CHESS
ENO London Coliseum
26 April - 2 June 2018
The English National Opera does a semi-staged musical once a year
and for 2018 their
choice was Chess, the first West End production since the
original in 1986.
The ENO has a very large orchestra (72+) and chorus (62+) and they
would all
be used in the production. Michael Ball (Anatoly), Tim Howar
(Freddie)
Cassidy Janson (Florence), Alexandra Burke (Svetlana), Phillip
Browne (Molokov), and Cedric
Neal (Arbiter) led the cast. The character of Walter was omitted.
Laurence Connor
directed and choreography was by Stephan Mear. The orchestra
was led by John Rigby.
The set was a series of large black squares scattered over the
entire playing area,
outlined by
(mostly) blue LED lights (they changed colors occasionally). Most
Chess productions
have used video images in some way, but this was the first time they
were so huge and so
intrusive. The stage had a downstage section that rose on hydraulics
for the
chess matches which meant the audience in the stalls only had an
underview of the scene.
Many of the actors exited the playing area down stairs into what
would have been the
orchestra pit, which was distracting.
The overture was wonderful, with the huge orchestra on high
scafolding upstage, but then the
assault began. The squares formed screens onto which video was
projected, mostly from
two cameras onstage. Some historical footage was included to set the
time in the late
seventies/early eighties. But in the main, the massive projections
of Soviet flags, stars
and hammers and sickles, etc., made it difficult to figure out who
was singing on the stage
and was extremely distracting and often confusing.
It soon became clear that the production's priorities were 1)
the cameras, 2) the actors,
and 3) the audience. The actors often faced upstage, away from
the audience [!], and the images
were reversed--Anatoly even wore his wedding ring on his right
hand so it would look right
for the projections, not for the audience. It's doubtful the
director knew of the Eastern European
tradition of right hand wedding rings, but if he did, then it's
wrong on the videos. Also, the
Madonna-style microphones were on the side opposite the
audience, which meant that on the screens,
everyone looked like they had a growth on their cheek. During
the first week of previews, the projected images
lagged about a half second behind the actors on stage. This was
fixed by opening night.
The show mostly followed the concept album's story but used all
the music added in the
original London production. In numbers like "Merano" and
"Mountain Duet," the large cast was
mostly bunched together under the orchestra's scafolding, again
making it difficult to
visually spot the
principals. "Der Kleine Franz" [why???] was included for the
first time since the original London
production. "Embassy Lament" used four men instead of two.
"Merchandisers" had a bevy of
cheerleaders and an Uncle Sam on stilts. The U.S. is the only
country that does
merchandising? And during "One Night in Bangkok," what were the
cirque de soleil-style acrobats
suppposed to represent?
Michael Ball sang well, but was a little long in the tooth for a
romantic lead. His rapport
with Cassidy Janson was non-existent. She sang well, but was so
slender and petite that she
had little stage presence amid the mobs and projections. Since
her first song doesn't come
until well into Act I, she
didn't have the opportunity to take the stage with some force
and charisma. Tim Howar was
an excellent (if repellant, as usual) Freddie and Alexandra
Burke was vocally splendid but lacks the experience to make
Svetlana work, especially in
"Someone Else's Story" and a lackluster new number, "He Is a
Man, He Is a Child," which
opened the second act. Yet oddly, she came off as a more
powerful character than Florence,
possibly because
of the two added songs, but also because she mostly sang them on
an empty stage.
Svetlana and Anatoly's child is in this production, played by an
obviously
terrified boy, who was fully miked though he spoke only one
line. During the first preview, Tim Howar's
wife went into labor during the first act, and the unrehearsed
understudy (Chellen Chugg
Jones) went on for the second act to great acclaim.
The projections continued virtually nonstop throughout the show.
It was very hard to concentrate
on the actors when their faces were projected 20 feet high
behind them. It would have
worked well at Wembley Arena, or simply filmed with no actors
present at all.
The lighting (by Patrick Woodroffe) consisted only of
downlights, no follow spots or light bar
suspended
above the audience, and lit only the upper part of the actors'
bodies (and their shoes).
This may be a limitation of the theatre, but it made the whole
cast look a bit spooky.
All in all, this production proved that, as always, the last
thing we need is another version,
especially one cobbled together from two or more earlier
incarnations.
The story was more confusing than ever, and even the music was
overwhelmed by the
projections. The huge cast seemed stifled by the set and the
production. Every new
version adds things instead of removing them, supposedly in the
interest
of clarity but most new versions are less clear.
CHESS
14-18 February 2018
Eisenhower Theatre, Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.
BENNY ANDERSSON - TIM RICE - BJÖRN ULVAEUS
Directed by Michael Mayer
FLORENCE.............Karen Olivo
FREDDIE.................Raul Esparaza
ANATOLY.................Ramin Karimloo
SVETLANA................Ruthie Ann Miles
MOLOKOV.................Bradley Dean
WALTER..................Sean Allan Krill
THE ARBITER.............Bryce Pinkham
The Company
Paige Faure, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Casey Garvin,
Nkrumah Gatling, Adam Halpin, Ericka Hunter,
Sean Maclaughlin,
Morgan Marcell, Marissa McGowan, Chelsea Turbin,
Christopher Vo, Ricardo A. Zayas
Scenic Design: David Rockwell
Costume Design: Clint Ramos
Lighting Design: Kevin Adams
Sound Design: Kai Harada
Production Design: Darrel Maloney
Arranger and Orchestrator: Anders Eljas
Music Supervisor/Additional Arrangements: Brian
Usifer
Music Director: Chris Fenwick
Executive Producer: Jeffrey Finn
Choreographer: Lorin Lararro
It was quite thrilling to sit in an audience for
Chess which was so
wildly enthusiastic. The last time
was closing night at the Prince Edward. And it
wasn't just a bunch of Chess geeks
either; there were people who
had seen it in London, the general theatregoing
public, and teenage girls who were fans
of Raul Esparza. Kennedy Center misread the interest
in this show. T-shirts sold out on
opening night and the show was sold out for its
brief run.
The "set" consisted of scafolding, with the
orchestra on the top level and the cast seated
in a semicircle below them, with a sprinkling
of large chess pieces behind them. The chorus was
all in grey, Freddie and Anatoly in black,
Florence in blue and
Svetlana in red. There was a Narrator who became The
Arbiter, and at least half of the ensemble
were dancers.
The new book for this production was effective in
setting the time and place, but it was a little
heavy-handed, though it contained a lot of
much-needed humor. The incessant mention of the SALT
II treaty
probably went over the heads of younger audience
members. As with many contemporary versions
of this show, there was a lot of screaming.
Microphones are good enough today that this isn't
necessary and is not a substitute for emotion.
The politically savvy audience didn't miss the humor
in Frederick Trumper's name or in all the
political jokes. Several of the principals were
still "on book" but that did not detract from
their performances. Raul Esparza was suffering with
a throat infection, but gamely carried on,
though his voice was almost gone by the final
performance. Ruthie Ann Miles was pregnant, but
the costume designer effectively disguised her
condition. The chorus shed their gray costumes
for "One Night in Bangkok", and the women had on
extremely scanty red underwear, which was a bit
much for a concert version.
The principals and chorus were all excellent, the
casting flawless, the new book had problems
but was a good start. The projections were intrusive
and went on too long. It is apparent that
the creators have wrested the show from the control
of Trevor Nunn and Richard Nelson, who kept
the Broadway version contractually mandatory in
North America for 30 years. Checkmate!
PROJECTIONS???
The original production was partly about the
media circus surrounding an international chess
championship. The vidiwalls were used to both
illustrate the worldwide media attention
but also to show the chess games in progress
during the musical. The background of the Cold
War is there
in Rice's lyrics for "U.S. vs U.S.S.R." and in
the dialogue. So why does every producer and
director
now feel they must project the history of
the Cold War during the show?
The ENO production took this to an absurd level,
making the action on stage nearly
irrelevant. So did the Kennedy Center
production, to a lesser degree. You either go to
the theatre to see live actors
onstage or you go to the movies. Combining the
two is messy, distracting and off-putting.
I have seen over 40 'versions'
of this show and this was, by far, the worst.
Production, casting. lighting, projections, set,
all bad.
The Dinner Theatre in Boulder Colorado, e.g.,
was far better.
CHESS IN CONCERT
London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and
Sweden
The first concert version of
Chess was the first of the
five European
concerts which introduced the
Concept Album. It took place with
all the artists
from the recording at the Barbican
Centre in London on 27 October 1984
before a
sold-out and eventually wildly
enthusiastic audience. This was
repeated the next
night at La Salle Playtel in Paris,
then the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam,
CCH Hamburg
and ending at the Berwaldhallen in
Stockholm.
CARNEGIE HALL
The next major concert was
organized 9 January 1989 by
David Carroll (Anatoly in
the Broadway production) as a
benefit concert in Carnegie
Hall. Again, the house
sold out and again, the audience
was thrilled. But this was
unique since the entire
original company (except two
ensemble members) came from all
over the world to
perform the songs from the show
that had failed at the Imperial
Theatre less than a
year before. But the music,
freed from the dreary sets and
dialogue, proved to be
as potent as always.
THE SWEDISH CONCERTS
Over the years, starting after
the London production closed,
Chess has been staged in
concert in
Sweden. Thanks to David
Polberger in Sweden, the
following history is translated
from the most recent concert's
programme: "When the chess
tournament was settled in
Skelletftea of Sweden in the
fall of 1989, Chess in
Concert was once again
performed in Sweden [for the
first time since the Concept
Album was introduced].
Three sold out concerts, over
10,000 people in the audience
and it was recorded for TV. All
that because one
enthusiastic theatre director
thought that 'a chess tournament
requires Chess.'"
"The success gave the concert a
[new life]..." and cities all
over Sweden clamored for
Chess In Concert.
"The same solo artists and the
same pop choir have performed at
every concert. Only the big
orchestra and the
big choir have changed. And that
has become part of the whole
idea, that the same group of
people will always
perform Chess."
"Someone has estimated that over
2 million people have seen
Chess, either as a
musical or as a concert.
In June 1998, "30 thousand
people were added to this number
when Tommy, Karin, Anders and
the others
perform[ed] in Gothenburg,
Helsingborg, Stockholm and
Skokloster accompanied by the
Gothenburg Symphony
Orchestra."
"The first time this ensemble
performed Chess together
was in August of 1994." The
Swedish Gothenburg
Symphony Orchestra was ready to
launch a new concert hall in
Eriksberg--a former docklands
area--and chose
Chess as its opening
attraction. This series of
now-legendary concerts
inaugurated more than a new
building. They became an annual
event, held in Gothenburg each
June. The August 1994 concert
was recorded
and its CD remains available in
many countries. Tommy
Körberg recreates his role
as Anatoly, with
Anders and Karin Glenmark
(Swedish recording artists who
did vocals on the original
Concept Album) as
Freddie and Florence and
original, London and Broadway
orchestrator Anders Eljas at the
podium as conductor.
Benny Andersson played both
piano and accordion for the
concert. "'Our music cannot
sound better than this,'
said Benny Andersson" after the
initial 1994 concerts.
DENMARK
In 1991 a Chess
concert was performed
(in English) in Denmark
and broadcast on Danish
television (with
subtitles). It was the
Concept Album lyrics and
arrangements with
"Someone Else's Story"
from Broadway
interpolated. Ms.
Renihan (who had changed
the spelling of her name
to more reflect its
pronunciation) had, of
course, played Florence
for more than a year at
the Prince Edward in
London. The other
artists are all truly
excellent.
Florence.................Grania
Renihan
Freddie..................Derek
Chessor
Anatoly..................Kurt
Ravn
Molokov..................Ulrik
Cold
Svetlana.................Yvonne
Ritz Anderson
The
Arbiter..............Allan
Mortensen
MUSICAL NUMBERS
Merano
What a Scene, What a
Joy
The Russian and
Molokov/Where I Want to
Be
The Arbiter's Song
The American and
Florence/Nobody's
Side
Anthem
Someone Else's Story
Bangkok/One Night in
Bangkok
Argument
I Know Him So Well
Pity the Child
You and I
CHESS IN
CONCERT
On April 12,
1992, Chess
in
Concert
was staged at
the Royal
Alexandra
Theatre in
Toronto,
Canada to
benefit Equity
Fights
Aids/Actors Fund
of Canada
(netting over
$80,000 for the
cause).
Keith Batten
& Eric
Goldstein
present
Chess in
Concert
CAST
The actors (all
superb) came
from then
currently-running
Toronto
productions of
Aspects of
Love, Les
Miserables
and Phantom
of the
Opera.
(in alphabetical
order)
Gregor
Vassy.....................MICHAEL
BURGESS (Jean
Valjean in
Les
Miserables)
Florence
Vassy.................SUSAN
GILMOUR (Fantine
in Les
Miserables)
Svetlana
Sergievsky...........KELLI
JAMES (Giulietta
Trapani in
Aspects of
Love)
Anatoly
Sergievsky............ROBERT
LONGO (Jean
Prouvaire in
Les
Miserables)
Freddie
Trumper................ROB
LOREY
(Aspects of
Love)
Molokov...........................GORDON
McLAREN
(Inspector
Javert in Les
Miserables)
Walter..............................DAVID
MUCCI (Les
Miserables)
The
Arbiter.......................JAY
TURVEY (Feuilly
in Les
Miserables)
Guest
Artist......................COLM
WILKINSON (The
Phantom in
The Phantom
of the
Opera)
COMPANY: Lori
Alter, Lisa
Atkinson,
Virginia Barter,
Elizabeth
Beeler, Sheena
Bellingham,
Pierre
Bénard,
Mark Bernkoff,
Robin Blake,
Scott Bolton,
John Burke, Rod
Campbell, Dan
Chameroy,
Bruce Clayton,
Isabelle
Corradi, Devin
Dalton, Natasha
Danchenko,
Christine
Donato, Dewi
Fairclough,
Catriona
Ferguson, Lisa
Forget, Tracy
Goltsman, Maryke
Hendrikse, Kevin
Hicks, Kymberley
Huffman,
Cara Hunter,
Gabrielle Jones,
Donna Kelly,
Mark Kelso, Glen
Kerr, Philip
Kerr, Doug
LaBrecque,
Pierre
Ladouceur,
Sylvain Landry,
Wendy Lands,
Karlisa
Lindbjerg,
Rhonda Liss,
Daniel
MacDonell, Doug
MacNaughton, Tim
Magwood, Janet
Martin, Sharron
Matthews, Darren
McCaffery, Anne
Mirvish, Eve
Montpetit, Frank
Moore, Paul
Mulloy, David
Nairn, Robert
Pilon, David
Playfair,
Jennifer Potter,
Jennifer
Rockett, Kate
Rodrigues,
Jasmine Roy,
Donna Rubin,
Fernando Santos,
Andrea Sherwood,
Christopher
Shyer, Barbara
Smith, Christy
Taylor, Bruce
Thompson, Susan
Wesson, Jessica
Wilson.
MUSICAL
NUMBERS
Overture/The
Story of
Chess/Apukad
(Budapest,
Broadway
Version)
What a Scene,
What a Joy
(Bangkok,
Broadway
version)
Reporters/Smile
You Got Your
First Exclusive
Story (London
version)
Molokov and
Anatoly/Where I
Want to Be
(London
version)
How Many Women?
(Broadway
version)
The Arbiter's
Song (London
version
U.S. vs.
U.S.S.R.
(Broadway
version)
Quartet (London
version)
Someone Else's
Story (Broadway
version)
One Night in
Bangkok
Terrace Duet
(Broadway
version)
Chess
(instrumental
- London
version)
So You Got
What You
Want/Nobody's
Side
(Broadway
version
Reporters/Anthem
(Broadway
version)
Entr'act/Hungarian
Folk Song
(Budapest -
Broadway
version)
Heaven Help
My Heart
No Contest
(Broadway
version)
You and I
(Broadway
version)
Let's Work
Together
(Broadway
version)
I Know Him
So Well
Pity the
Child
Chorus of
Champions
(London
version)
Endgame
(Broadway
version)
You and I
(Broadway
version)
Apukad
(Broadway/Chicago
version)
Finale/Anthem
(Colm
Wilkinson
and
company)
COMMENTS
There were
no sets, but
a rear
projection
added some
visual
interest
with scenes
from the
Hungarian
Revolution,
chess games,
and other
chess-related
images. The
concert was
broadcast on
Canadian
television.
The cast
sang and
acted in
front of a
full
orchestra,
in costume.
Several
dancers were
used for
"One Night
in Bangkok."
The progress
of the chess
match was
illustrated
by projected
newspaper
headlines.
As can be
seen below,
material was
drawn from
several
versions and
there were a
few
oddities:
the Arbiter
sang a
stanza not
used
since the
first weeks
of the
London
production
("Don’t
try to tempt
me/You’ve
no hope/I
don’t like
women/I
don’t take
dope...")
which made
little sense
as the
character
was played
as on
Broadway,
not as in
London.
However, as
with all
concert
versions,
the
reception
for this one
was
rapturous.
Broadway
Cares/Equity
Fights
Aids
NEW
YORK
CONCERTS
Neil
Berg
and
Robert
Evan
in
association
with
Eric
Krebs,
Joseph
Grano,
Jr.
and
Overland
Entertainment
present
A
Benefit
Concert
for
Broadway
Cares/Equity
Fights
Aids
CHESS
Since
Chess
closed
on
Broadway,
there
have
been
many
regional
productions
of
the
musical,
some
staged
or
semi-staged.
But
a
great
deal
of
attention
was
focused
on a
recent
pair
of
Chess
in
Concert
benefit
performances
because
many
of
the
participants
were
concurrently
starring
in
Broadway
musicals.
Presented
on
two
Sunday
nights
(10
and
17
May
1998),
many
of
the
performers
literally
ran
from
their
curtain
calls
to
the
John
Houseman
Theatre
and
onto
its
stage.
The
superb
logo
designed
exclusively
for
these
concerts
was
created
by
James
Marino
and
is
©
1998
Bucket-A-Fish
and
is
used
by
permission.
The
cast
was
stellar:
Robert
Evan,
Christiane
Noll
and
Raymond
Jaramillo
McLeod
are
were
starring
in
Jekyll
and
Hyde.
Michael
Cerveris
and
Brian
D'Arcy
James
came
from
starring
roles
in
Titanic,
Dave
Clemmons
from
The
Scarlet
Pimpernel,
Alice
Ripley
from
Side
Show
and
Danny
Zolli,
a
veteran
of
dozens
of
productions
of
Jesus
Christ
Superstar.
Most
of
the
ensemble
also
came
directly
from
Broadway's
stages.
CAST
Narrator.............MICHAEL
CERVERIS
Freddie
(17
May).....DAVE
CLEMMONS
Freddie
(10
May).....BRIAN
D'ARCY
JAMES
Anatoly..............ROBERT
EVAN
Molokov..............RAYMOND
JARAMILLO
McLEOD
Florence.............CHRISTIANE
NOLL
Svetlana.............ALICE
RIPLEY
The
Arbiter.......DANNY
ZOLLI
WITH
Bill
E.
Dietrich,
Jennifer
Little,
Robert
Longo,
Michelle
Mallardi,
Michael
Messer,
Kevyn
Morrow,
Brad
Oscar,
Trevor
Richardson,
Jeri
Sager,
Douglas
Storm,
Kay
Story,
Eileen
Tepper,
Allyson
Tucker,
Laura
Voss.
Directed
by
Philip
Hoffman
Musical
Direction
Neil
Berg
Choral
Direction
Wendy
Bobbitt
Executive
Producer
Bruce
Roberts
Production
Supervisor
Caralyn
Spector
Production
Stage
Manager
Babette
Roberts
Assistant
Stage
Manager
Suzie
Tucker
Production
Assistant
Linda
Russak
Marketing
BB
Theatrical
Promotions
and
Jennifer
Hall
MUSICAL
NUMBERS:
Merano
What
a
Scene,
What
a
Joy
Where
I
Want
to
Be
The
Arbiter's
Song/US
vs
USSR
Quartet
You
Wanna
Lose
Your
Only
Friend
Someone
Else's
Story
Mountain
Duet
So
You
Got
What
You
Want
Nobody's
Side
Embassy
Lament
Anthem
One
Night
in
Bangkok
Heaven
Help
My
Heart
You
and
I
I
Know
Him
So
Well
The
Story
of
Chess
Hymn
to
Chess
The
Deal
Pity
the
Child
Endgame
You
and
I
This
concert
also
added
a
Narrator
and
a
number
of
the
London
production's
songs
were
used
including
"Merano,"
"Embassy
Lament"
and
"The
Arbiter's
Song."
Svetlana
was
given
Broadway's
"Someone
Else's
Story"
as
well
as
"Heaven
Help
My
Heart."
The
concerts
sold
out
well
in
advance
and
the
ecstatic
audience
cheered
every
number,
especially
"The
Arbiter's
Song"
and
"Pity
the
Child."
There
was
a
great
deal
of
discussion
in
the
lobby
afterwards
that
it
was
definitely
time
for
a
major
revial
of
Chess.
ODDITIES
and
a
totally
opinionated
Editorial
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