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Opening Gambit
The idea for Chess had been around in Tim Rice's mind since 1979. The goal wasn't so much to write about a game of chess, but to show how the Cold War affected the lives of those it touched. At first he asked Andrew Lloyd Webber if he would be interested, but Andrew was busy with his own projects (namely Cats). Tim wrote a five page synopsis in 1980, but it was through Broadway producer Richard Vos in 1981 that the whole game really began. Vos had heard that Tim was looking for a composer for Chess, and he also knew that Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus were looking to branch out from ABBA. Tim met Benny and Bjorn in Sweden, with Richard Vos in attendance, on 15 December 1981. Although other subjects for musicals were discussed, it was the idea of Chess that the trio decided upon. When all four members of ABBA were in London celebrating their first 10 years on 5 November 1982, Benny and Bjorn made the announcement that they were working with Tim on Chess.The first out-put of the collaboration was the concept album in 1984 -- still very popular today. The last recording session for the concept album took place on 28 September 1984. As Tim Rice told just about every journalist at the time, the beauty of putting out an album and then worrying about staging a show is that for an album all you have to be concerned about is how the singers sound and how the musicians play -- there's no connection with appearance, no sets, no directors, no theaters . . . In other words, a lot less red tape, and all the attention can be dedicated to what really is important : the work itself.
The album was produced by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson, and Bjorn Ulvaeus acting as "3 Knights Ltd". The recording was made in Sweden (Tim made about 41 trips to Stockholm) at Polar Studios where Benny and Bjorn had recorded for ABBA. The cast for the album contained both British and Swedish singers: Elaine Paige as Florence, Barbara Dickson as Svetlana (The Russian's wife), Tommy Korberg as The Russian, Murray Head as The American, and Bjorn Skifs as The Arbiter. A concert at the Barbican Hall on 27 October of 1984 coincided with the album's release as part of a Saab-Scania of Sweden sponsored five-city, six-day concert tour spanning London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Stockholm.
Two of the numbers did well in the charts. "One Night in Bangkok" (sung by Murray Head) made it to number 3 in the US and peaked at number 12 in the UK. It topped the charts in Australia, West Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, and Israel as well. In France, where Murray Head was known from earlier work, it became the fastest selling 12-inch single seen to that date. World-wide sales of "One Night in Bangkok" surpassed 3 million. The video was shown on MTV in the united states, and in Britain it won the award for the best British video of a male solo single in February 1985. "I Know Him So Well" (sung by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson) stayed at number one for four weeks in February and early March of 1985 on the UK charts. It was Tim Rice's second number one on the charts, eight years after "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". ("I Know Him So Well" was later recorded by Whitney Houston on her Whitney album as a duet with her mother Cissy.) In 1985 "I Know Him So Well" received yet another accolade when it was awarded an Ivor Novello award for Best Selling British Song. Both "One Night In Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well" were performed on Top Of The Pops. The Chess album itself reached number 10 in the UK, staying on the charts for 16 weeks.
West End & Broadway
Chess had suddenly become surrounded by as much hype as the match it described contained. The Shuberts were rallying to stage Chess on Broadway, despite the fact that its creators preferred to open in the West End first. While theater arrangements were being made, the marketing began. An impressive video of some of the songs, entitled Chess Moves, was put together.Several trips to New York City in the Spring 1985 resulted in Michael Bennet being signed on as director of the stage version of the show to open in the Fall. The album had already sold over 225,000 copies in Sweden, 200,000 in Germany, and was topping the charts in France and Belgium. Chess album sales in Europe surpassed the figures achieved by both Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.
The theatre production was set for the Prince Edward Theatre (where Evita was finishing its run). The cast included the principals from the concept album with the exception of Siobhan McCarthy replacing Barbara Dickson (as she had coincidentally done previously with Evita). Before rehearsals had begun, the production was already way over budget, especially due to the high-tech equipment Michael Bennet wanted. At what seemed like the last minute, Bennet pulled out of the production because he was too ill to continue. Trevor Nunn was brought in to direct an already sold-out show three months before its opening. The resulting show was a hybrid, and was pronounced doomed before it even opened -- especially when previews were canceled for four days because of computer malfunctions.
But it did open -- on 14 May 1986 -- and ran for three years. The show was presented by Three Knights Ltd., The Shubert Organization, and Robert Fox Ltd.. Judy Craymer, who had coordinated many of the arrangements for Chess, was the executive producer. The production wound up costing about £4 million.
The next step was to take Chess to Broadway. There was discussion about Elaine Paige coming to the US, but ultimately the Broadway cast included none of the European stars. Chess was radically revised for Broadway. Trevor Nunn brought in playwright Richard Nelson to provide a book for the show; instead of being entirely sung-through as it had been in London, for New York it would be a play with songs. Among the new material added was "Someone Else's Story" which Tim Rice had written for Florence, but which had not appeared in London or on the concept album.
The show forced its way into the 1988 Tonys category by opening at the Imperial Theatre on 28 April 1988, with previews having started on the 4th. Presented by the Shubert Organization, it starred Judy Kuhn as Florence, David Carroll as Anatoly Sergievsky, Philip Casnoff as Frederick Trumper, and Marcia Mitzman as Svetlana. Originally the Broadway Chess was over three hours long. The reviews were largely unfavorable, and it closed on 25 June after only 68 performances despite audience approval and having had $4 million worth of advance bookings. A later concert featuring the Broadway cast at Carnegie Hall, however, was a huge success.
Moving On To Other Venues
Chess' popularity continues unscathed by Broadway's disappointment. The ever-popular original concept album was re-released in a slimmer CD case in the Fall of 1996. Since its run on Broadway, there have been many re-incarnations of Chess.In 1990 the National Company staged the show under the direction of Des McAnuff. Working with playwright Robert Coe, a lot of Richard Nelson's material was cut, and material cut from London was reinstated.
In 1991 Casa Manana Musicals in Texas staged the show, and a spectacular production in Sydney by the MLC Theatre Royal Company was also mounted. Sydney had originally secured the Chess rights shortly after its London opening, but, due to various set-backs, it wasn't until July 1991 that the show hit the boards. Directed by Jim Sharman (Jesus Christ Superstar, London), the production starred Jodie Gillies as Florence, David McLeod as Freddie, Robbie Krupski as Anatoly, Maria Mercedes as Svetlana, Laurence Clifford as the Arbiter, John Wood as Molokov and David Whitney as Walter. Chess ran for six months. For the production, the plot was greatly altered, much of it coming from ideas Tim Rice had developed for Broadway that were never used. The show was now set in a post-Cold War world, with the entire story taking place over two weeks in Bangkok. Svetlana become a more developed character, first appearing in the beginning of Act One. In addition to new material, the order of many of the songs from previous Chess incarnations was switched around, and Svetlana was given "Someone Else's Story".
A year later, in 1992, Off-Broadway saw a version at the Masters Theatre. Tim Rice collaborated with the Artists' Perspective to revamp the show for Off-Broadway (while at the same time finishing up Aladdin with Disney). Among the major changes were setting the story to take place in 1972 (thus eliminating the problem the ending of the cold war had brought to a show that was supposed to take place in the "now"), and removing Richard Nelson's book making it all sung-through once again. The show was only scheduled for a limited run from 1 February to 23 February, with previews beginning 29 January. It starred Kathleen Rowe McAllen as Florence and J. Mark McVey as Anatoly.
In November of 1994 Tim Rice published a script which mirrored the original London production. Chess was staged at the Edinburgh Festival in August of 1994. In 1996, a Swedish concert cast recording was released with Karin Glenmark as Florence, Tommy Korberg as The Russian, Anders Glenmark as The American, and Lena Ericsson as Svetlana. Also in April - December 1996 there was a UK tour with Jacqui Scott as Florence, Bogdan Kominowski as Freddie Trumper (The American), Maurice Clarke as Anatoly (The Russian), and Julia Howson as Svetlana. In 1992 Stewart Macpherson and Tricia Macpherson had mounted a production of Chess in New Zealand directed by Peter Walker with choreography by Jack Gunn and design by John Parker. In early 1997 they went on to stage a production in Melbourne, Australia directed by Colin McColl with Gunn and Parker once more as choreographer and designer. After a preview week, the show opened on 19 February 1997 and ran until 15 March 1997. It featured Barbara Dickson as Florence, Daryl Braithwaite as Freddie, Derek Metzger as Anatoly, Delia Hannah (who had played Florence in New Zealand) as Svetlana, David Weatherley as Molokov, Tim Page as Walter, and Keith Wright as The Arbiter.
A new American chapter was added to the Chess saga in May 1998 with a New York City benefit Chess concert for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids. Held on the consecutive Sundays of the 10th and 17th of May at the borrowed John Houseman Theatre, it was produced by Neil Berg (who also served as musical director) and Robert Evan. The script used was a compilation, despite the official credits reading like those of the Broadway production. A few sentences of witty narration were provided by Michael Cerveris, who also sang "The Story Of Chess". Freddie was played by Brian d'Arcy James on the 10th, and by Dave Clemmons on the 17th. Robert Evan sang the part of Anatoly, and Christiane Noll was Florence. Raymond Jaramillo McLeod played Molokov, and Danny Zolli was the Arbiter and also sang "One Night In Bangkok". Alice Ripley (King David) played Svetlana, and was given "Someone Else's Story" as well as "Heaven Help My Heart". A second Chess concert took place 10-12 August 2001 at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack, New York. It featured Robert Evan as Anatoly, Brian D'Arcy James as Freddie, Lauren Kennedy as Florence, Guy Lemonnier as Molokov, Julia Murney as Svetlana, Danny Zolli as the Arbiter, and Norm Lewis (filling in at the last minute for Terrence Mann who had to withdraw due to a family emergency) provided the narration.
Back To Sweden
In early November 1999, it was reported in Variety et al. that Tim Rice was planning to bring Chess back to Broadway again, this time during the 2000/2001 season. This new version of Chess would replace the several versions which have previously been available for staging in the United States. Before opening on Broadway, there would be an eight city, forty week tour. The new production would be set in 1984 and center around Anatoly. Many of the songs from London which never survived to Broadway would be included, and there would be a whole new song for Anatoly in Act One. As with later incarnations of Chess, "Someone Else's Story" would be given to Svetlana. However, plans for Broadway were then to be put on hold until after Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus staged a reworked concert version of Chess in Sweden.Although Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus began contemplating reworking Chess in 1998, the revised Swedish theatrical production (rather than a concert) didn't occur until Febuary 2002. Direction and adaptation of the Swedish Chess was by Lars Rudolfsson, with Swedish text by Lars Rudolfsson, Jan Mark, and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The set was by Robin Wagner, costumes by Inger Elvira Pehrsson, choreography by Petter Jacobsson, lighting by Anders Rosenquist, and the music director was Anders Eljas. Playing at the Cirkus in Stockholm, it began on 23 February 2002. Tickets for the production went on sale 27 August 2001 at 9 am. The cast included Tommy Korberg as Anatoly, Helen Sjoholm as Florence, Anders Ekborg as Freddie, Josefin Nilsson as Svetlana, and Per Myrberg as Molokov.
The cast album for the Swedish Chess was recorded in May 2002. It was released on 28 October 2002, and by the next day had sold over 40,000 copies and gone gold. Additionally, a limited edition six CD single set, packaged in book form with production photographs, was released featuring "Jag Vill Se Schack (The Arbiter)", "Inte Jag (Someone Else's Story)", "I Mitt Hjartas Land (Anthem)", "Vem Ser Ett Barn (Pity The Child)", Svetlana's "Han Ar En Man, Han Ar Ett Bar", and Molokov's new song "Glom Mig Om Du Kan".
On 1 March 2003 it was announced that on the 16th, 20th, and 23rd of March the Swedish production of Chess would be filmed for Swedish television release in the autumn of 2004 and DVD release in October of 2003.
The Swedish production of Chess was nominated for seven 2002 Guldmask awards: Costumes (Inger Elvira Pehrsson), Scenery (Robin Wagner), Choreography (Petter Jacobsson & Thomas Caley), Leading Actress In A Musical (Helen Sjoholm), Leading Actor In A Musical (Tommy Korberg), Supporting Actor In A Musical (Anders Ekborg), Best Book (Lars Rudolfsson). At the 3 March 2003 ceremony, Chess turned five of those nominations into awards: costumes, scenery, choreography, leading actress, leading actor. A special award was given to Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulveaus in recognition of the success of the production.
The Swedish production of Chess reached its endgame on 15 June 2003.
America Plays Chess Again
The Actor's Fund of America chose Chess for its third annual benefit concert, held on 22 September 2003 at the New Amsterdam Theatre (where The Lion King was regularly being performed). The concert starred Adam Pascal as Freddie (who had just left the Broadway company of Aida), Julia Murney as Florence (who was originally cast as Svetlana - a part she had previously sung in the August 2001 concert - but was recast as Florence due to Lara Fabian's departure), Sutton Foster as Sevetlana (who joined the company when Lara Fabian withdrew due to scheduling conflicts), Josh Groban as Anatoly, Raul Esparza as the Arbiter, Norm Lewis as Molokov (who had provided narration at the August 2001 concert), and Jonathan Dokuchitz as Walter. The concert was directed by Peter Flynn, and Seth Rudetsky was the Artistic Producer / Musical Director. Tickets, which went on sale on Friday 25 April 2003, ranged from $100 to $2,500. By Monday 28 April 2003 ticket sales had reached over $100,000. The concert was attended by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The one night only event raised roughly $800,000.00.
Royal Albert Hall "Chess In Concert"
To celebrate the passage of more than two decades since the concept album of Chess first hit the charts, a concert will be held at the 1,100 seat Royal Albert Hall on 12 and 13 May 2008 at 8.00pm. Tickets for Chess In Concert went on sale at the end of October 2007. Although originally only scheduled for 13 May, sales proved strong enough early on to add an extra performance on 12 May. The concert is under the direction of Hugh Wooldridge. A special Chess In Concert website was created for the event. Chess In Concert is being presented by Heartaches Ltd., in association with JGPC and The Night Of 1000 Voices.After months of speculation and negotiations concerning scheduling conflicts, it was finally confirmed on 7 January 2008 that Josh Groban ("You Raise Me Up") and Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent) would be singing the roles of The Russian/Anatoly and Florence respectively. Kerry Ellis (Wicked) signed on as Florence on 25 January 2008. On February 4, 2008, it was announced that the part of Freddie/The American would be sung by Adam Pascal -- who had sung the part at the 2003 BC/EFA concert in New York. Shortly thereafter, to the delight of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? fans, it was announced that Maria runner-up & the then alternate Maria in The Sound Of Music Aoife Mulholland would be lending her vocal talents as part of the chorus at the concert as well. On 21 February, 2008 even more exciting casting news was revealed as the remaining principal leads were cast : David Bedella as Molokov, Marti Pellow (from the group Wet, Wet, Wet as The Arbiter and Clarke Peters as Walter. Also added to the Chess In Concert line-up was the quartet Cantabile -- no strangers to the works of Tim Rice as they had appeared in Blondel as the Monks in 1983, sang both that show's "Monk's Introduction" and Chess' "Embassy Lament" on the 1985 Lyrics Of Tim Rice broadcast, and provided backing vocals for Tim himself for "Wand'rin Star" during the 1987 An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner tribute concert and later single release.
The Chess pages were last updated 4.3.08 |
All pages © 1996-2008 JJB. |