Chess (London Stage Version)
by Benny Andersson, Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus

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

Chess (London Stage Version) Book Cover — Chess (London Stage Version) Cover

Highlights

Medium Cast

Female

Male

120 mins1980sEnsemble CastUnit Set/Multiple SettingsContemporary Costumes/Street ClothesBritish

Awards & Recognition

Drama Desk AwardOlivier AwardTony 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

What readers are saying

Readers have mixed feelings about the play's execution and content. Some appreciate the character development and music in the revival, while others criticize the incomplete script and musical style as lacking depth.

Strong character developmentGreat musical numbersEmotional engagementIncomplete scriptMusic feels out of place

Synopsis

This highly acclaimed musical develops the ancient and distinguished game of chess into a metaphor for romantic rivalries and East-West political intrigue.

The principal pawns form a love triangle: the loutish American Grandmaster, the earnest Russian champion and the Hungarian-American female chess second, who arrives at the international championships with the American but falls for the Russian.

From Tyrol to Thailand the players, lovers, politicians, CIA and KGB make their moves to the pulse of this monumental rock score.

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

PublisherConcord Theatricals

Year2010

BindingPaperback

Pages128

LanguageEnglish

ISBN-139780573689178

ISBN-100573689172

Chess (London Stage Version) is a British play written by Benny Andersson and published by Concord Theatricals (2010).

Digital editions available on Amazon Kindle.

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3.5

34 ratings

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Paperback

Samuel French · 2010 · 128 pp

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Performance Rights

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Benny Andersson

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