TIVO RED ALERT: CHESS Premieres on PBS Wednesday, June 17th

PBS' Great Performances will air a spectacular London concert version of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' 1986 cult musical CHESS as CHESS IN CONCERT tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 17th at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings).

CHESS, the musical, is a frustration for everyone that loves the score. The show just didn't work - on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, but is ideal for presentation in concert.

With a "Blue Ribbon" cast, presented by Tim Rice, that includes: Idina Menzel, Josh Groban (who loves theatre, thank goodness - for us and PBS) and Adam Pascal, PBS does it with "class" for the theatre lovers who depend on the donation and grant dependent network for this type of programming - because no one else will take the risk.

The concert is presented and filmed beautifully and works in this format quite well. I must say, however, that the choice of microphones for use here, is most unfortunate. Too big and flesh-colored - they eat the performers faces. 

The reason the show never worked on stage, for audiences, is simple. All the characters are sort of nasty and not likeable and there's no one to "root" for. The concert presentation doesn't make us focus on that and delivers the score.

DEFINITELY worth watching and/or buying on CD (click here) and/or DVD (click here), both released in tandem with the "airing" of this concert on GREAT PERFORMANCES.

The score is written by ABBA composers Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, with lyrics by the singularly skillful Tim Rice.  Musically, it is an embarrassment of riches and the American Original Broadway Cast Recording is STILL, to date, the BEST version on record.

This concert was recorded live, in performance, in London's Royal Albert Hall (think Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert) on May 12, 2008. The musical was staged on Broadway in 1988, making this a sort of 20 year marker celebration, I would think.

Besides the capable stars, there is a wonderful supporting cast of characters, good staging by Hugh Wooldridge, the 50-piece City of London Philharmonic, conducted by David Firman, and a 100-voice West End Chorus. 

Good Stuff.

Reprise Records is releasing Chess in Concert as a two-CD set, a single audio CD, and as a stand-alone DVD to retail beginning today (June 16th, 2009). In addition, a three-disc Special Edition, which includes the two-CD set plus the DVD, will be available exclusively through Groban's official website www.joshgroban.com, his official fanclub website www.friendsofjoshgroban.com, and Menzel's official website: www.idinamenzel.com.

This limited-edition version includes music and video from the performance, a full-color booklet with cast photos and a synopsis by composer Tim Rice, sheet music for "Anthem" and "I Know Him So Well," plus an MP3 download of the two-CD audio content to be delivered all to be delivered on the same street date.