Grandmasters play a Cold War game, but subtlety goes by the board

THE central work of this year's Production Company offerings is a new staging of Chess.

Chess

AFTER a successful realisation of The Producers last month, the central work of this year's Production Company offerings is a new staging of Chess.

Lyricist Tim Rice first sought to work alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber with whom he'd created a succession of commercially triumphant musicals, including Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. But Webber, working on Cats, was unavailable. A Broadway producer suggested Rice meet Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, who were looking to break from ABBA and explore new musical challenges.

Following the earlier success of musical concept albums from Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, a Chess album was released in 1984 to begin to get the songs known. Concert versions followed and eventually in 1986, Chess opened a three-year run in London's West End. A subsequent Broadway season closed after only 68 performances after some vicious reviews. Two Australian seasons, in 1990 and 1997, also failed to win audiences.

So staging Chess in concert with gifted director Gale Edwards energising an all-star cast -- and bringing together Shaun Gurton's beautiful staging with Krystal Gidding's costumes, Paul Jackson and Robert Cuddon's splendid lighting and Tony Bartuccio's sensual choreography -- seemed to give Chess a better than even chance of generating new audiences.

The basic story is pure '70s: the Cold War viewed through the metaphor of American Bobby Fischer and USSR world champion Boris Spassky's international chess tournament, an eternal triangle and a gathering of odious opportunists seeking to take advantage of the protagonists.

But the book's messy and the songs are too often yelled by, and at, the cast itself and the audience. Many of the larger chorus ensemble's words lack clarity due to the turbo-charged vocal and orchestral volume.

Silvie Paladino headed the strong cast in the role of Florence Vassy. Simon Gleeson's Anatoly Sergievsky and Martin Crewes' Frederick Trumper were the impetuous chess champions. Michael Falzon and Mark Dickinson were impressive as the Arbiter and Alexander Molokov respectively, while Alinta Chidzey's Svetlana Sergievskaya and Bert LaBonte's Walter de Courcey rounded out the principals supported by a strong cast. David Piper's strong musical direction of Orchestra Victoria at its best provided its usual inimitable support.

Tickets: $45-105. Bookings: 1300 182 183 or online.

MUSICAL THEATRE
Chess: The Musical
The Production Company. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. August 20