CHESS Previews — Page 11

Updated On: 11/3/25 at 05:39 PM

I’m guessing because “oriental” is no longer a favorable term?

Which, again, if it’s beaten into us by the Arbiter that the show starts is 1979 and was written in 1984, then it’s like when they revised “Shipoopi” for The Music Man to those new eye wateringly bad lyrics.

quizking101 said: "I’m guessing because “oriental” is no longer a favorable term?

Which, again, if it’s beaten into us by the Arbiter that the show starts is 1979 and was written in 1984, then it’s like when they revised “Shipoopi” for The Music Man to those new eye wateringly bad lyrics."

I looked into this a couple years ago. "Oriental " to describe a rug or setting (in this case) is perfectly correct, but it's offensive to refer to a person that way. I'm sure this production decided it was best not to take any chances because the word has a stigma regardless of how it is used.

Went again tonight and the show is exactly 2 hours 45 min, so they've done some nice trimming in the past few weeks. Even though the show flows better without the glorious almost nude dance number at the end, it's still very very much missed.

I caught this tonight and found it to be a pretty messy evening. The production has one thing going for it, though… the performances are truly top notch.

The vocals are absolutely flawless, and the score sounds magnificent. It’s a treat to hear this score performed so well. Michele, Christopher, and Tveit all knock their songs right out of the park. Zero complaints there.

Unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. The direction is absolutely abysmal and just plain sloppy. The set is cheap and hideous, and the lighting is garish. I also found the ensemble choreography to be distracting and oftentimes just plain unnecessary.

The book remains a messy conundrum. I lost track of the plot about halfway through the second act. HATED the smarmy, tongue-in-cheek humor and anachronistic jokes.

While I would hardly call this a “successful” production of Chess, I will not deny it was a pleasure to just sit back and bask in the overall sound of the score being performed at this caliber.

TotallyEffed said: "Jordan, did you see that guy on the floor at the lip of the stage in the house left aisleduring act one??"

I saw this from my seat in the mezzanine and wondered what was going on…

bwayphreak234 said: "TotallyEffed said: "Jordan, did you see that guy on the floor at the lip of the stage in the house left aisleduring act one??"

I saw this from my seat in the mezzanine and wondered what was going on…"

I saw this too from the mezzanine. The person was sitting on the floor - their back to stage. Looked to be in white - with maybe some form of a light on them or attached to them? It was weird. I wondered if it was part of the show initially somehow but no. Or an interpreter? But then they are gone eventually. weird.

"The book remains a messy conundrum. I lost track of the plot about halfway through the second act. HATED the smarmy, tongue-in-cheek humor and anachronistic jokes."

This has felt like the consensus in the past week, and the show's text seems frozen. Does anyone know if the Strong libretto has undergone significant revision since the first preview? Strong is not a theater writer, and has at best limited experience in the crucible of adjustments in front of audiences, a different animal than receiving network notes on a television series or pre-shoot screenplay rewrite. I take nothing from his experience of real time on-set, but again, working on a show with audience response baked into the process is relatively new to him.

As others on this board have opined for decades, it can be hard to adjust a "revisal" like this one in previews because the first houses are packed with the cognoscenti, here not so much insiders as rabid fans. The rapturous reception afforded the material in early days may be misleading with this piece, because a preponderance of the audience is simply thrilled to hear a beloved 40-year-old score well served. The irony with Chess: the score has always landed; the challenge of this production - voiced by the creatives in all interviews with a nervy if arguably unearned confidence - is its achievement of a cohesive and coherent piece of musical theater. Still an open question, though anecdotal evidence of this thread suggests a mixed reception for the Strong-Mayer imprint. Thoughts on this from those who have seen previews?

I’m going tonight and I’ll see if I can spot any comparisons from when I went last week. I’d be shocked if the show text was fully frozen since they still have two weeks of previews and that seems to be the one aspect of the production every critic is going to laser focus on.

it doesn’t sound like they cut down the smart-assy asides by the Arbiter, which miffs me a bit

Jordan Catalano said: "Also (and gonna put it in the spoiler box even though it’s been discussed already)

"


That moment was Diana level camp.

That’s what i thought! But how is he not credited anywhere?

Sutton Ross said: "Inlovewithjerryherman said: "I'd return and pay full price. Now can we get a revival of JEKYLL & HYDE?"

"

What is the point of posts like this? Clearly, at least nlovewithjerryherman wants this, so you're simply wrong.