CHESS In Concert -- No, Really

[filkertom]

Got my DVD today.

A couple of years ago, I got the Star Wars Original Trilogy (Special Edition). (Sucker's still in a box somewhere, along with the other Special Editions, e.g., West Side Story, Lord of the Rings, all the season sets of Babylon 5. Good box. I want to frickin' find it.) I decided on that Friday evening to put on Ep 4, A New Hope, i.e., the original movie. Watch a few minutes, a few scenes out of that.

Ended up watching all three, one after the other, like crack-laced popcorn. Fell in love with Star Wars all over again.

I just finished the end of Act I of Chess In Concert, with Josh Groban absolutely nailing "Anthem" and getting a well-deserved standing ovation. The crowd went bugfuck. So did I. I've been laughing and tearing up and falling in love with Chess all over again, and I'm not even to the second act yet.

Idina Menzel is every bit as lovely and every bit the actress that I expected, and, while her voice does not quite fit my image of Florence -- a little too piercing, a touch too brittle -- she does the job nicely. Groban and Adam Pascal, on the other hand, are revelations. And the rest of the cast is pretty damn fine too. And the use of lighting and video and dance and occasional costuming and props (it is "in concert" rather than a full production, after all) is clever and engaging throughout.

Sorry, just had to gush a bit. You can either discuss your favorite musicals, your favorite public-domain games, or a public-domain game you'd like to see turned into a musical.

Yes, I'm fishing.

Comments

[morpheus0013.livejournal.com]

I've been waiting a week to hear what you thought! I haven't even written up my reaction post yet; I wanted to watch it through at least half a dozen times before I put my thoughts to paper.

I'm too much of a Broadway geek to be able to answer just "favourite musicals." I have a list of best, a list of favourite, a list of favourite to sing, a list of favourite to perform...it's like asking me to pick a favourite cookies. =)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Sorry it took so long. Lovely box for today, though: that, The Room (with a Rifftrax waiting for it) and George Romero's Knightriders.

[morpheus0013.livejournal.com]

Bah. It's not an apologizing matter; I was just sorry you missed the LJ-wide squeeing when it hit PBS last week. It ended up, with time zones, being about 5 hours of cross-country liveblogging.

That IS a hell of a box. I think I got a bank statement in today's mail. =P

[elektra-h.livejournal.com]

Knightriders is a big personal favorite - "I'd rather be a Wanderer" is a song I never tire of.
And is there anything Tom Savini can't do?

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I should go and see the original movies again.

[youngcurmudgeon.livejournal.com]

It's a tad obvious, but could we get Tim Curry to do Clue: The Musical?

Failing that, the current musicals saving my sanity: In The Heights, Avenue Q, Anything Goes, and Kiss Me Kate.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Had the pleasure of seeing Chess in London twice in 1987. Still one of my favorite musicals.

[tommytoony.livejournal.com]

I DVR'd the PBS broadcast of Chess in Concert and I couldn't agree with you more. Pascal was perfectly cast as Freddie/the American and Groban was excellent as Anatoly/the Russian. Agreed with you as to Menzel's voice (NO one is gonna top Elaine Paige's performance on the original album), but at the same time, I can't think of a major Broadway/West End actor right now who could have done it better.

Having fallen in love with the original album in '84, and being seriously irritated at the travesty that was the Broadway bastardization (which seemed to totally go against the original concept), I'm seriously impressed with how this new version has turned out. They kept with the basic concept of the original work, went back to the musical arrangements from the original album (which IMHO, still stands as the best Broadway/pop music hybrid to date) and tweaked it enough to make it new, clear up some of the storyline, and FINALLY get it right. Alas, this musical was kinda doomed from the beginning. The storyline was a bit too cerebral, the American was considered kind of a villain (VERY gutsy in the Cold War 80's), all the characters are rather flawed and there are no real winners in the end ("we keep on pretending that stories like ours have happy endings"). All a bit too heavy for a typical Broadway audience. I think the only reason Chess has maintained interest is from the strength of the original album, which is Ulveaus' & Andersson's greatest achievement as a songwriting/production team. Considering all the ABBA classics they created, that's saying something. It gained them a loyal audience that has longed for this show to be done properly....and it appears it finally has.

Hopefully, they'll launch another production on stage or go out and tour with this production.

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

Last Saturday, a friend of mine took us to see Fellowship! The Musical in Burbank, CA. I was so inspired by the hilarity of it, that the very next day, I made THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fiu9nZ03cdk) video, using "Happy Birthday, Bilbo!" from the parody's soundtrack and footage of the film it parodied.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Fellowship! Is still playing? I got the soundtrack since I heard it on a filk internet radio station. I'd love to see the musical. I'd be happy to buy a DVD filming of it or even a ... what are those things called ... VHS tape.

One question, what happens when one of the elves says "Come on, it's not like we're planning an ambush or anything." then starts swearing (or something) in Elvish. (Track 10 of the soundtrack; Flight to Rivendell)

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

There's totally an ambush. Wave-horses mow down the dark riders. Remember - it's a parody of the movie and the book. But more the movie. Unfortunately, I didn't see any video versions available.

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I'm uploading a video using "One Ring" to YouTube from my husband's computer.

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

I recorded Chess In Concert when it was broadcast last Wednesday, and watched it a couple or days later. It's a wonderful production, with a uniformly outstanding cast. Groban, in particular, was a surprise to me. I knew he could sing, but I didn't know he could act a song so well. I enjoyed the whole thing tremendously despite the fact that Chess isn't one of my favorite shows.

Right now, the CD player in my car contains The Producers, which I'm auditioning for this Sunday, and Billy Elliot, this year's Tony winner for Best Musical. I fell in love with The Producers all over again, and like Billy Elliot a fair amount, especially this song:



My strongest new recommendation, though, goes to this year's Tony winner for Best Score, Next To Normal. What an amazing, powerful experience, and that's just to listen to it. I wish I could go to New York and see it.

And for something musical-related, I just saw and loved the new documentary Every Little Step, which is about both the original creation of A Chorus Line over thirty years ago, and the audition and casting process for the 2006 revival.

[docwebster.livejournal.com]

Pardon me if this a pedestrian question, but did they nail One Night In Bangkok?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Not at all a pedestrian question. Very close, maybe 8/ 10, possibly 9/10. I have a couple of small complaints. They don't use the shakuhatchi in the musical bridge; Pascal, or the director, doesn't seem to realize that "in a" is supposed to rhyme (more or less) with "Brynner" and therefore needs some emphasis; I don't think Pascal is contemptuous enough for the song. Actually, he's not contemptuous enough for Freddy (IMHO) a lot of the show. Musically, incredibly tight. Dancing, chorus, all good.

[tommytoony.livejournal.com]

Musically, they nailed it (how could you not with the London Philharmonic on stage?). I agree pretty much with what Tom said here as to intent, direction and Pascal's performance. Still, I haven't seen/heard a better version since the original with Murray Head. I remember hearing the version on the Broadway cast album, removing the disc from my player and throwing it across the room.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I've still got my cassette of it, but I kept that mostly for "Someone Else's Story" and "No Contest" (which, for some odd reason, I thought was being sung/yelled at each other by Freddie and Anatoly, which I think would've been wicked cool dramatic, bellowing, "No contest, baby, there ain't any point in playing / 'Cause it's just delaying what we both already know / He lost it a woman and a half ago").

[poltr1]

I saw the second half of Chess In Concert and liked it. I'm hoping the local public library gets a few copies.

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

I was very impressed by Chess in Concert, especially Josh Groban's performance (which actually surprised me). As much as I love Idina Menzel, I have to agree that her voice wasn't quite right for Florence (although, as someone else mentioned, I can't think of anyone right now who would've been better).

[kshandra]

...Josh Groban's performance (which actually surprised me)

I haven't had the chance to pick up the DVD yet, but this has been my particular concern as I've been reading up on the project - he strikes me as being too young to play the Russian, particularly when paired with Adam Pascal.

I'm looking forward to getting a copy, in any event.

Okay. Games.

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

I was listening to NPR this morning on the way into work and I thought I'd die laughing at the opinion piece I heard:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105514153

....Reportedly, directors as notable as Ridley Scott and Peter Berg have respectively signed on to big-budget versions of Monopoly and Battleship, and there's even a version of Candy Land in the works. No word yet, though, on the Steven Spielberg adaptation of Chutes and Ladders....
The consensus in Hollywood wasn't that video game movies sucked, but that the source material they came from was far too complicated for the general public. So, Hollywood figured it needed to base movies on something a little less complex. Like theme-park rides....So from theme park rides, we got downgraded to toys.....And if toys could hit it big, didn't it just figure something more simplistic would hit it even bigger?

Board games.

Re: Okay. Games.

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

You mean they might actually make "Minesweeper: The Movie"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs

As for stage productions, how about "Forums: The Musical." You could have Gilbert & Sullivan banter as forum posters discuss the forum, some exciting conflict as Spam makes an appearance and the forum administrators overreact (with the catchy tune "Say X8yM2L And You Can Post") then finish it off with a big operatic flame war that leaves no survivors (it's opera, what did you expect, a happy ending?")

Re: Okay. Games.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Minesweeper? Solitaire's the only game in town...
but you gotta have Hearts.....

Re: Okay. Games.

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

*blink*
You know, considering the Spiderman musical and the Jerry Springer musical that are already in theaters, this probably isn't too far off, either.
Quick! Delete your post and submit the idea to a fatcat. Make at least a few pennies off the idea....

Re: Okay. Games.

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

Consider that we've already had Clue.

Of course, they'll have to have a movie tie-in -- the official Monopoly edition of... um... Monopoly...

Re: Okay. Games.

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

I must regretfully admit to owning that. The movie was horrible, but I love many of the actors.
Wait.

Let's just blame my kid for this one.

[thistlethorn.livejournal.com]

It's easy to fall in love with Star Wars all over again. There's such an innate appeal there. :-)

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

Saw it on PBS last week and loved it -- it was the first time I've seen a performance; I've previously only heard the original concept album.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

I understand your reaction to the new Chess set. I expected to loathe Groban (I am not a fan), since I figured he would try to power through everything, but he actually did well. Menzel, same reaction pretty much. Too much force applied. Overall, a lovely show. Currently running through my head: The Deal. Has been for the last 2 days.

I should watch Star Wars again. It was one of the first movies I ever saw in a theater, when it originally came out. The other 2 were Bambi and Fantasia.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

Original British Chess, or re-worked American Chess? I didn't much care for it after whoever re-wrote it got their hands all over it. It lost a lot of its subtlety (and also, apparently they think American audiences can't handle as much counterpoint? Bah.)

[zeekar.livejournal.com]

There is no show that you can point to and say "that is Chess". The concept album had been severely worked over by the time it made it to the London stage; the Broadway version was unrecognizable; Rice has been tweaking it all along.

This was much closer to the concept album than the Broadway version, though: multiple tournaments instead of one, first one in Merano, Russian is married, etc.

Still not enough counterpoint in this version of "Quartet".

[zeekar.livejournal.com]

Groban and Menzel are awesome. Pascal gamely keeps up with them. The Chorus is great.

Not so impressed by Molokov, and quite disappointed in the Arbiter.

And flummoxed by the setting change to 1979. Makes the Marketers singing about the Rubik's Cube craze rather anachronistic.

[ladypoetess.livejournal.com]

Necro-commenting here, I realize, however...

I saw CHESS in Concert on PBS a couple times and it took my breath away. I finally got the DVD from Netflix and was able to watch very closely, with music piped directly into my ears, and I was absolutely stunned by the end of Act I.

I absolutely adore the entire production - "One Night in Bangkok" has some of my favorite quotes from the show, "Nobody's Side" was the mental soundtrack for my life for a few months last summer, and "I Know Him so Well" pulls at my heart every time I hear it. But from "Heaven Help my Heart" through "Anthem" at the end of Act I, I can barely breathe - my cats get concerned when I draw a shuddering breath at the end of the act, every time. Each time I watch it, your line here about Josh Groban simply nailing that piece comes back through my mind - sufficient that I decided to dig up this post and comment, even if it is 8 months later!

This was my first exposure to CHESS, as I'd never heard the concept album or seen any of the previous incarnations of the show - so this will always be 'my' version. Indeed, your comment about it coming up on PBS and co-starring Josh Groban (whom I already adore anyway) was why I watched it in the first place. And I'm very grateful for that. :)