CHESS Previews- Page 2
CHESS Previews
CHESS Previews#25
Posted: 10/15/25 at 1:10am
Is there staging or is it a concert like has been rumored?
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/13
CHESS Previews#26
Posted: 10/15/25 at 3:42am
OMG! I already have so many Uline catalogs, but now I need that one too!
But seriously isn't it crazy how many catalogs they send out? And we only ever order right from the website. Then when you go into the school's mail room and look at all the slots, multiple people in every department are getting sent flyers & catalogs every week.
CHESS Previews#27
Posted: 10/15/25 at 4:59am
Jordan Catalano said: "Is there staging or is it a concert like has been rumored?"
From a curtain call video on Instagram the set gives concert style vibes.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/13
CHESS Previews#28
Posted: 10/15/25 at 7:25am
If anyone would very kindly report re: whether/not the pit plays the score more like 2001 Danish Tour vs 1988 Broadway, I would be very appreciative. Thank you! 
CHESS Previews#29
Posted: 10/15/25 at 7:32am
Jordan Catalano said: "Is there staging or is it a concert like has been rumored?"
I hope it’s a full staging, I’d be disappointed if I spent 400 bucks for a concert.
CHESS Previews#30
Posted: 10/15/25 at 7:44am
rosscoe(au) said: "Jordan Catalano said: "Is there staging or is it a concert like has been rumored?"
I hope it’s a full staging, I’d be disappointed if I spent 400 bucks for a concert."
they were asked about whether it was a full set etc or a concert at the Variety breakfast and the answer basically was it's in between the two so its not "just" a concert.
Also the photos coming out from rehearsals of the scene work suggest more than a concert.
CHESS Previews#31
Posted: 10/15/25 at 9:37am
Digital lottery and in-person available for those local in NYC.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP1OT8KAHyr/?igsh=bjIzanhuYXJzMHpi
CHESS Previews#32
Posted: 10/15/25 at 10:00am
Ball of Buttah said: "Digital lottery and in-person available for those local in NYC.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP1OT8KAHyr/?igsh=bjIzanhuYXJzMHpi
"
It hasn’t gone live yet it appears, so it may be a few days before it becomes available (or selectively available).
The “extension” to May 3rd is a bit weird because that would normally be right around the time Tony nominations are announced. Do they not have faith that the show has legs for a longer haul or just being overly cautious?
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
CHESS Previews#33
Posted: 10/15/25 at 10:00am
The curtain call footage everywhere suggests something between Encores! and a West End-ish concert. It's sleek and gleaming with an elegant simplicity but with the musicians above the performance, 180 from the last B'way iteration. Whatever Strong's stamp, the book - and its stylized staging - are clearly aiming for clarification/amplification of ideas in the songs, not verisimilitude. Nelson's book and Nunn's direction were all about exploring the story with naturalistic conventions (who can forget the comments on Kuhn's wardrobe, which looked like the Chernobyl limited series.) My first shallow thought: why so much focus on "new book" when any prior version could be played on this set, with what seems to be a single unifying set of costumes for the three leads? Not (yet) a critique, perfunctory - admittedly unfair - observation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
CHESS Previews#34
Posted: 10/15/25 at 10:01am
I was not there, but I didn’t get any “concert” vibes from the posts on insta. Yes, the band is above the stage on platforms, but all looks very intentionally designed — stairs, neon, upholstered benches that can be reconfigured, etc. (Whether you like that design or not is up to you.)
But I suppose the definition of a concert production is deeply fluid these days.
CHESS Previews#35
Posted: 10/15/25 at 10:21am
I don't know if this is out of left field, but I actually got Spring Awakening vibes from the set and staging posted on IG. Obviously, in a much bigger scale. I'll find out for sure in a couple weeks.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
CHESS Previews#36
Posted: 10/15/25 at 10:49am
It looks cheap and like a high school production. We’d doing risers on a Broadway stage? Yawn.
Broadway Star Joined: 5/7/03
Understudy Joined: 2/10/18
CHESS Previews#38
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:05pm
Seems something has to give since musicals cost so much, either less in design or less in talent.
CHESS Previews#39
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:38pm
CHESS Previews#40
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:39pm
CHESS Previews#41
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:40pm
CHESS Previews#42
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:42pm
Robbie2 said: "Robbie2 said: "Robbie2 said: "RippedMan said: "It looks cheap and like a high school production. We’d doing risers on a Broadway stage? Yawn."
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CHESS Previews#43
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:46pm
Idk I am going tonight and legit so excited. I have no idea what to expect but I am sure it’s going to be fabulous!
Updated On: 10/15/25 at 12:46 PM
CHESS Previews#44
Posted: 10/15/25 at 12:53pm
I have tickets this Saturday—can't wait to see what they've done!
CHESS Previews#45
Posted: 10/15/25 at 1:42pm
RippedMan said: "It looks cheap and like a high school production. We’d doing risers on a Broadway stage? Yawn."
I have a hunch that the set is not as cheap as it may look.
And the main purpose of the risers seems to be to put the orchestra on the stage. They also do some scenes up there and (I guess) they use the dimly lit space under the risers as the "dark corners" where the agents do their dirty dealings. Lea also posted a picture of herself sitting there with the description "Florence is pissed". I think they will get a lot of mileage out of this simple design.
While Danny claimed he hasn't even read the 1988 BW script, I think that version's crazy set was a warning to keep it simple. Spoiler tags because this explanation is quite long:
When we got to the new script the only visual idea that emerged very strongly from me was the idea of the wall that lies between East and West. When I discussed that with Trevor, he also felt very strongly that that was a very specific image. We also talked about the idea of people who are literally blocked in by walls and have to move in and out of labyrinth types of structures because of the nature of their lives and their politics. I initially envisioned wall-towers - large objects that stop you from being free. These units soon turned into periaktoi, the reason they came out as three sided is because it was geometrically the simplest form.
The towers were made from drilled out aluminium (to make it lighter) covered in foam board and flame proof material. The facade of the towers were given a poured concrete finish, which gave them the effect of being a huge wall that constantly reformed itself to become buildings, interiors, arenas or parts of the city, creating around 47 different locations.
This did not want to be a statement about classical Siamese dancing or the Budapest String Quartet. No one was interested in that. We wanted to tell a story of espionage and people being torn apart by politics. And a love story which had nothing to do with architecture whatsoever. The use of multiple periaktoi proved to be the best way to define 47 different locations without turning the show into a spectacle.
We realised that the best way to move these things around would be to put a human inside of each one. Instead of machines imitating human capabilities, these are men imitating machines. The operators have become part of the set. They have been directed and rehearsed like an ensemble. It is like dance.
The set could not exist without the director. If Trevor Nunn hadn't directed the moves, it couldn't work. It has needed directing as much as the actors have; indeed, the twelve towers that comprise its basic structure have been in rehearsal with the rest of the company from day one. [BW Brochure Notes]
This project has been absolutely unique - it is completely unlike anything I've ever been challenged with in my entire life. You have these very large towers in the set, which are constantly in motion. The whole question of movement is such that it's as if we were making a film, so the lighting rig has had to reflect this problem. I worked together with the set designer fairly early on, and when the basic concept of the towers was established, it became clear straight away that we would need lights that could move. We've employed a lot of computer controlled lamps which pan and tilt - not to show off in a rock and roll way, but in order to get the light in the right place at the right time. Very often there's only one lamp in the correct position, so it has to be the right colour, and consequently too we've had to use a lot of colour changes. [BW Brochure Notes]
You can watch the whole show on Youtube. After every scene or song the lights go out on large parts of the stage and an army of stage hands quickly moves furniture or other set parts around. Not to mention the people inside the periaktoi. And I think I spotted the actors helping out occasionally, probably in violation of union contracts. Seriously, it was crazy and, according to the description, somewhat dangerous.
So I think this set is not just a way to keep costs under control, it's a counter reaction to what its ill fated predecessor did. Chess has many different locations, 47! in the original BW staging. It's just too stressful. So Mayer decided to do the opposite: A mostly static set, which then has to be neutral, and not much entering and exiting the stage.
One last thought: I'm reminded of Mayer's staging of Spring Awakening. Even less of a set, don't quite remember where the musicians sat, but sometimes even part of the audience was seated on the stage. It worked quite well.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/30/17
CHESS Previews#47
Posted: 10/15/25 at 3:23pm
Telecharge lists a running time of 2:40, including intermission.
CHESS Previews#48
Posted: 10/15/25 at 5:09pm
Mary_Poppins said: "RippedMan said: "It looks cheap and like a high school production. We’d doing risers on a Broadway stage? Yawn."
I have a hunch that the set is not as cheap as it may look.
And the main purpose of the risers seems to be to put the orchestra on the stage. They also do some scenes up there and (I guess) they use the dimly lit space under the risers as the "dark corners" where the agents do their dirty dealings. Lea also posted a picture of herself sitting there with the description "Florence is pissed". I think they will get a lot of mileage out of this simple design.
While Danny claimed he hasn't even read the 1988 BW script, I think that version's crazy set was a warning to keep it simple. Spoiler tags because this explanation is quite long:
When we got to the new script the only visual idea that emerged very strongly from me was the idea of the wall that lies between East and West. When I discussed that with Trevor, he also felt very strongly that that was a very specific image. We also talked about the idea of people who are literally blocked in by walls and have to move in and out of labyrinth types of structures because of the nature of their lives and their politics. I initially envisioned wall-towers - large objects that stop you from being free. These units soon turned into periaktoi, the reason they came out as three sided is because it was geometrically the simplest form.
The towers were made from drilled out aluminium (to make it lighter) covered in foam board and flame proof material. The facade of the towers were given a poured concrete finish, which gave them the effect of being a huge wall that constantly reformed itself to become buildings, interiors, arenas or parts of the city, creating around 47 different locations.
This did not want to be a statement about classical Siamese dancing or the Budapest String Quartet. No one was interested in that. We wanted to tell a story of espionage and people being torn apart by politics. And a love story which had nothing to do with architecture whatsoever. The use of multiple periaktoi proved to be the best way to define 47 different locations without turning the show into a spectacle.
We realised that the best way to move these things around would be to put a human inside of each one. Instead of machines imitating human capabilities, these are men imitating machines. The operators have become part of the set. They have been directed and rehearsed like an ensemble. It is like dance.
The set could not exist without the director. If Trevor Nunn hadn't directed the moves, it couldn't work. It has needed directing as much as the actors have; indeed, the twelve towers that comprise its basic structure have been in rehearsal with the rest of the company from day one. [BW Brochure Notes]
This project has been absolutely unique - it is completely unlike anything I've ever been challenged with in my entire life. You have these very large towers in the set, which are constantly in motion. The whole question of movement is such that it's as if we were making a film, so the lighting rig has had to reflect this problem. I worked together with the set designer fairly early on, and when the basic concept of the towers was established, it became clear straight away that we would need lights that could move. We've employed a lot of computer controlled lamps which pan and tilt - not to show off in a rock and roll way, but in order to get the light in the right place at the right time. Very often there's only one lamp in the correct position, so it has to be the right colour, and consequently too we've had to use a lot of colour changes. [BW Brochure Notes]
You can watch the whole show on Youtube. After every scene or song the lights go out on large parts of the stage and an army of stage hands quickly moves furniture or other set parts around. Not to mention the people inside the periaktoi. And I think I spotted the actors helping out occasionally, probably in violation of union contracts. Seriously, it was crazy and, according to the description, somewhat dangerous.
So I think this set is not just a way to keep costs under control, it's a counter reaction to what its ill fated predecessor did. Chess has many different locations, 47! in the original BW staging. It's just too stressful. So Mayer decided to do the opposite: A mostly static set, which then has to be neutral, and not much entering and exiting the stage.
One last thought: I'm reminded of Mayer's staging of Spring Awakening. Even less of a set, don't quite remember where the musicians sat, but sometimes even part of the audience was seated on the stage. It worked quite well."
I agree and I think people should reserve judgement until they see how it all works. I do think however as someone else said we do need to take into account the cost factor. A revival generally doesn't run long enough to make back a $25-$30M budget spent on big sets and costumes so this is where they go when they are being sensible about trying to recoup..
Just one correction. Nik posted the comment that Florence is pissed re the pic of Anatoly and Svetlana with Florence in the background and linked to Lea lol.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
CHESS Previews#49
Posted: 10/15/25 at 6:44pm
EvaLupone said: "Idk I am going tonight and legit so excited. I have no idea what to expect but I am sure it’s going to be fabulous!"
Enjoy it!
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