CHESS at the Kennedy Center — Page 3

I'm always perplexed at how much Follies 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 the original 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.

Seriously, Chess has never had a Broadway or West End revival. And it keeps getting produced in concert form because of its score, which has had a strong following since its original recording.

I am seeing West Side Story in concert so curious to see the comparison.

An old friend of mine is playing percussion for that! He'll be on the xylophone.

@Coffeebreak I think someone earlier said Orchestra R but I don't . I was in Orchestra D on the left, and I couldn't see some of the video footage they used, but could hear it and didn't feel like I missed anything significant.



@Mister Matt - excellent, looking forward to seeing that. I saw Corey Cott in Bandstand and want to hear him and the rest of the cast. Plus the music is gorgeous and to see an orchestra perform it, an obvious choice.

@jlm same response as mentioned already, I was out by 11PM as well. They did the full show (including the dialogue) plus intermission but I was surprised as well.

@broadwaynyc I agree, Karen was definitely a crowd favorite and got the loudest applause for her rendition of "Nobody's Side". The Narrator was definitely also a crowd favorite, he was funny and great with his comedic timing and facial expressions.

More generally:

I think it didn't suit Karen's voice vocally 100% and sounded sometimes like she was straining, but I think that's also kind of her singing style. I realize there are a ton of Raul fans here, but my friends and I couldn't understand what he was singing, particularly when he was in the higher register of his voice. His characterization of Freddy was enjoyable though, as I mentioned before. But I lost some of the story and I was trying really hard. Ramin and Ruthie's diction was on point. Ruthie was the only one who got an entrance applause (perhaps because the character doesn't appear for the first act), and it seemed like (in my surrounding anyway) people were looking forward to "Someone else's story". She sounded a little sick to me but perhaps biased because I've seen her perform before and she had no problem with the notes themselves. Or maybe it was a character choice, I have no idea.

Ramin was vocally my favorite, diction clear and his notes were beautiful. I saw him in Anastasia but he stood out differently in this performance for me.

Elaine Paige got the final bow in the original London production. The entire thing was, of course, written for her.

I thought the show worked best (and probably only really worked at all) when it was still a concert based on the record. The original London production was a bit of bizarre mess using the remnants of the original Michael Bennett ideas but it was still thrilling - mostly because it retained that original cast from the recording. The Broadway production was a total miss-fire, and I think the show sort of stopped working shortly thereafter because the politics quickly rendered it a period piece. Still I have very fond memories of listening to this in the 1980s!

korenglish said "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. "

I'm familiar with Chess, and the parts I think you're referring to (the bear, the Hindu story, diplomatic talks, the military maneuvers, etc.) were part of the new book.

I have many feelings on the new book/narration I'm still mulling over. Some I liked. Some I'm mixed on. Some I didn't like. (I've never liked the Florence's dad lives ending.) I'm seeing it again, so I think I'll wait to share.

Minor pet peeves- sound wasn't great. The music was louder than the singers and made the lyrics hard to understand. I noticed it especially during Pity the Child and The Deal (No Deal).

Wish they hadn't brought up the lights so quickly at intermission. Nobody's Side's applause went on for a long time, and Anthem's should match it (especially with Ramin), but one the curtain slammed down, the lights came up and everyone abruptly stopped.

I didn't love the finale- a Story of Chess reprise. I prefer the You and I Reprise finale.

The score will always be amazing, the orchestrations were great, and they all sounded great barring the above mentioned sound issues. And walking around at intermission and after the show- it was great to hear other Chess fans talking about the different books, the cut songs, etc. There are dozens of us! Dozens!

orangeskittles said: "I'm familiar with Chess, and the parts I think you're referring to (the bear, ..."

Wait... there's a bear in Chess now? How does that work? What does it do?

Updated On: 2/16/18 at 09:34 PM

HSky said: "There was entrance applause for Ramin Karimloo, Karen Olivo, and Ruthie Ann Miles tonight. There wasn't any when Raul Esparza made his first appearance but that seemed to be a function of timing in the show and there was hearty applause following his first song."

Yeah, it's the direction. Ramin, Karen and Ruthie come out onstage and are introduced by the Arbiter. Raul kind of sneaks on in the dark mid-scene, and it immediately transitions into dialogue with him, so there's no chance. I don't like that there's no chance for applause after Endgame for that same reason.

Song List:

Act 1

Difficult and Dangerous Times
Where I Want to Be
Merano
What a Scene What a Joy
Molokov and Anatoly
Commie Newspapers
Press Conference
The Arbiter
Chess Game #1
Model of Decorum and Tranquility (Quartet)
1956 (Budapest is Rising)
Nobody's Side
Mountain Duet
Florence Quits
Pity the Child #1
Heaven Help My Heart
Anthem


Act 2

Story of Chess
Golden Bangkok
One Night in Bangkok
Someone Else's Story
Soviet Machine
The Interview
You and I
The Deal (No Deal)
Pity the Child
I Know Him So Well
Endgame
You and I Reprise
Story of Chess Reprise

How odd that the original concept album has the clearest story and structure.

This show is an object lesson in the dangers of tinkering.

^The electric guitar was obnoxious!!

Thanks so much guys for the info about this. I'm super interested to hear about the new book. The cast sound amazing and I so wish I could have been there!