I’m so excited to be kicking off this new column!
As you probably deduced from the name, I will be reviewing what I would call some lesser-known, underrated musicals. If you’ve already heard of them, then sweet—we have similar tastes!—but if you don’t, worry not!
I hope that you will enjoy this musical journey as much as I do.
To kick things off, I would like to introduce you to Chess. Its music is by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus—formerly of ABBA—and lyrics by Tim Rice—you might recognize his name from his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita.
In order to raise money for its first theatrical production, a highly successful concept album was released in 1984. Two years later, the show premiered in London’s West End and played there for three years. In 1988, after much alteration to the plot, the American version only played on Broadway for two months. Since then, multiple revisions have been made for new productions; however, no major revival of the musical has been attempted in the West End or on Broadway.
My personal favourite recording of it is Chess In Concert from 2009. Along with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Warner Bros. Records produced a two-performance concert version of the show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The performance includes next to no dialogue or set, but it emphasizes the musical’s strength: Its music.
The storyline follows a politically-driven chess tournament during the Cold War era between American grandmaster Frederick “Freddie” Trumper and Soviet grandmaster Anatoly Sergievsky—played by Adam Pascal and Josh Groban, respectively.
As the tournament progresses, Freddie’s second and alluded paramour, Florence Vassy, falls in love with Anatoly, becoming his mistress.
The three all have to face their inner demons. For Anatoly, it is having to deal with being used as a pawn in political games between East and West during the chess tournament and choosing between his love for the game of chess; staying with his home country, his wife, and family; or his newfound love for Florence. All of this is reflected in one of the most sensational numbers of the production, “Endgame #3/Chess Game #3.”
Freddie has to deal with Florence deserting him and, in one number in the second act, reflects on how his broken childhood made him who he is today (“Pity the Child #2”). At least in this production, after losing his title of international chess champion to Anatoly, Freddie sets aside his personal grievances with Anatoly to aid him a year after his own defeat.
I won’t give away any more spoilers about the plot, but here some more noteworthy musical numbers. “Where I Want to Be” is Anatoly’s confession about being a pawn used by people he wouldn’t consider to be his friends. “Quartet (A Model of Decorum and Tranquility)” is an interesting piece that happens as a result of Freddie storming out of the arena while facing Anatoly. After Anatoly defeats Freddie and decides to abandon his Soviet team, the press is tipped off about this scandal. They ambush Anatoly, and he replies that he will never leave his country as his land’s “only borders lie around his heart” in “Anthem.”
The cast did terrific work with their respective characters and captured each character’s disposition spot-on.
Josh Groban delivered an exceptional performance with his crooning baritone voice and by capturing Anatoly’s inner turmoil exactly the way that Tim Rice had intended to portray the character. At the time, he had pleasantly surprised most of the audience, who were unconvinced that he would be able to live up to Tommy Körberg’s Anatoly.
Idina Menzel, though she faltered a couple of times on the high notes, made for a convincing Florence performance-wise.
Adam Pascal was perfect for the role of Freddie with his excellent acting and high vocal range. He nailed both Freddie’s inner monologue in “Pity the Child” and his change of heart in “Talking Chess.”
Kerry Ellis, I thought, was severely underused as her character of Svetlana, Anatoly’s estranged wife, only appeared halfway through the second act. However, she perfectly captured Svetlana’s essence in “Someone Else’s Story”, her understanding of how Florence could give her husband something she herself could never give to him in “I Know Him So Well”, and her angst in “Endgame #3/Chess Game #3.”
Chess is definitely a masterpiece in and of itself. I will admit that it will take a couple of listens to understand all that happens and its implications toward the Cold War. However, once you wrap your head around the politics, conflict, love, and hate, you will appreciate the plot’s complexity and the depth of the characters.
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