Menzel, Pascal and Groban Lead CHESS IN CONCERT Limited Ed. CD Now Available for Pre-Order

Idina Menzel's official website is announcing that the upcoming Chess in Concert cd is now available in a limited edition for pre-order on-line.

Wicked's Idina Menzel and Rent's Adam Pascal joined Great Performances favorite Josh Groban in a spectacular London concert revival of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' 1986 cult musical Chess.

Presented by THIRTEEN in 5.1 digital surround sound on PBS HD, and featuring diamond-sharp lyrics by Tim Rice (Evita, The Lion King), the hit-filled production ("One Night in Bangkok," "I Know Him So Well," "The Anthem") was recorded in performance at Royal Albert Hall.

"A fantastic night" proclaimed musiccomh.com, while thestage.co asked "Is there an original pop musical stuffed with better melodies?" neatly echoing Time's initial 1988 assessment: "One of the best rock scores ever produced." Adding to the excitement was the 50-piece City of London Philharmonic, led by David Firman, and the 100-voice West End Chorus.

Royal Albert Hall's CHESS IN CONCERT is set to air on PBS stations this June.

The Limited Edition Package Includes:
*Exclusive 3 disc set (2CD/1DVD) featuring music and video from the stunning performances of the concert version of Chess from Royal Albert Hall in May 2008.
*Full color booklet with cast photos & a synopsis written by Tim Rice
*Sheet music for "Anthem" and "I Know Him So Well"
*MP3 download of the 2CD audio content delivered to you on June 16th*

Full Tracklisting:

Disc One (Act One)

1. Prologue
2. The Story of Chess
3. Merano/What A Scene!/What A Joy!
4. Commie Newspapers
5. Press Conference
6. Molokov and Anatoly (Josh Groban)
7. Where I Want To Be (Josh Groban)
8. Difficult and Dangerous Times
9. The Arbiter
10. Hymn To Chess
11. The Merchandisers
12. Global TV Fanfare
13. Chess Game #1
14. The Arbiter (Reprise)
15. Quartet (A Model of Decorum and Tranquility)
16. Florence and Molokov
17. 1956 - Budapest Is Rising
18. Nobody's Side
19. Mountain Duet (Josh Groban & Idina Menzel)
20. Chess Game #2
21. Florence Quits (Idina Menzel)
22. Pity The Child #1
23. Embassy Lament (Idina Menzel)
24. Heaven Help My Heart (Idina Menzel)
25. Anatoly and The Press
26. Anthem (Josh Groban)

Disc Two (Act Two)

1. Golden Bangkok
2. One Night In Bangkok
3. One More Opponent
4. You and I (Josh Groban & Idina Menzel)
5. The Soviet Machine
6. The Interview
7. Someone Else's Story
8. The Deal (No Deal)
9. Pity The Child #2
10. I Know Him So Well (Idina Menzel)
11. Talking Chess
12. Endgame #1
13. Endgame #2
14. Endgame #3/Chess Game #3 (Josh Groban & Idina Menzel)
15. You and I (Reprise)
16. Walter and Florence
17. Anthem (Reprise)

To order the Chess In Concert CD click here.

ABBA composers Andersson and Ulvaeus created their first musical theater work more than a decade before striking pay dirt with their phenomenon, Mamma Mia. It was the inspired idea of lyricist/librettist Rice to match the pair with his cold war tale: the East/West Chess Championship and the romantic triangle that develops between the Russian and American competitors and the beautiful woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Chart topper Groban (Awake, Closer, Noel) sings the Russian player, Anatoly; Rent Tony and Drama Desk Award-nominee Pascal is the American Freddie, and Tony-winner Menzel (Wicked Witch Elphaba) is Florence, the woman between them.

Chess in Concert was a co-production of THIRTEEN, Reprise Records and Peppermint Pictures, in association with Heartaches Ltd. Directed for telecast by David Horn and produced by Austin Shaw, it was recorded at Albert Hall May 12, 2008. Hugh Wooldridge staged the concert adaptation.

Josh Groban includes among his many Great Performances appearances Josh Groban in Concert (2002), Josh Groban at the Greek (2004) and last December's David Foster & Friends. Adam Pascal was most recently seen in the series' My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs (2001). Chess in Concert marked Idina Menzel's GP debut.

Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, Vivian Milstein, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers, and PBS.