, and I was still amazed with Josh Groban tonight. Korberg has the definitive Endgame, though, and probably always will (and not just because he does that awesome high note at the end).