{"id":2161315,"date":"2025-11-17T08:12:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2161315"},"modified":"2025-11-17T08:12:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:12:16","slug":"chess-theaters-most-notorious-strange-beast-finally-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/chess-theaters-most-notorious-strange-beast-finally-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Chess,\u2019 Theater\u2019s Most Notorious Strange Beast, Finally Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The received wisdom is that the book has always been the problem with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/chessbroadway.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Chess;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><i>Chess<\/i><\/a>, if only\u2014as so many have attempted\u2014the book could be fixed\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But, as the much-anticipated revival of Sir Tim Rice and Abba\u2019s Benny Andersson and Bj\u00f6rn Ulvaeus\u2019 1986 musical on Broadway reveals, <i>Chess<\/i> is its own cabinet of curiosities, and it delights in displaying them all on stage in real-time as brashly as its two peacocking competitors, the Russian Anatoly Sergievksy (Nicholas Cristopher) and the American Freddie Trumper (Aaron Tveit).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">We barely see any chess played between them in this almost three-hour musical endurance test (Imperial Theatre, booking to May 3, 2026). But rather like a chess match, the show (directed by Michael Mayer, with a new book by Danny Strong), stares down each one of its own structural and narrative flaws, fixes the audience with a challenging glare, then makes a series of moves best known to itself to win our attention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The show\u2014less about chess, more about the possible end of the world because of Russian-American tensions\u2014works in enough fits and starts to cohere, and in a few sung moments to actually thrill, thanks to the go-for-broke commitment of Christopher, Tveit, and Lea Michele as Florence, Freddie\u2019s lover and chess strategist. The trio are differently excellent performers, who try\u2014 ultimately in vain\u2014to make <i>Chess<\/i>\u2019 characters and story intelligible.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Aaron Tveit \/ Matthew Murphy<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The also-excellent Bryce Pinkham almost upstages them as the Arbiter, who archly narrates events with pointed present-day commentary inserted; his first winking joke is around Tveit\u2019s character\u2019s surname. An ensemble of dancers, when not leaping and thrusting, stay on stage as a leeringly watchful Greek chorus (the razzle, add-more-dazzle choreography is by Lorin Latarro). Musicals who want to know how to end a first act should look no further than Christopher\u2019s thunderously powerful marshaling of \u201cAnthem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Perhaps it\u2019s unsurprising that the story has always been this battering ram of a musical\u2019s principal problem. <i>Chess<\/i> began life not as a musical, but a concept album released in 1984. It remains a redolent creature of the 1980s, with its earnest macro-themes of East-West politics and nuclear perils, and all the unironic hair-tossing, big-emotion, and over-expressive hallmarks of that era\u2019s pop culture. David Rockwell\u2019s geometric set of shifting panels and platforms and Kevin Adams\u2019 primary-colored lights (red for Russia, blue for America) are just as era-specific.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>Chess<\/i> is a pounding, hulking, pop ballad-stuffed leviathan of its time, and this cast go correspondingly, shamelessly big. They are primed to fight, argue, swagger, declare their love, betray, accuse someone else of betrayal, compete for high stakes, threaten, seduce, live or die, win at all costs, risk everything for love, confess everything, lose it all. Rather like a chess board, everything is black or white. Sample lyrics: \u201cThe blood, the sweat, the tears\/The late, late nights, the early starts\/There they go again!\/Your deeds enflame them\/Drive them wild, but then\/Who wants to tame them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But while the show\u2019s songs run furiously hot, its characters stay resolutely cold and uninvolving. And, the book\u2014despite Pinkham\u2019s comically authoritative guiding hand\u2014remains a messy puzzle, using the lingering Cold War and 1980s nuclear superpower tensions to implausibly sex up, well, <i>chess<\/i>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Nicholas Christopher \/ Matthew Murphy\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/wzALwaivSK128AxYaebPfw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/thedailybeast.com\/c1273b3feba7ea6cd717b7a77c78fa3c\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Nicholas Christopher \/ Matthew Murphy<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A drily excellent Sean Allan Krill as CIA agent Walter de Courcey and Bradley Dean as his KGB opposite, Alexander Molokov\u2014both nodding to the plot\u2019s absurdities without capsizing the show\u2014try to fix the matches between Anatoly and Freddie for their countries\u2019 political ends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">These machinations go nowhere, so the musical creates a love triangle between Anatoly, Freddie, and Florence. This too hits a wall, because of a stark lack of chemistry in each coupled combination; all three leads seem independent rather than fatefully yoked together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As Michele\u2019s lushly assertive belting implicitly shows, Florence doesn\u2019t need either of them, and both men\u2014experiencing different mental health issues\u2014clearly need some time away from playing chess. Who should end up with who? Who cares?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>Chess<\/i> next introduces Svetlana (Hannah Cruz), Anatoly\u2019s wife, long left behind in Russia, to try and win him back from Florence, with the added PR victory of Russia reclaiming one of their own. But this too is a narrative cul-de-sac, because Anatoly immediately says \u201cNo,\u201d and the couple again have no chemistry.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher \/ Matthew Murphy\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qK3ZiVB0mIab2DxF6KX5aQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/thedailybeast.com\/1cae4f563003c4417244c0fbe5f9a9b4\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher \/ Matthew Murphy<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">What you are left with is two women who would be better off without these men (but of course are given nothing to sing about <i>but men<\/i>), and people tunefully booming songs about their troubled pasts and how they feel, like Christopher\u2019s \u201cWhere I Want to Be,\u201d Tveit\u2019s \u201cPity the Child,\u201d Michele\u2019s \u201cNobody\u2019s Side\u201d and \u201cHeaven Help My Heart,\u201d and Cruz\u2019s \u201cHe Is a Man, He is a Child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The two most famous numbers from the show\u2014the chart-toppers \u201cOne Night in Bangkok\u201d and \u201cI Know Him So Well\u201d\u2014are performed well if underwhelmingly, despite Tveit\u2019s charming, scantily clad leadership of the first, and Michele and Cruz\u2019s plaintive rendition of the second. Maybe <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=s2SDInk6voA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson<\/a> benefited from the technical advantages of video, but on stage\u2014with a tinny-sounding orchestra\u2014the dueling, echoing experiences of the two women feel unmoored and de-passioned. (Surprising standouts include the ebullient \u201cMerano\u201d and cheesy Russian song-and-dance number, \u201cThe Soviet Machine.\u201d)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Hannah Cruz \/ Matthew Murphy\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"1439\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/sARX8K9nWxvSMDb6Z0aeXw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTE0Mzk7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/thedailybeast.com\/a99affbee5ae94e9746300f3f14457e3\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Hannah Cruz \/ Matthew Murphy<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Big numbers and baffling story almost spent, <i>Chess<\/i> leans into the possibility that nuclear war is extremely nigh, and the outcome of a final chess match could kill us all. There is even more personal and political plot within wailed lyrics, a surprise ending that is not only no surprise but also not the emotional wallop the show intends, and songs that make head-scratching sense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But <i>Chess<\/i> doesn\u2019t care. It\u2019s here to pulverize you with high-stakes passion, possible global apocalypse, and blazing over-emotion. It is, like many spectacles, good, bad, needily insistent, and unapologetically exhausting. As soon as you buy your ticket, it\u2019s checkmate before you\u2019ve even taken your seat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The received wisdom is that the book has always been the problem with Chess, if only\u2014as so many have attempted\u2014the book could be fixed\u2026 But, as the much-anticipated revival of Sir Tim Rice and Abba\u2019s Benny Andersson and Bj\u00f6rn Ulvaeus\u2019 1986 musical on Broadway reveals, Chess is its own cabinet of curiosities, and it delights [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2161316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[382681,414417,346874,368597,382599,414419,394172,349275,414418,348514,414420,354765,414421],"class_list":["post-2161315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-aaron-tveit","tag-anatoly-sergievksy","tag-benny-andersson","tag-bryce-pinkham","tag-chess","tag-chess-board","tag-danny-strong","tag-florence","tag-freddie-trumper","tag-lea-michele","tag-nicholas-cristopher","tag-russia","tag-sir-tim-rice"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u2018Chess-Theaters-Most-Notorious-Strange-Beast-Finally-Returns.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2161315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2161317,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161315\/revisions\/2161317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2161316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2161315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2161315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2161315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}