Review: CHESS Proved to be a Very Incomprehensible Match

I am always interested in seeing plays and musicals that are new to me, excited to hear new songs and experience shows that are not often done in the Los Angeles area. Hence when I heard Art-In-Relation, a new arts organization based in Long Beach, California, was presenting CHESS, a musical new to me, I was eager to see the show.

Unfortunately the sound and lighting systems were designed so poorly for the show at the Ernest Borgnine Theatre within the historical Scottish Rite Cathedral in Long Beach, it was difficult to understand what the actors were saying or singing and many often performed their scenes in the dark. I am not sure what happened, but it certainly led to a lot of confusion trying to figure out just what was going on since I was unfamiliar with the plot and characters.

What was apparent is that Jonas Sills, Director/Producer of the show who played one the leads, Russian chess player Anatoly, is a fabulous singer and his stage presence outshined most of the other performers. His aim was "to bring this production back to its roots with a simple, but carefully planned fully staged production that aims to focus on the beauty of the music and the images chess, the game, can invoke."

To accomplish this, all the actors were dressed in either black of white to match the chess pieces used during the games between opposing forces. The black team represented the Russians with white for the American team and chess champion Freddie (Lan Carter). Sills specifically decided to cast the show color-blind, and chose Marie Wheeler to portray Florence, the strong and independent woman caught between the two major chess players, the real "lynchpin" of the story. While Wheeler can belt like a rock star, it was impossible to understand one word she was singing, making her character's motivations a mystery to me.

All I can tell you is she switched sides and wound up with the Russian, even though he is married to Svetlana (Nicolette Latini) who finally shows up during Act II. Unfortunately, I could not hear one word Latini sung, so her purpose in the show was totally lost of me. Handsome Claudio Medina, Jr. portrayed The Arbiter, the man in charge of the chess match, and his stage presence was a joy to behold.

Besides Sills, the other terrific singer/performer in the show was Bob Cory as Molokov, the Russian player's coach and confidant. His physical presence and complete understanding of what it takes to bring a character to life onstage, was a highlight of the show. It is through his character's machinations that Anatoly is able to take Florence away from Freddie, a move that ensures Anatoly will win the match.

No doubt the inspiration for the musical came from the famous 1972 chess match when American Bobby Fischer captured the World Chess Championship from Boris Spassky of the USSR during a match held in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was heavily publicized as a Cold War confrontation which attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since. According to Sills, "The story of a Soviet versus U.S. cold war era epic seems more poignant in our current environment of increased tension with the former Soviet Bloc, and the stories of love and sacrifice across borders are universal."

Unfortunately the ensemble "chess pieces" in this production did not generate any excitement about the match and none of them were miked, so it was impossible to understand the words they were singing. The only bright spots were the accompanying ballet numbers performers by (I assume given the brief cast info in the program) Emily Frazier, Lena Pham, Bernadette Raisa Sebastian, and Devin Ziel. They were certainly more interesting to watch than the basic block line choreography Loretta Roberts designed for the rest of the ensemble. The only number really acted out by the ensemble to the best of their ability was the show's well-known hit, "One Night in Bangkok."

Sills has performed in a concert version of CHESS in the past, and it was very apparent he focused his attention on the musical presentation of the production, most of which was presented concert style with actors just standing downstage center and singing without really acting their roles. The orchestra led by musical director Gary Fritzen was marvelous but played much too loud, overpowering the singers. And while the ensemble's harmonies were spot on in most cases, not being able to understand the words being sung was a real detriment to my enjoyment of the show.

The run of CHESS has already ended and I hope Sills commendable vision for Art-In-Relation allows the group to continue to grow in its ability to present higher quality productions. But I do think he would be wise to find a smaller space with an excellent sound system for future productions, as well as hiring a lighting designer and board operator who know how to keep the characters illuminated.

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