Chess revival? — Page 3

I mean, they did have to AutoTune her on the DVD, it was one of those nights where she (to paraphrase her own words) only hit 75% of the notes (if that) and called that succeeding. I'm just sayin'.

On topic, I think it's high time Chess got a reevaluation. Unlike many of its fans, I don't think the London version quite got it right; while better than Broadway, productions such as Broadway and Sydney did fix a key weakness of the London version that is not as readily apparent on the concept album because it was only added in a meaningful fashion once the show hit the stage: the split-match format. For their flaws (all of them have second-act problems), the later variations have a much greater coherency, which stems from the fact that the single chess match acts as a framing event for the dramatic action. The benefit of a single-match format is that the action is much more cohesive, with the match providing the outline for the drama.

If I were the one ruling the roost, I'd go back to the concept album song-stack, with light revisions here and there, and develop a book that culled the cream of the crop from Broadway, with some of the flavor of London and Sydney along the way. (Also, I'd restore it to the Cold War setting. Pretty much a no-brainer; Chess was conceived of as a very timely musical, dealing with east/west tensions and the odd phenomenon of chess celebrity in the West, and it's almost impossible to justify a time setting other than 1986 or a few years before it.)

1) Freddie doesn't have to win in a single-match format. (Case in point: the Sydney production, where Anatoly won.)

2) "The Soviet Machine" is a bad attempt at a "King Herod's Song" retread. I get the purpose it's supposed to serve, I just think it's unnecessarily long for coming where it does in the show, and the sudden "stereotypical Russian" vibe rubs me the wrong way. (Side note: they also included this in the single-match Sydney production, with the song's general purpose being reoriented toward bringing Anatoly home. Lyrics were revised to that end.)

Updated On: 6/22/17 at 10:27 PM

I'm also not a fan Idina Menzel from an acting or singing standpoint.  Yes to Josh Groban and Adam Pascal.

What about someone like Mandy Gonzalez for Florence?

In my dreams they get Raul to come in a for few months during SVU's hiatus.  I could deal with anyone else being cast for that.

How can you have a single match when the first act begins with a production number about Merano and the second opens with a number about Bangkok? 

This is why the show feels like a jukebox score - nothing is written for the place it actually appears in the show. 

CallMeAl2 said: "How can you have a single match when the first act begins with a production number about Merano and the second opens with a number about Bangkok?"

How could they have a single match in the Broadway version when it started in Bangkok and wound up in Hungary? The circumstances of Anatoly's defection complicate things, and they have to regroup in another location. It's not that big a leap.

I swear, some of the people posting on this thread act like they've never even read about the damn thing...

Updated On: 6/24/17 at 08:03 AM

No to Idina. I skip through "Nobody's Side" every time I listen to that album. 

10086Sundays said: "I'm also not a fan Idina Menzel from an acting or singing standpoint.  Yes to Josh Groban and Adam Pascal.

What about someone like Mandy Gonzalez for Florence?

In my dreams they get Raul to come in a for few months during SVU's hiatus.  I could deal with anyone else being cast for that.

 

"
In my dreams they'll convince everyone from the 2003 Actors Fund benefit concert to appear in this revival. I prefer that cast to the one with Idina.

 

No thank you to Julia Murney. Saw her in concert and loved her. Cannot stomach her Florence. Whatever wail she chooses to do towards the end of Nobody's Side is cringe-worthy. Total minority opinion but give me Idina any day.

Yes to Raul as the Arbiter though!! 

I have seen 4 productions of this show over the years.  The score is probably my favorite ever, certainly if number of times played per year is a component of the determination.  The best one I saw was in DC 5 or 6 years ago.  Definition of best: totally entertaining from the second it began until it was over, no point where you questioned 'why did they do that', the casting seemed perfect, it was 'tight'.  That said, I remember thinking that somehow that production just did not seem like something that audiences would flock to.  It did great in a 300 seat theatre, but I just didn't think it would fill a theatre every night, even the Booth.  I cant put my finger on why, but maybe it is that there hasn't been a production to me that, despite the praise of the show, did not come across as underlyingly cold.  I think they need to do something more to the script to offset that coldness.

Either way, I will be there if it stays open long enough for either my April or May foray to the big apple.

PS -- I loved Idina Menzel in Wicked, but have gotten tired of her ever since.  To me she has become a 'shrieker' and that is not a complement.  So, she can hold a note; but if it detracts from the song, why bother. So, please do not put her in it if it is revived...although that may be the only was it succeeds: with big stars in at least two of the roles, and a big talent in the third.

Anyone but Julia Murney.  Listening to her in that Actor's Fund concert makes me wonder what on earth they were all thinking.  Did they not have a full run-though of the score...ever?  She did not have the strength or stamina for the part and she was insanely off pitch during all her cringe-inducing power belting.  If she wasn't up to the task 15 years ago, she certainly won't be now.

What happened with this rumored revival of the Kennedy Center production? Guess it was halted from Ruthie Ann Miles' injury and Karen Olivio doing Moulin Rogue?