Chess
by Benny Andersson, Tim Rice, Richard Nelson, Björn Ulvaeus

Name: Chess
Brand: Benny Andersson
SKU: 9780573689178
Rating: 3.53 (34 reviews)

Highlights

Medium Cast

Female

Male

120 mins 1980s Ensemble Cast Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes British

Awards & Recognition

Drama Desk Award Olivier Award Tony Award

Nominee: Three 1986 Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical Nominee: Two 1988 Tony Awards Nominee: Five 1988 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Music

Synopsis

Book by Richard Nelson.

Lyrics by Tim Rice.

Music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson

Musical / 9m 2f 1f child plus ensemble / Scenery: Var.

sets.

The collaborators on Chess are giants of rock music and rock musicals and they have created a complex rock opera that played to full Broadway houses and standing ovations.

Here the ancient game becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries competitive gamesmanship super power politics and international intrigues.

The pawns in this drama form a

Press Reviews

"A genuinely fantastic score, perhaps one of the few musicals between West Side Story and Hamilton to meaningfully sound like a worthwhile product of the popular music of its day. ‘I Know Him So Well’ and ‘One Night In Bangkok’ were actual pop hits, and the other songs are... all pulsing synths and hummable ballads."
— TimeOut New York

"Consistently entertaining... sumptuous arrangements and robust musical set-pieces abound... these effervescent pageant numbers are great mood-lifters."
— The Hollywood Reporter

"A checkmate... The ancient game of chess is the game of choice for the leading characters, it also serves as a metaphor for the U.S. versus U.S.S.R. in 1980 – a cat and mouse game of strategic moves and gambits."
— DC Theatre Scene

"A show with a solid, even wonderfully old-fashioned story that still has a bittersweet, rough-edged view of the world… exciting, dynamic theater… a match of wit and passion."
— Providence Journal

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Freddie Rock tenor (to C). Mid-thirties. An American chess champion. A cross between Bobby Fisher and John McEnroe. Arrogant and temperamental, but a genius; his chess playing revolutionary. We need to see his artistry along with his danger and his obsessiveness.	male	—	Rock tenor (to C). Mid-thirties. An American chess champion. A cross between Bobby Fisher and John McEnroe. Arrogant and temperamental, but a genius; his chess playing revolutionary. We need to see his artistry along with his danger and his obsessiveness.
Anatoly Baritone (to G sharp). Early forties. A Russian chess champion. Unexpectedly charming. He doesn't seem a romantic hero at first, but becomes one through his personality. An intelligent, feeling, passionate man.	male	—	Baritone (to G sharp). Early forties. A Russian chess champion. Unexpectedly charming. He doesn't seem a romantic hero at first, but becomes one through his personality. An intelligent, feeling, passionate man.
Molokov Bass (down to F sharp). Fifties. Not a fake, comic, stage Russian. Intellectually formidable. Seemingly a father figure to Florence. Anatoly's chess "second." An actor who sings well.	male	—	Bass (down to F sharp). Fifties. Not a fake, comic, stage Russian. Intellectually formidable. Seemingly a father figure to Florence. Anatoly's chess "second." An actor who sings well.
Svetlana strong belt voice. Late thirties. Anatoly's wife. Domestic, wholesome, homey. A dramatic contrast to Florence - not a contemporary cosmopolitan woman.	female	—	strong belt voice. Late thirties. Anatoly's wife. Domestic, wholesome, homey. A dramatic contrast to Florence - not a contemporary cosmopolitan woman.
Walter Bass-Baritone (down to G sharp). Fifties. A marketing agent. Seemingly respectable, substantial, trustworthy. An actor who sings well.	—	—	Bass-Baritone (down to G sharp). Fifties. A marketing agent. Seemingly respectable, substantial, trustworthy. An actor who sings well.
Arbiter rock high baritone (up to A). Thirty to early forties. International businessman. Smooth, but with a quick temper.	—	—	rock high baritone (up to A). Thirty to early forties. International businessman. Smooth, but with a quick temper.
Gregory Vassy	—	—	—
Young Florence	—	—	—
Nikolai	—	—	—
Joe	—	—	—
Harold	—	—	—
Ensemble	—	—	—
Florence strong belt voice (to E). Mid-thirties. Born in Hungary (so musn't look like an "All-American Girl"); has been brought up in America since 1956. She is clever, theatrical, touching, vivacious, volatile. Frederick's chess "second."	female	—	strong belt voice (to E). Mid-thirties. Born in Hungary (so musn't look like an "All-American Girl"); has been brought up in America since 1956. She is clever, theatrical, touching, vivacious, volatile. Frederick's chess "second."

Videos

Mirvish Productions trailer for Chess

Publication

Publisher Samuel French

Year 2010

Binding Paperback

Pages 128

Language English

ISBN-13 9780573689178

ISBN-10 0573689172

Chess is a British play written by Benny Andersson and published by Samuel French (2010).

Digital editions available on Amazon Kindle .

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3.5

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Benny Andersson

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