CHESS IN CONCERT brings 'unique dimension' to Street Theatre Company 2/24-27

In what could well be the most talked-about theatrical event of the new year, Street Theatre Company presents Chess in Concert February 24-27, featuring some of Nashville's best known stage talents and including a chorus of more than 40 voices. And it seems, in talking to some of the artists most intimately involved in the creative process that will culminate in this weekend's five performances, that it is a process they'd definitely sign-up for again - and it's clear that audiences will be talking about it for a long time after the curtain rings down Sunday night.

With a story and lyrics by Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Lion King) and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of the Swedish mega-group ABBA, Chess in Concert played two spectacular, standing room only, performances at London's Royal Albert Hall in May, 2008. Street Theatre Company is the first American theater company to secure the rights to the "in concert" production that Rice hopes "will be the model of future productions." Chess has a long history that includes multiple versions from concept album to British and American stage productions.

For director Lauren Shouse, the biggest surprise in bringing Chess in Concert to the stage has been working with the huge cast of 40-plus performers.

"It is pretty amazing to have more than 40 people onstage and, of course, that also presents a lot of challenges. It is truly remarkable though to be able to experience this story through concert and really let the music shine," she says. "Chess has had so many incarnations and I really love the concert version - because, to me, it is the clearest. This is a complex musical story and the cast has worked really hard to tell the story without props, sets or choreography. It has been like directing a staged reading on steroids."

Rollie Mains, the production's music director, agrees with Shouse that the amount of work required to bring the concert to the stage has been staggering. "You'd think by eliminating the staging portion/costumes/set portion of a show that it would make things simpler," he says.

Instead, mounting Chess in Concert "involves a different kind of skill set.," Mains explains. "You have to tell the story in a different way - in the emotion of each song, which means you have to live pretty deeply in the music/lyrics to bring it out rather than rely on dialogue to set it up and explain it. If anything, in a show like this, the devil really is in the details."

Chess in Concert features Michael Kitts, Jeffrey Williams, Laura Matula, Erin Parker, Mike Baum and Alan Lee, as well as the "choir," which features a large cross-section of community members.

For Cathy Street, the company's artistic director who has nurtured the production from the first idea to this week's five performances, the experience has been exhilarating and gratifying. "We are loving our innovative In-Concert Series idea [which includes Ragtime in Concert next November]," she says. "This is a great way to kick it off and I'm excited to continue into into next season."

Street says her favorite memory of the process thus far was "hearing the entire cast - leads and choir - sing 'Anthem' for the first time. I literally wept, it was so beautiful."

Street's sentiment is one that is echoed by cast members, including Laura Matula, who sings the role of the duplicitous Hungarian-American assistant. "My favorite memory so far was the first time I heard everyone singing the opening number together - stunning - so many amazing voices in these outstanding choral parts," she remembers. "Goosebumps!"

"My favorite memory is still the very first meeting/rehearsal we had with the whole cast," recalls Jeffrey Williams, who plays the American champion in Chess. "Lauren's explanation of her concept and desire for the show was so exciting, and then we began learning a couple of choral pieces, and I was starting to get chills already, just on the very first night. I've never had a first rehearsal experience quite like it."

Michael Kitts, who plays the Russian chess champion, agrees: "Our first read-through/sing-through is my favorite memory. The sound bouncing around the room of St. Ann's [Episcopal Church on Woodland Street in East Nashville] was so amazing that it took all I could do to keep my mouth off of the floor."

"The first sing-through was just stunning," Shouse admits. "It was at that point that everyone knew they were a part of something really special. All 40-plus people just kept saying to one another, 'you sound so amazing.' I'm not sure I have ever experienced that kind of collective admiration with a group that size. It was pretty damn cool."

And while Mains adds his voice to the list of people saying that first sing-through was definitely memorable, he is quick to caution: "I have a feeling the best is yet to come."

For Matula, the feeling of camaraderie and joie de vivre that has permeated the rehearsal process hasn't really been that surprising, although the amount of fun everyone's been having has surprised her.

"I think how much gosh-darn fun we are having is incredible," she exclaims. "I have been giddy for weeks leading up to rehearsals and now that we are in the final stretch my excitement has not lessened. Every rehearsal is still a joy."

But would she go through the whole process again? "In a heartbeat," Matula answers confidently - and without missing a beat.

"I would do it again right now, back-to-back," Williams admits. "And I have a feeling I'd keep doing it for months on-end. The music is so beautiful and I've wanted to sing it for years, and the people we have in this show are beyond incredible. I won't forget this show ever in my life, and my memory of it will always be amazing. I'm so thankful for this opportunity."

"You bet your sweet life," answers Kitts - so you can count him in, as well, if plans are announced for a do-over. Chess in Concert, he asserts, is giving him the chance "to play one of my dreams roles in such an outstanding approach to this U.S. Premiere."

For Mains, Chess in Concert represents yet another "dimension of musical theater than needs to be presented more often."

"It's easy to get lost in the visual aspects of a show," he explains. "It is rare to hear just the music and to heart it performed live. It is an incredible experience."

Street agrees wholeheartedly: "It changes the vibe from 'musical theater' to a concert...I get shivers every time they sing!"

"I actually really love directing staged readings and although this one is meant to be performed 'in concert,' I think it is a great idea and a powerful way to present this story especially," Shouse says.

Chess in Concert is described as "a complex rock opera in which the ancient game becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, competitive gamesmanship, super power politics and international intrigue. The loutish American chess star, the earnest Russian champion and a Hungarian-American female assistant form an international love triangle in which lovers, politicians, and spies manipulate are are manipulated to the pulse of a monumental rock score."

"To watch Rollie Mains lead this ensemble on this challenging musical journey...I have sort of been in awe," Shouse says.

Apparently, the director isn't the only one who has been awestruck. Williams says that, for him, the biggest surprise about the whole Chess in Concert experience "has definitely been just how good everyone involved is!"

"Don't get me wrong," he confesses, "I knew that we'd have a great cast and that it would be an excellent show from the word 'go.' But I've been constantly in awe of the progress, the process, the way we all have worked together, and just how incredible our choir, in particular, sounds."

Performances of Chess in Concert will be held Thursday, February 24, through Sunday, February 27. Curtain is at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Feburary 26, and the final performance is Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $16 and $14. For reservations and further information about the company, visit the website at www.streettheatrecompany.org.

pictured: Michael Kitts, Jeffrey Williams and Laura Matula, by Hatcher & Fell Photographers/Nashville

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