CHESS at the Kennedy Center- Page 2

[dandeliondream401]

Posted: 2/6/18 at 5:13pm

Does anyone know how the view from the orchestra is? I received tickets on row R as a gift and now I'm starting to wonder if it's too far away. I'd really like to be able to see the action on the stage!

[somecheapfrenchthing]

Posted: 2/7/18 at 10:24am

Row R in the orchestra of the Eisenhower should be a great seat! I believe the box tier and balcony overhangs stop right above your row, so nothing will be obstructed. The theater isn't huge, so even the back rows don't feel too far.

Updated On: 2/7/18 at 10:24 AM

[smidge]

Posted: 2/7/18 at 11:09pm

Hopefully Esparza's exit from Law and Order will move this closer to a Broadway run.

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/7/18 at 11:18pm

smidge said: "Hopefully Esparza's exit from Law and Order will move this closer to a Broadway run."

Hoping the same. The timing seems right.

 

[binau]

Posted: 2/8/18 at 12:12am

I'm always perplexed at how much this musical keeps coming back and back and back over the years. If there is a cast I'd love to see or hear, it'd be this one - and there are some good songs I guess. But does anyone think it really works as a satisfying and coherent piece of musical theatre? I wish producers and investors would turn their attention to other projects. 

[JBC3]

Posted: 2/8/18 at 5:23am

^ You sure have a lot of opinions and the time to express them.

[Broadway_Boy]

Posted: 2/8/18 at 8:29pm

If anyone has an extra ticket for this to sell, or wants to give me one in exchange for driving from NYC, PM me please.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 2/9/18 at 10:05am

https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2018/02/07/tim-rice-on-a-second-chance-for-chess-the-original-broadway-show-was-not-good/?utm_term=.d6ca2cad4a07

 

a fairly un-enlightening interview with Rice; heck of a headline, though!

[dandeliondream401]

Posted: 2/10/18 at 12:32pm

Thanks! I'm super pumped! The rehearsal videos are looking so good!

[Streganona]

Posted: 2/11/18 at 4:12pm

Unexpectedly visiting DC and could only find partial view Orchestra seat, F-13, one seat from the wall on the left side.  Looking forward to hearing this amazing cast in live performance and hoping that I'll be able to actually see them as well.  I know that visibility will depend on the actual concert staging, but I'm wondering how large a slice of the stage is cut off.  Thanks.  

 

 

[binau]

Posted: 2/11/18 at 4:28pm

JBC3 said: "^ You sure have a lot of opinions and the time to express them."

I have no life at the moment.

[GreatWhiteGay]

Posted: 2/11/18 at 8:16pm

Streganona said: "Unexpectedly visiting DC and could only findpartial view Orchestra seat, F-13, one seat from the wall on the left side. Looking forward to hearing this amazing cast in live performance and hoping that I'll be able to actually see them as well. I know that visibility will depend on the actual concert staging, but I'm wondering how large a slice of the stage is cut off. Thanks."

Concert staging will probably minimize how much is blocked, probably mostly musicians. But anything upstage right won't be visible.

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 2/12/18 at 8:59am

qolbinau said: "JBC3 said: "^ You sure have a lot of opinions and the time to express them."

I have no life at the moment."

But you are giving me life!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/12/18 at 4:42pm

qolbinau said: "I'm always perplexed at how much this musical keeps coming back and back and back over the years. If there is a cast I'd love to see or hear, it'd be this one - and there are some good songs I guess. But does anyone think it really works as a satisfying and coherent piece of musical theatre? I wish producers and investors would turn their attention to other projects."

3 benefit concerts in 10 years is not "back and back and back". Chess has never been revived.

I wish producers and investors would stop throwing money at drag queen musicals, but To Wong Foo is getting workshopped, and I'm sure someone somewhere is planning another unneeded La Cage revival. No reason why we can't have 1 production of Chess to counteract all the crappy shows I think are unsatisfying and incoherent.

Updated On: 2/12/18 at 04:42 PM

[JBC3]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 6:47pm

Handful of seats available for each night on StubHub right now.

[RagzJr]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 8:40am

A friend has two tickets for the Saturday matinee that she can't use, and she's willing to sell them for $50 a piece.  If interested, let me know!

[wonkit]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 10:39pm

Did anyone go tonight? What's the verdict?

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 11:22pm

Regrouping my thoughts. In all, I liked it. Cast is great and the score has never sounded better. Hope they can tighten the book more, but I enjoyed what I saw.

SPOILERS
1. Lots of narration. Feels appropriate at times, feels like commercial breaks during others. Need to incorporate some of the narration into the actual book.
2 Florence’s father is alive at the end. Doesn’t work at all. Needs to go back to the original ending.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 11:25pm

Really , just why!

Spoiler

Alive

End spoiler

When done correctly the final forty minutes can be such griping theatre.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 12:17am

Any more details on the performances? Especially Karen Olivo’s?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:24am

Does the new book add anything or does it just make an already troubled show even more confusing for the audience? I’ll never understand why they don’t just stick to the original London version or the Albert Hall concert version which I liked a good deal mostly because they reverted back to the London script for the most part. I’d like to see that version fully staged someday.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:38am

Attended tonight and hear are my initial thoughts (will post detailed review tomorrow)

1. Didn’t know what to expect with this Broadway Center Stage series staging wise. I also have tickets for In the Heights and am curious to see if Kennedy center will continue this.
2. Most of the cast members had a binder/book that they used throughout the show, mainly for dialogue. Sometimes they were used well as props, other times it took away from the show. It was advertised as a semi-staged production so I wasn’t sure what to expect with off-book. I am seeing West Side Story in concert so curious to see the comparison.
3. Overall, the story line was confusing. I only know songs in Chess, I have never seen a live production and there were a couple of “that seems kind of random” moments.
4. Standout for me was Ramin Karimloo, will provide more on the leads tomorrow. Some positive points: Raul’s characterization, Karen’s vocal chops, and Ruthie’s emotional connection. Some supporting characters stood out too, don’t have the names in front of me rn.
5. Staging wise, the ensemble was really why it could be called semi-staged, with the dancing and movement that tied it all together and didn’t make it seem so stagnant. Sometimes seemed out of context but I’m guessing with a set it would have a completely different feel.
6. Loved the diversity in the leads.

That’s it for now from me

[binau]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 2:49am

I find the show a little confusing so I'm not surprised - the staging couldn't have helped!

The cast is definitely racially diverse. I believe the process by which they achieved this is likely by hiring the best fit (this seems like a knock-out cast that on paper would be extremely difficult to top by anyone of any race!) rather than doing any kind of socially engineering/quotas or other such madness. If so, I think it is the process that should be lauded rather than the outcomes (I know this seems like a trivial distinction - but it's not. We live in a time where it is likely Patti LuPone would not have been cast in Evita if it were staged today. We need to make sure we are always treating people as individuals and hiring for the best fit. The casting of this Chess production probably shows some of the great outcomes that can result from treating people as individuals and hiring for talent). 

Updated On: 2/15/18 at 02:49 AM

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 8:54am

^yeah, no.....

Anyhow, Olivo killed it (and got last bow, is that typical for Chess?). Was hesitant at her casting, but she brought an edge to the role I haven’t seen nor heard. Nobody’s Side brought down the house and had 2 minutes of applause. Was a highlight, but like I mentioned above, the ending weakens her a bit.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 9:32am

I've seen 4 different incarnations of Chess including the original Broadway production.  So far my favorite production of the show was the national tour which starred Carolee Carmello as Florence.  I'll be there tonight, and was very excited when Karen was announced as Florence.