Chess (musical)

History

The double LP, often referred to as a concept album or album musical, was released worldwide in the autumn of 1984. Liner notes included with the album featured a basic synopsis of the story in multiple languages along with song lyrics and numerous photos. The music on the album was described by The New York Times as "a sumptuously recorded... grandiose pastiche that touches half a dozen bases, from Gilbert and Sullivan to late Rodgers and Hammerstein, from Italian opera to trendy synthesizer-based pop, all of it lavishly arranged for the London Symphony Orchestra with splashy electronic embellishments".^[17] The album featured Murray Head, Tommy Körberg, Elaine Paige, and noted actor Denis Quilley in the role of Molokov. A single from the album, "One Night in Bangkok", with verses performed by Murray Head and choruses performed by Anders Glenmark, became a worldwide smash, reaching #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The duet "I Know Him So Well" by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson held the #1 spot on the UK singles charts for 4 weeks, winning the Ivor Novello Award in the process as the Best Selling Single ('A' Side).

On 27 October 1984, a concert version of the album was premiered by the original cast in London's Barbican Centre and then performed in Hamburg, Amsterdam, and Paris with final presentation on 1 November in Berwaldhallen in Stockholm.

In 1985, music videos were filmed for the songs "One Night in Bangkok", "Nobody's Side", "The Arbiter", the ballads "I Know Him So Well," and "Pity the Child", featuring the performers from the album and directed by David G Hillier. These were released together in a VHS video entitled Chess Moves.^[18]

Critical reception

The original concept album received critical accolades, with Rolling Stone raving that the "dazzling score covers nearly all the pop bases", Kurt Ganzl's Blackwell Guide to the Musical Theatre on Record telling readers about the "thrilling exposition of an exciting piece of modern musical theater occurring before the event" and Time declaring that the "rock symphonic synthesis was ripe with sophistication and hummable tunes".

The album became a Top 10 hit in the UK, West Germany and South Africa, reached #47 on the US Billboard 200, #39 in France, #35 in Australia, and for seven weeks remained at #1 on the Swedish album chart due in no small part to the composers' Swedish heritage. The recording also received several prestigious awards, including the Goldene Europa from Germany, the Edison Award from the Netherlands, and the Rockbjörn from Sweden.

Principal cast

• The American – Murray Head
• The Russian – Tommy Körberg
• Florence – Elaine Paige
• Molokov – Denis Quilley
• The Arbiter – Björn Skifs
• Svetlana – Barbara Dickson

Track listing

CD

Previously unreleased bonus tracks:

• "Press Conference" – The Ambrosian Singers
• "Intro Mountain Duet (Der Kleine Franz)" – London Symphony Orchestra
• "Anthem" (Instrumental) – London Symphony Orchestra

DVD

Documentary:

• Magasinet Special: Chess 1984 – London Symphony Orchestra, Tommy Körberg, Elaine Paige, Murray Head, Anders Eljas, Denis Quilley, Barbara Dickson, Björn Skifs

Music videos (all of which can be found on Chess Moves):

• "One Night in Bangkok" – Murray Head
• "Nobody's Side" – Elaine Paige
• "The Arbiter" – Björn Skifs
• "I Know Him So Well" – Elaine Paige, Barbara Dickson
• "Pity the Child" – Murray Head

History of the original West End production (1986–1989)

Chess premiered in London's West End on 14 May 1986 at the Prince Edward Theatre.^[20] The original production was originally set to be directed by Michael Bennett, but after casting the show and commissioning the expansive set and costume designs, he withdrew from the project due to health reasons and died on 2 July 1987 from AIDS-related lymphoma at the age of 44. Trevor Nunn took over as director. Set designer Robin Wagner later told Lynn Pecktal, author of the book Set Design, that Bennett had planned a "multimedia" show, with an elaborate tilting floor, banks of television monitors, and other technological touches. Nunn applied his realistic style to the show instead, although the basics of the mammoth set design were still present in the final production. These included three video walls, the main of which featured commentary from chess master William Hartston, and appearances from various BBC newsreaders rounding out the package. Costs were estimated at up to $12 million.

The London version expanded the storyline of the concept album, adding considerable new recitative. The three principal singers from the concept album, Elaine Paige, Tommy Körberg and Murray Head reprised their roles on stage. Barbara Dickson was unable to appear, and Siobhán McCarthy played the part of Svetlana, and the cast also featured Anthony Head, Grainne Renihan, Ria Jones, David Burt and Peter Karrie, during its three-year run. The show won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Musical^[21] and received three 1986 Laurence Olivier Award nominations for Best Musical, Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Tommy Körberg) and Outstanding Performance by an Actress (Elaine Paige).^[22] The production closed on 8 April 1989.

Plot summary

Original West End cast

• Frederick Trumper, The American – Murray Head
• Florence Vassy – Elaine Paige
• Anatoly Sergievsky, The Russian – Tommy Körberg
• Alexander Molokov – John Turner
• Walter de Courcey – Kevin Colson
• The Arbiter – Tom Jobe
• Svetlana Sergievsky – Siobhán McCarthy
• Mayor of Merano – Richard Mitchell
• T.V. Presenter – Peter Karrie
• Civil Servants – Richard Lyndon, Paul Wilson

Songs

^† The multiple songs listed here are often merged on recordings into a single track.
^‡ Song is alternately titled "U.S. vs U.S.S.R."
^§ This song actually originated with the American (Broadway) version of the musical, but has since been also included in productions and recordings otherwise adhering to the British version.

History of the original Broadway production (1988)

After the West End production, the creative team decided to reimagine the show from the top down, leading to a second major stage version of the musical intended for American audiences, with considerable differences from the British version in both plot and music. Trevor Nunn brought in playwright Richard Nelson to recreate the musical as a straightforward "book show" for Broadway audiences. Nunn brought in new, younger principals after he disqualified Paige from the role of Florence by insisting Nelson recreate the character as an American. The story changed drastically, with different settings, characters, and many different plot elements, although the basic plot remained the same. Benny Andersson told Variety: "The main difference between London and here is that in London there is only about two or three minutes of spoken dialog. Here, in order to clarify some points, it is almost one-third dialog". The score was reordered, and comparisons of the Broadway cast recording and the original concept album reveal the dramatic extent of the changes. Robin Wagner designed a new set, which featured mobile towers that shifted continuously throughout the show, in an attempt to give it a sense of cinematic fluidity.

The first preview on 11 April 1988 ran 4 hours with a 90-minute intermission (the stage crew reportedly had problems with the sets); by opening night on 28 April, it was down to 3 hours 15 minutes. But despite a healthy box-office advance, the Broadway production did not manage to sustain a consistently large audience and closed on 25 June, after 17 previews and 68 regular performances. "And there I was, on closing night, singing and sobbing along," later wrote Time magazine critic Richard Corliss. Overall, the show (capitalized at $6 million) since its opening, according to Variety, "has been doing moderate business, mainly on the strength of theater party advances". Gerald Schoenfeld, co-producer of the show, noted: "The musical had been playing to about 80 percent capacity, which is considered good, but about 50 percent of the audience have held special, half-priced tickets. If we filled the house at 100 percent at half price, we'd go broke and I haven't seen any surge of tourist business yet this season. The show needs a $350,000 weekly gross to break even, but only a few weeks since its April 28 opening have reached that.... You have to consider what your grosses are going to be in the future".^[23]

The Broadway production was nominated for several major awards. It got five nods from the Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Actor in a Musical (David Carroll), Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Judy Kuhn), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Harry Goz), Outstanding Music (Andersson and Ulvaeus) and Outstanding Lighting Design (David Hersey). Carroll and Kuhn also received Tony Award nominations in Leading Actor in a Musical and Leading Actress in a Musical categories. None of the nominations resulted in a win, but Philip Casnoff received a 1988 Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance. The Original Broadway Cast recording of the musical was nominated for the 1988 Grammy Award in the category Best Musical Cast Show Album (won by Into the Woods).

Later, the musical developed a cult following based primarily on the score (Frank Rich noted in his book Hot Seat that "the score retains its devoted fans"), while Nelson's book received more mixed notices. Many attempts were made to fix the Broadway version's perceived problems. In 2001, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Tim Rice admitted that after the "comparative failure of Chess, his all-time favourite, he became disillusioned with theatre." He commented, "It may sound arrogant, but Chess is as good as anything I've ever done. And maybe it costs too much brainpower for the average person to follow it".

Plot summary

The play's American incarnation has noticeably different settings, lyrics, song orders, and a completely different Act 2 from the British version. In particular, in the American Chess the entire show is about one chess match, not two. Act 1 involves the first part of the match, which is held in Bangkok, Thailand, while Act 2 handles the conclusion, and is set in Budapest, Hungary. Also, the incumbent champion is switched in the American version (that is, to Anatoly Sergievsky rather than Freddie Trumper) as is the winner of the Sergievsky-Trumper tournament.

Original Broadway cast

• Frederick Trumper, The American – Philip Casnoff
• Florence Vassy – Judy Kuhn
• Anatoly Sergievsky, The Russian – David Carroll
• Ivan Molokov – Harry Goz
• Walter Anderson – Dennis Parlato
• Arbiter – Paul Harman
• Svetlana Sergievsky – Marcia Mitzman
• Gregor Vassy – Neal Ben-Ari
• Young Florence – Gina Gallagher
• Nikolai – Kurt Johns
• Joe and Harold (embassy officials) – Richard Muenz and Eric Johnson
• Ben – Kip Niven

Songs

^† This song appears on the Broadway cast album, but was deleted from production and is not found in the script licensed for production.
^‡ This song features in productions, but it was not recorded for the Broadway album.
^§ The titles here refer to the published score names of the songs. Several songs in the American version are identified by alternative titles. "Freddie's Entrance" is also called "What a Scene! What a Joy!"; "Argument" is called "How Many Women"; "Diplomats" is called "U.S. vs. U.S.S.R."; "American and Florence" is called "You Want to Lose Your Only Friend?"; "Florence Quits" is called "So You Got What You Want"; "Reporters" is called "Anatoly and the Press"; "Winning" is called "No Contest"; and "Freddie Goes Metal" is called "A Whole New Board Game".

1989: Carnegie Hall and Sweden

Soon after the show closed on Broadway, a concert version was performed in January 1989 at Carnegie Hall by the original cast in a sold-out benefit performance. In September of that year, Judy Kuhn, and two principals from the West End production (Körberg and Head), gave concerts of the musical in Skellefteå, Sweden, during the finals of the 1989 chess World Cup tournament.

1990s

The seven-month-long 1990 American tour acknowledged the ending of the Cold War. The tour starred Carolee Carmello, John Herrera, and Stephen Bogardus and was staged by Des McAnuff. Playwright Robert Coe worked with McAnuff on revising the show, mostly using the Nelson script and restoring most of the original song order from the British version of the musical and deleting the new songs written for the American version. A UK tour starring Rebecca Storm and mostly based on the London production, was a bigger success.

Once the Soviet Union fell, the modernization attempts died out: A Tim Rice rewrite played a brief run off Broadway in 1990 and set the show back to 1972. Also in 1990, a revival was staged at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Directed by David H. Bell and starring Susie McMonagle, David Studwell and Kim Strauss, it featured another reworking of the Nelson script. Bell's version has been performed in Sacramento, California and Atlanta, Georgia.

A 1990 production in Sydney, Australia, directed by Jim Sharman, was a critical and popular success at the Theatre Royal. It used a new version of the book rewritten primarily by Rice to streamline the plot, using parts from each of the previous versions, as well as his original conception for the American version. It starred Jodie Gillies as Florence, David McLeod as Frederick, and Robbie Krupski as Anatoly, and featured John Wood as Alexander, David Whitney as Walter, Laurence Clifford as the Arbiter, and Maria Mercedes as Svetlana. The action was shifted to an international hotel in Bangkok during the chess championships. No cast recording was made of this version. Both acts took place at a single chess match in a single city (Bangkok) in the late 1980s. Florence's nationality was changed from Hungarian to Czech, with an accompanying change in the lyrics of "Nobody's Side" from "Budapest is falling" to "Prague and Mr. Dubček"). As in the British version, Anatoly defects from the Soviet Union, wins the match, then decides to return to the Soviet Union at the end, leading to the possibility that Florence's father, if he is still alive, will be released from prison. Many of the numbers from the British version were lengthened considerably, with an extended "One Night in Bangkok" near the top of the show. "Heaven Help My Heart" ended the first act, with "Anthem" and "Someone Else's Story" (sung by Svetlana with new lyrics) in the second. "The Soviet Machine" and "The Deal" were also extended considerably. A later Australian production played at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, in 1997, with Barbara Dickson as Florence (she had sung Svetlana on the original studio cast album). Co-stars included Derek Metzger and Daryl Braithwaite.

A concert performance was given at Eriksbergshallen in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1994. The songs and lyrics were largely identical to the original album, with the addition of "Someone Else's Story" from the American version and "The Soviet Machine" from the British version. The concert was recorded. The cast included Anders Glenmark as Frederick, Karin Glenmark as Florence, and Tommy Körberg as Anatoly.

In 1995, a Los Angeles production at Hollywood's Hudson Theater received critical praise. It starred Marcia Mitzman (who played Svetlana in the first Broadway production) as Florence and Sean Smith as Anatoly. For their performances both Mitzman and Smith won an Ovation Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. Chess toured in the U.K. in 1996. The cast included Jacqui Scott, and "Nobody's Side" was used as the finale.

2000 to 2009

A Danish tour began in 2001. The English-language version starred mostly British principals, directed by Craig Revel Horwood. A two-CD album was released, titled Chess: Complete Cast Album, the only major complete recording of the British version of the musical (plus the addition of the American version's "Someone Else's Story" for Svetlana in Act 2). The production also followed the British version of the plot, though later performances used a much shorter, trimmed-down version closer to the original concept album. The cast included Zubin Varla as Frederick, Emma Kershaw as Florence, Stig Rossen as Anatoly, Simon Clark as Alexander, and James Graeme as Walter, Gunilla Backman as Svetlana, and Michael Cormick as the Arbiter.^[24]

Chess På Svenska - DVD Cover

A 2002 Swedish-language version, Chess på Svenska, with lyrics and book by Björn Ulvaeus, Lars Rudolffson, and Jan Mark, attempted to streamline the story back to its original form and eliminate political aspects. It featured new musical numbers (Svetlana's "Han är en man, han är ett barn" ("He is a man, he is a child") and Molokov's "Glöm mig om du kan" ("Forget me if you can" from the demo song "When The Waves Roll Out to Sea") and focused on material from the concept album. Cast members included Tommy Körberg, reprising his role as Anatolij, Helen Sjöholm as Florence, Josefin Nilsson as Svetlana, Anders Ekborg as Freddie and Per Myrberg as Alexander. It was filmed for Swedish television, and has been released on a Swedish-language DVD. It was nominated for eight national Swedish Theatre Awards Guldmasken, winning six, including Best Leading Actress (Sjöholm), Best Leading Actor (Körberg), and Best Stage Design (Robin Wagner). The cast CD "Chess På Svenska" peaked at number 2 on the Swedish album chart.

An Actors Fund of America Benefit Concert was given in 2003 in the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway. It was produced without set or costume changes, and with the orchestra onstage. The show was a combination of both the American and British versions, mostly following the British version with regard to music but the American version with regard to the plot, though the American version's subplot with Florence's father was cut. Act 1 was set in Merano, and Act 2 was set in Bangkok, like in the British version. The show, which was recorded, was directed by Peter Flynn, choreographed by Christopher Gattelli and conducted by Seth Rudetsky. The cast included Adam Pascal as Frederick, Julia Murney as Florence, Josh Groban as Anatoly, Norm Lewis as Alexander, Raúl Esparza as the Arbiter, and Sutton Foster as Svetlana.^[25]

A concert version was presented in 2007 at the Ford Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, California, mixing the British and American versions. The cast included Susan Egan as Svetlana, Kevin Earley as Anatoly, Ty Taylor as Freddie, Cindy Robinson as Florence, Thomas Griffith as Alexander, and Matthew Morrison as the Arbiter. The concert was directed by Brian Michael Purcell. A portion of the proceeds went to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.^[26] A German language version premiered in 2008 at Staatsoperette Dresden. It ran two seasons until 2010.^[27]

In 2008, Warner Bros. Records produced a two-performance concert version of Chess together with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Royal Albert Hall. This version, including almost no dialogue or set, but otherwise following the British version in plot and music, was recorded and released as a 2-CD cast album and DVD, both titled Chess in Concert. It was also broadcast on American PBS channels in June 2009.^[28] Tim Rice stated in the concert's programme that this version of Chess is the "official version," after years of different plot and song combinations. Though the plot and score is entirely based on that of the British version, this version also adds in two American-originated songs: "Prologue" and "Someone Else's Story." The cast included Adam Pascal as Frederick, Idina Menzel as Florence, Josh Groban as Anatoly, Kerry Ellis as Svetlana, Marti Pellow as the Arbiter, David Bedella as Alexander, and Clarke Peters as Walter. The Civil Servants (in "Embassy Lament") were sung by Cantabile^[29]

2010 to 2017

A Hungarian revival of Chess ran in 2010 in Budapest. This concert production closely followed the script of the Royal Albert Hall production of 2008, though the songs "Hymn of Chess," "The Merchandisers," "The Arbiter" (reprise) and "Talking Chess" were cut. It was produced by PS Produkció and directed by Cornelius Baltus. The Hungarian lyrics were written by Ágnes Romhányi and the choreographer was Karen Bruce.^[30] The first major American revival of Chess since 1993 ran at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in 2010.^[31] The show followed the story of the American version, though it streamlined the book and reordered some of the songs. It was directed by Eric D. Schaeffer. The cast included Jeremy Kushnier as Freddie, Euan Morton as Anatoly, and Jill Paice as Florence.^[32][33]

A production directed by Craig Revel Horwood toured for 10 months in the UK and Ireland in 2010–2011. It was an actor-musician production, with 25 out of the 30 cast members playing instruments. Changes to the libretto included the removal of "Merano" and "Walter and Florence". The cast included James Fox as Frederick, Shona White as Florence, Daniel Koek as Anatoly, Steve Varnom as Alexander, James Graeme as Walter, David Erik as the Arbiter, and Poppy Tierney as Svetlana.^[34] Mirvish Productions staged a Toronto run in 2011, following the U.K. tour, using most of the UK Tour cast. Changes to the libretto included the removal of "The Merchandisers". Another German version (with the songs performed in English) was produced by the Theater Bielefeld (Municipal Theatre Bielefeld) in Bielefeld, Germany in 2011–2012.^[35]

A one-night concert was given at Lincoln Center, in New York in 2012, billed as Chess in Concept 2012: A benefit performance for the Actors Fund of America. The cast included Robert Cuccioli as Anatoly, Natascia Diaz as Florence, Drew Sarich as Frederick, and Tamra Hayden as Svetlana. This version returned to the original concept album for its musical structure, Tim Rice's original scenario, and incorporated virtually all of the British score. It was produced and directed, and the score was arranged, by Christopher Martin.^[36]

A New Zealand production of Chess ran in 2012, in the Regent On Broadway, directed by Steven Sayer. The show was produced by the Abbey Musical Theatre.^[37] A 2012 Melbourne, Australia production was directed by Gale Edwards and mounted by The Production Company.^[38] The cast featured Martin Crewes as Frederick, Michael Falzon as the Arbiter, Silvie Paladino as Florence, and Simon Gleeson as Anatoly,^[39] It was staged at the State Theatre, backed by Orchestra Victoria.^[40] The role of the Arbiter was expanded slightly by sharing Florence's song "Nobody’s Side".^[41] The show ran for 10 performances^[42] and was nominated for twelve Green Room Awards in 2012,^[43] eventually winning seven.^[44] Chess was also nominated for two 2013 Helpmann Awards,^[45] with Paladino winning Actress in a Leading Role.^[46]

In 2012, the GöteborgsOperan (Gothenburg Opera, Sweden) ran the Swedish language version, Chess på Svenska, under the direction of Mira Bartov. The musical ran until the Fall of 2013 to sold out audiences. The rolls of Anatoly and Freddie were played by Philip Jalmelid and Christopher Wollter. Evelyn Jons played Florence and Nina Pressing played Svetlana.

The Union Theatre in London revived Chess in 2013, following the story line of the 2008 Chess in Concert.^[47] East West Players, the longest running professional theater of color in the US, staged a revival of the UK version of Chess with a multi-cultural cast in 2013 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre in Los Angeles, California, directed by Tim Dang. The production garnered an excellent review from the Los Angeles Times.^[48]

Porchlight Music Theatre presented Chess as a part of their "Porchlight Revisits" season in which they present three forgotten musicals per year. It was in Chicago, Illinois in May of 2016. It was directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber, choreographed by Brenda Didier, and music directed by Jimmy Morehead.^[49]

In 2017, a Swedish theatre group, UnderhållningsPatrullen, presented the Swedish-language version, Chess på Svenska, at the Kristianstad Theatre, with a premiere date of 23 September 2017.^[50] The production included a completely new orchestration by Anders Eljas involving a smaller orchestra, just 13 members as opposed to the usual 24 members, to radically pioneer a new version for future productions better suited to smaller, more classic theatre venues. The roles of Anatoly, Florence, and Freddie were played by Johan Wikström, Frida Modén Treichl, and Patrik Martinsson. Hanna la Fleur performed as Svetlana, Peter Järnstedt plays Molokov, and David Rix plays Jean Jacques van Boren the Arbiter (chefsdomaren). Director: Ola Hörling, Conductor: Nils-Petter Ankarblom and subsequently Thomas Bay (Conductor), Producer: Åsa Jensen, Costume: Fredrika Liliius, Scenography: Leif Persson, Musical Instruction & Pianist: Jonas Svensson. The Kristianstad production ran for an expanded schedule and finally closed in December 2017 after 47 shows, many to sold out audiences, and to standing ovations at every night, and was almost universally saluted by critics as a triumph. Notably, UnderhållningsPatrullen was able to achieve an emotional depth in the story line that left many in the audience in tears when Anatoly and Florence separate. Svetlana's performance offered a poignant story of the couple's love before the defection and the loss she suffered.

2018 revival

A West End revival began at the London Coliseum on 26 April 2018 through 2 June 2018, officially opening on 1 May 2018. This new production is the first revival in 30 years, and is directed by Laurence Connor, with choreography by Stephen Mear.^[7] Michael Ball is cast as Anatoly, with Phillip Browne as Molokov, Alexandra Burke as Svetlana, Cedric Neal as the Arbiter, Tim Howar as Freddie and Cassidy Janson as Florence.^[51]

On 20 June 2017, Tim Rice announced that after a recent successful table reading, a long-awaited revival of the musical with a restructured storyline will be staged on Broadway in late 2018. The new show features a book penned by Danny Strong and is directed by Michael Mayer.^[8][9][10] On 29 November, it was announced that the show would have a pre-Broadway tryout in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center from 14 to 18 February 2018. The cast includes Raúl Esparza as Freddie, Ramin Karimloo as Anatoly, Karen Olivo as Florence, Ruthie Ann Miles as Svetlana, Bradley Dean as Molokov, Sean Allan Krill as Walter, Bryce Pinkham as the Arbiter, and Thomas Adrian Simpson as the father. The rest of the cast and ensemble includes Paige Faure, Nkrumah Gatling, Casey Garvin, Adam Halpin, Ericka Hunter, Sean MacLaughlin, Morgan Marcell, Marissa McGowan, Chelsea Turbin, Christopher Vo, Minami Yusui, Ricardo Zayas.^[11][52]

The new script reorders the show once again, reviving many elements of the original London production (including returning the first act to Merano, Italy and the second act to Bangkok and returning Florence's background to Hungarian with a lost/imprisoned father), including the popular "Someone Else's Story" from the 1988 American version, removing the Walter character, and dropping the final twist of Florence's father never having been found after all. It ends instead on the bittersweet parting of Florence and Anatoly amidst the triumphant crescendo of You And I.

Original Broadway production