Chess — Page 2

Mister Matt - I'm a huge STEPS fan as well. Glad to see they have regrouped and are touring the UK again.

I'm new here, so hello to everyone! I popped to to read the Tony buzz and found this thread.

I've actually followed Chess since the concept album -- which was a staple of my teen years back in the mid/late 80s. I've followed the show through its various productions throughout the years, and I did see the Broadway production back in June of '88.

As much as I loved the music and the basic story, I can honestly say that the only good thing that came out of that night was my introduction to David Carroll and his glorious voice.

I just found the entire show very choppy and awkward. There seemed to be no fluidity between scenes...between dialogue and song. And it just seemed to me to be a little too preachy on the politics of that whole era. That, too, detracted from the underlying conflicts.

That all being said...look up the original videos of the concept album songs. Elaine Paige doing "Nobody's Side." The Arbiter. Of course, "One Night in Bangkok," but there's also a wonderfully sad video of Murray Head doing "Pity the Child." Total 80s camp, but well worth a look.

One of my all-time favorite scores, saw the original Broadway production and enjoyed it very much, though the production design was very flat.

Would have loved to have seen the British production it had a lot more dazzle and pomp than the New York version.

Without the subplot, though, there's no real reason for Anatoly to return to the USSR. Doesn't he only return so that her father will get released? I would guess they keep the subplot because otherwise Florence is defined almost entirely by her love interests, which does not an interesting female character make.

I don't know the Swedish version well enough (which rewrote the book yet again) to see if they managed to make the book any more compelling.

EDIT - so I've just read the Swedish Wikipedia entry on Chess. In that, the reason for Anatoly to return to the USSR is that the KGB use Svetlana and his children as hostages. He and Florence never actually become an item per se - they never get the chance, as the whole show takes place in Merano (there's no One Night In Bangkok in this production). Florence's father is missing, presumed dead.

Updated On: 5/9/12 at 10:44 AM

I think "One Night In Bangkok" is a problem. It's the hit song, everyone expects to hear it, but it forces you to spend at least one act of the show in Thailand which doesn't do anything to help the rest of the plot. Personally I'm all for cutting it and setting the show entirely in either Merano or Budapest or wherever, but then you've got that problem of audience expectation.

Years ago I thought the Nelson book was an improvement, but I've changed my opinion on that. I had done a decent production with that script and was skewed because of the great time I had doing the show, but on later reflection I agree that there's much about it that's very clunky and the tone of the book doesn't quite match the score.

I've seen a bit of the Swedish DVD (someone was slowly subtitling bits of it on YouTube but I haven't seen it in a while) but again, the dialogue seemed so harsh and the characters so unfriendly (that version begins in Russia with Anatoly and Svetlana having a knock-down drag-out argument that ends with a chess set being thrown in anger, after which Anatoly sings "Story of Chess" to his young son as things calm down.)

How I wish Michael Bennett had finished his production. I bet we'd have a definitive "Chess", then. Personally, if I were producing the show today and had free reign to do whatever I want with it, I'd probably just stick mostly to the original London version, but maybe move "Heaven Help My Heart" and "Pity the Child" out of the first act where it seems they just drag the energy down.

I've also heard/played the song literally hundreds of times, and I still can't for the life of me figure out what the lyric of "Someone Else's Story" is saying. I think it's interesting that the song can be shifted from character to character and make the same amount of sense regardless. I did see a version where Svetlana sang "Heaven Help My Heart" which worked better than I'd have thought, but also not perfectly.

I just think it's one of those shows that people are going to keep doing because it's a great score and thrilling to hear in the theatre (particularly with a great cast), but will never quite work as well as people want it to.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Adam Pascal. Perfection.

I liked Idina too, but her voice is not what one could call pretty. The Molokov was pretty fantastic (forgot his name) - and he actually did it with a Russian accent, unlike Mr. Groban -- who sounds AMAZING but whose acting was one note, which is OK for a concert version anyway. Just my opinions, of course.

But I really just need to stick up for AP, who I am now in love with (though I still refuse to go see Memphis).

There's a new book they used in a recent Arvada Center production in Colorado. It was essentially based on the London script, but with touches from the American and Australian versions thrown in, as well as some unique things like having the Arbiter sing "One Night in Bangkok." Surprisingly, it worked quite well and I felt it was the best version of the show, though not perfect. I tried recording it, but sadly my audio recorder crashed and now no record of this unique production exists.

I don't know how authorized the revisions were, but Arvada Center is a major theatre company and the show was very big budget with a larger than usual orchestra for a regional theatre.

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