JG: At this point, though, I am just not sure what show it will be - maybe it is CHESS, maybe it is something else. I think that, deep down, I want it to be a show that I can introduce to people - and I think that a show like PHANTOM is just so famous and so prolific.... You know, it usually takes a couple of things to get me maybe-interested in a lead role; the first is if the music is brilliant, which, in that case, I think it is. The second thing is if I can show something new to an audience - something that they didn't know they wanted or something they didn't expect. That's what I remember from the shows that I loved the most when I was kid - people sitting down and not knowing what really to expect and then just walking on air afterwards. That would be my ideal experience for the audience to have.
PC: CHESS just sold out its Off-West End mounting coming up - it seems primed and ready for a big Broadway revival, don't you think?
JG: It's so brilliant - it's just so great. Tim Rice and I actually just had lunch in New York not too long ago and he is really dying to find a way to bring it back to Broadway. I told him that I would personally love to work with him hand in hand in making that happen soon. As you know, and as they talked about in that article in The New York Times recently, with shows trying to make it to Broadway, a million things could happen between now and then that could prevent it from happening.
Read more about InDepth InterView: Josh Groban Discusses ALL THAT ECHOES Album & Live Concert Event, Plus CHESS on Broadway?, GLEE & More by broadwayworld.com
it would sell on Broadway if put in the right house. Groban's a name, but nobody really knows what Chess is. It should come over in a limited run and go from there.
If this comes back to Broadway, will they finally reinstate one of the European scripts and complete the legal battles that forced the American/Broadway script to be performed for years?
I doubt this show would succeed on or even find the backing for Broadway without a name in the cast. Josh Groban has a wonderful voice, and I'd rather see him in it than someone like Ricky Martin as the Arbiter.
I want this. I want this with Josh, Adam and Idina. Yes. I said Idina. No shame there haha. But if not Idina, then Julia. Actually...I don't think I could choose between the two :/
Put this in the Music Box or one of the smaller houses, let it sell out and work on word-of-mouth. It doesn't need to be a big show. It's a pretty simple show, and it's got that whole "from the creators of Mamma Mia" tag line too.
... and I read this 30 seconds after I protested to my best friend that if this ever mounted a fully staged production within driving distance, I'd be there in a heartbeat. Reeling a bit over here from the idea.
I wouldn't even begin to speculate casting, though, obviously, I'd love to see Drew as the American [again!], unlikely as it seems.
Actually Josh Groban was the ONLY thing I liked about the London "Chess" concert. Hated Idina and Pascal (admittedly Idina more).
But what I most hate is the HORRIBLE dramaturgy of the European, Tim Rice approved "Chess". And of course he approves of it, it incorporates every f*cking song he wrote for the piece even though half of the songs are completely undramatic (for instance the show starts four times, giving us places and events and third tier character points of view that stall the show to the point it really never recovers).
Say what you want about the Richard Nelson Broadway book, at least it created some real characters you cared deeply for and moved the show along in a tensely narrative way. Trevor's direction in both the London and Broadway versions also hampered the piece (though he basically inherited the London production) but at least on Broadway he wanted to tell a coherent story.
Sincere question: why would it sell now, if it could only sell 68 performances back in 1988? I saw that one, and don't think that the production sabotaged the work (although that's often the argument offered to explain a show's failure).
I like the London Concert with him. I'd hope they could get Adam and Idina back. Oh and Keri too! If they didn't, I don't know if I'd care too much about it.
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joined:5/7/03
Posted: 2/4/13 at 12:48pm