Review: CHESS at LANCASTER OPERA HOUSE

Every now and then there is a musical that is near universally loved for it score, treasured by cast recording collectors, and infamous to many,  BUT is rarely ever produced. Most were failures soon after theirs debuts. My personal desert island treasured flop  from that category is Jerry Herman's DEAR WORLD. For others it was Stephen  Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (  considered a flop for almost 40 years, but now a triumph). Which brings us to the rarely produced, but often recorded musical CHESS, now being presented at the Lancaster Opera House.

A heated chess tournament between  the USA and Russia at the  height of  Cold War forms the framework of the story conceived by noted musical lyricist Tim Rice (of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and EVITA fame).  It's 1988 and American Freddie competes with  the Russian Anatoly, first in Thailand and then in Hungary. Florence is Freddie's "second" or grand advisor. Florence escaped Hungary in 1956, ripped from her father's arms. Anatoly is trapped  in the clutches of Russia, but soon falls in love with Florence and defects from the Soviet Union. But the grips of a past life with a wife complicates everything.

CHESS, with it's often glorious musical score by composers Benny Anderson and  Bjorn Ulvaeus (yes, of ABBA fame) has struggled to find a successful version of a script to match it's musical success. First released as a concept album in 1984, it later led to a successful 3 year run in London's West End, portending well for a Broadway smash. Broadway was not as receptive- the show was rewritten, music rearranged and an overly complicated set all ended when the show closed within 2 months. A brilliant cast led by David Carroll and Judy Kuhn, though highly praised, could not save it. Multiple concert performances and regional and international productions have been rumored to have fixed the issues with the script, and Broadway revival has been rumored for years. Most recently you can find  a 2008 recording of the magnificently cast concert with the  City of London Philharmonic, sung by Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel and Josh Groban.

In Lancaster. the trio of principal players assembled all make a strong impression. Emily Yancey gives a highly nuanced performance as Florence, that begins edgy and shifts into love struck victim. Yancey's  voice has power and lyricism that perfectly fits the pop heavy portions of the score, but softens and entrances in the quieter moments. She has remarkable similarity of tone and timbre to Andrea McArdle (as an adult, not Annie!) Yancey is rough and brusque in her interactions with Freddie, but literally falls in love with Russian Chess player Anatoly right before her our eyes. Her "Heaven Help My Heart" and "Someone Else's Story" were captivating

Merrick Allen seems born to play the role of Anatoly. Allen has a voice that soars with ease, always commanding attention with subtle gestures and Russian restraint. The love duets with Yancey are sweeping in an old fashioned Rodgers and Hammerstein way, yet his act I closer "Anthem" was riveting in his powerful delivery.

Jacob Albarella plays the unlikable Freddie-- the snotty American who has no patience for anyone, treating everyone badly and endlessly cursing. Albarella has a powerful voice that is often pushed to the limits with the rock heavy portions of his songs. "Pity The Child" was delivered with an intensity that clarified Freddie's dismal disposition and Albarella handled it quite well.

John May as Molokov  fully embodied the strict, yet tortured  "second" of Anatoly. His backstory helped elucidate the miserable lives that he and other Russians endured in the turbulent 1980's. David Bondrow is Walter, oozing callous power as  Freddie's financial agent/American producer, more concerned with success than emotions. The duet "Let's Work Together" showed two conniving minds at work.

Sydney Conrad gave a lovely performance of Svetlana, Anatoly's estranged wife. Conrad soared through the upper registers with a crystal clear soprano. The female duet with Yancey "I Know Him So Well" was a highlight. Nathan Andrew Miller acquitted himself well in the tuneful  Act II opener, "The Arbiter's Song."

The vocal ensemble was well prepared, blending well in quieter pieces like "Hungarian Folk Song" and enjoying themselves in the one top 40 hit from the show, "One Night in Bangkok."

The all black utilitarian set was flanked by a red back wall, with multiple playing areas and ramps. The simple costumes were essentially dark and foreboding, including black sunglasses and dark suits. The women donned those 1980's fashions that are best left in the past, but appropriate.

It's a luxury to have such a large orchestra accompanying the production, and apart for some ill tuned strings, the ensemble  under the direction of Fran Landis played well. That 1980's vibe harkens backs to some of ABBA's own sound, which is crowd pleasing to almost everyone's ears.

Director J. Michael Landis is using the book by Richard Nelson featured in the Broadway version, which is not as completely sung through and has more traditional book scenes. At times, some of the songs feel shoe-horned in, but once they begin, they convey mood and emotion perfectly. Landis guides the cast through the heights of emotions that come with love, a quest to win,  and heartbreak. And the end result proved highly satisfying. CHESS productions are a rarity, so seize the opportunity before it fades away and you are left with just another recording.

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