Two of the world’s greatest chess masters, an American and a Russian, battle it out at the world championships – but their greatest contest is for the love of the same woman.

All critics agreed, though, on the three leading performances by Judy Kuhn, David Carroll and Philip Casnoff. They were showered with praise – "splendid and gallant" ( Newsweek), "powerful singers" ( The New York Times), "remarkably fine" ( New York Post) – especially Kuhn, whose performance Variety called a "show's chief pleasure". Florence's role in the plot is increased yet again, with the show focusing on her conflicting relationships with Anatoly, Freddie, and her father The characters known as Freddie and Anatoly in all later versions are here known only as "The American" and "The Russian", respectively

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In 1956, a Hungarian revolutionary, Gregor Vassy, calmly explains to his 4-year-old daughter, Florence, the history of chess, before the two are separated in the midst of a violent rebellion in Budapest ("Prologue" / "The Story of Chess").

Gans, Andrew. "Heaven Help Her Heart: Julia Murney Heads Cast of All-Star Chess Concert Sept. 22", Playbill.com, 22 September 2003, accessed 9 September 2016 Marynowski, Jenna (1 July 2016). "Chess an epic story of love and Cold War politics". AfterTheHouselights.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Gans, Andrew. "One Night in Hollywood: Chess Benefit Presented Sept. 17", Playbill.com, 17 September 2007 East West Players staged a revival of the UK version of Chess with a multi-cultural cast in 2013 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre in Los Angeles, California, directed by Tim Dang. The production garnered a positive review from the Los Angeles Times. [66]

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Production Manager – Pete Kramer | Company Stage Manager – Rachael Downey | Deputy Stage Manager – Bryony Relf

Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.283. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. The American and Florence" has an instrumental part halfway through that showcases the day Florence's father got taken away In 1985, the original singers were bought together to make a series of music videos to help further promote the album. The videos are now available on DVD under the title Chess Moves. Porchlight Music Theatre presented Chess as a part of their "Porchlight Revisits" season in which they present three forgotten musicals per year. It was in Chicago, Illinois in May 2016. It was directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber, choreographed by Brenda Didier, and music directed by Jimmy Morehead. [69]The original recording of "One Night in Bangkok" is played as dance music in a nightclub between "The American and Florence" and "Nobody's Side" October 2020). "Е2-Е4. Мюзикл "Шахматы" возрождается на московской сцене". Радио Свобода (in Russian) . Retrieved 6 November 2020. This politically driven musical drama revolves around a Cold War chess match for the world title. The battle between the American and Soviet players in Bangkok is being twisted and turned by their respective governments for politically motivated purposes. When an intriguing Hungarian refugee enters the picture, she becomes another player in their emotional game. Being used as pawns by their governments and caught between two world powers, the struggle threatens to destroy their lives. What songs are in Chess?

Heaven Help My Heart" is used as the Act 1 finale, and ends with a brief reprise of "One Night In Bangkok". Correspondingly, "Embassy Lament" and "Anthem" are moved to the beginning of Act 2. A concert version was presented in 2007 at the Ford Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, California, mixing the British and American versions. The cast included Susan Egan as Svetlana, Kevin Earley as Anatoly, Ty Taylor as Freddie, Cindy Robinson as Florence, Thomas Griffith as Alexander, and Matthew Morrison as the Arbiter. The concert was directed by Brian Michael Purcell. A portion of the proceeds went to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. [45] A German-language version premiered in 2008 at Staatsoperette Dresden. It ran two seasons until 2010. [46] You And I (Reprise)" is returned to its original concept album state, including "The Story Of Chess" in the middle In 2012, the GöteborgsOperan (Gothenburg Opera, Sweden) ran the Swedish-language version, Chess på Svenska, under the direction of Mira Bartov. The musical ran until the Fall of 2013. The roles of Anatoly and Freddie were played by Philip Jalmelid and Christopher Wollter. Evelyn Jons played Florence and Nina Pressing played Svetlana. William Roland Hartston; Rice, Tim; Andersson, Benny (1986). Chess: the making of a musical. Pavilion. ISBN 978-1-85145-006-0.Herald, Korea (6 May 2015). "Jo Kwon to star in musical 'Chess' ". The Korea Herald . Retrieved 23 August 2022.