CHESS – Music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson; Lyrics by Tim Rice; Book by Richard Nelson; Directed by Bryan Bell; Musical Directed by Jeejay Maccariella; Choreographed by Cory Michael Klements. Produced by Bright Heart Stages (Presented at the People’s Building, 9995 East Colfax, Aurora) through March 9th. Tickets available at thepeoplesbuilding.com/chess.
What’s happening to Aurora? One little corner of East Colfax is beginning to resemble Vegas. There’s a crap game going down on Dayton and an epic chess game being played out on Florence. Epic, indeed! Bright Heart Stages has put together an epic cast that is blowing the roof off the People’s Building for three more performances. It’s a pity they can’t do it longer; there is so much good theatre going on in Denver and surrounds right now. Too many people are going to miss it.
CHESS is a bigger-than-life story based loosely on the media coverage around the Chess Match of the Century between the American Bobby Fischer and the Russian Boris Spassky – although the love stories are a bit of a stretch. But the World Champion match between the two in 1972 created a whole new passion for chess among young players the world over. Based on the exposure he got for his erratic behavior and arrogant confidence, Fischer became a media darling.
Amy Warner and Brian Bell are to be congratulated for pulling off this difficult show which is almost operetta in its presentation with limited spoken dialogue. The score includes seductive ballads, rousing anthems, and downright rock music in a style that embraces recitative and nearly rap sections to tell its story. It demands a lot of its ensemble and even more of the lead characters. The human aspect is truncated to provide room to illustrate the Cold War politics as a theme. But this cast made the story clear and gave the production heart.
Brian Cronan sings the lead role of Freddie, the brash arrogant American chess master who forgives himself for his bad behavior in “Pity the Child.” This role demands a strong temperament and an incredible vocal range. Freddy is in love with his second, the dedicated Florence who sees him for what he is. But as confident as he is leaning over a chessboard, he seems afraid to acknowledge any kind of weakness in his personal life. Amy Warner as Florence, on the other hand, finds her loyalty tested by his thoughtless treatment and having to forever apologize for his behavior. Amy has the moxie to pull off a strong woman who will only put up with so much crap. Her voice has the power to carry off a musical argument, a mournful love song, and everything in between.
The Russian side of this quartet of lovers is well represented by Nick Marshall as Anatoly, who is calm, deliberate, and dedicated to not only chess, but to his desire to escape the bonds of Mother Russia. I don’t know what Nick is like off-stage, but Anatoly has a quietude and strength about his personality that leads you to believe that it is a reflection of Nick in real life. His stage wife, in way too small a role, is Charlotte Campbell as Svetlana. But she does get to sing one-half of one of the loveliest duets ever written for the Broadway stage – “I Know Him So Well.” She and Florence reflect vocally on what “their” man needs, revealing totally opposite views.
I’m not sure why Cole Emarine’s name was not put in the program as the Arbiter, the person who makes the rules and regs governing how the chess matches are conducted. Usually presented as a male character, this production decided to shake it up a little and present the tough-talking, heavy-handed Arbiter as a woman. Even in her power suits and sassy attitude, it seemed an unlikely gender bend, given the politics of the 70’s when this story took place.
But Cole also costumed the show and did an amazing job. There were dozens of costumes required and everyone got new pieces for every change of character, location, and time. Florence wore subdued colors until her love story came alive when touches of Russian red crept into her wardrobe. Svetlana, on the other hand, was entitled to wear bold Russian red immediately. The checkerboard patterns were repeated whenever possible and the dancers from Merano, Budapest, and Bangkok all had new costumes reflecting their national culture. An overwhelming job well done.
One of the roles of the music director is to make sure that the accompaniment to the voices in a production supports the singers without overwhelming them. A very difficult task with a pit band on stage with the cast. The nine musicians – who I believe are members of the Aurora Symphony – created a lot of music for some of the ensemble numbers that led the singers to increase their volume. I’m not going to call it a battle royale, but it did seem to be overwhelming at times. Yet they were able to provide a subdued beautiful background for the ballads. It’s always more enjoyable to have live music; thank you for being willing to learn the music and participate.
I hate short runs – but you’ve got one more weekend. Bright Heart Stage’s mission is to bring to life seldom-done musicals that deserve more attention. Keep your eye on this group – they will bring to life old memories or help you create new ones. Next up: BLOOD BROTHERS.
A WOW factor of 8.75!