BWW Reviews: Leads Shine in Kensington Arts Theatre's CHESS

Perhaps no musical is more challenging to stage then the Benny Andersson-Björn Ulvaeus-Tim Rice Cold War rock saga Chess.

There are more variations of the show than in the board game from which it takes its name. And yet, Kensington Arts Theatre's production smartly plays to the musical's undeniable strength, its music and lyrics. While certain design elements detract from the production, the performance of its leads, Teresa Danskey as Florence and Ward Ferguson as Anatoly, will remind you why Chess has endeared itself to generations of audiences.

The musical takes place at the world chess championship in the mid-eighties. As was emblematic of so many events during the Cold War, the match was between the U.S. and Soviet Union with American grandmaster Freddie Trumper (Randy Dunkle) and his counterpart Anatoly Sergievsky (Ferguson). When Florence (Danskey), the American second and a refugee of the 1956 Budapest uprising, falls for Anatoly, the world chess championship becomes more than just a fight for political philosophies. For Anatoly things are increasingly complicated because of what is back in Moscow, his wife Svetlana (Nina Jankowicz).

Every production of Chess has always been plagued by a bad book, one that struggles to balance the love triangle at the center of the story with the Cold War 'we move, they move' metaphor inherit in its U.S.-Soviet setup. The fault lies solely with Richard Nelson's cluttered book. Despite Director Lisa Anne Bailey's best efforts, this production cannot escape those plotting problems resulting in a disjointed Act II that moves at a glacial pace. Where this production makes all the right moves is with it's leads.

Danskey is superb as Florence performing the sorrowful "Someone Else's Story" and the reflective "Heaven Help My Heart." She is in terrific voice and makes each song her own, not an easy task considering the caliber of actresses who have played this role. The production's highpoints are when it's Danskey onstage singing Rice and Ulvaeus' lyrics along with Andersson and Ulvaeus' glorious score, the best musical score of the 1980's. When it comes to the show's most famous song, the duet "I Know Him So Well," Danskey's talents are matched by Jankowicz as they passionately bond over their shared love of a man.

As Anatoly, Ferguson displays great depth as a man cynically torn between his responsibilities and dreams. Much like a grandmaster surveys the board, we see Ferguson's Anatoly survey his life with an insightful "Where I Want to Be" and later with a extraordinary rendition of the Act I finale "Anthem." Together with Danskey, they display great chemistry as lovers caught between the suspicious gambits of two distrustful nations. Their reprise of "You and I" will tug at your heartstrings.

Equally touching moments are provided by Rich Shegogue as Florence's father Gregor. He starts the show with a methodical "The Story of Chess" where we learn how Florence got introduced to the game and later with his "Father's Lullaby."

Christopher Overly is solid as the cunning, emotionally manipulative Soviet minder Ivan Molokov. Less successful is Dunkle who lacks the edge, attitude and drive needed for Freddie to succeed. Garrett Matthews' Arbiter, the match's referee, comes off as puzzlingly repressed and angry. It's a shame considering that his Act II opener, the "Arbiter's Song," contains some of Rice and Ulvaeus' wittiest lyrics.

Kensington Arts Music Director Scott Richards conducts a 10 piece orchestra providing the show with its pop-like sound. Even though there was some confusion between the orchestra and cast early in Act I, by Act II both were strong. Rice and Ulvaeus wrote insightful and intelligent lyrics for Chess and that's evidenced with verses such as:

"Here I see a man caring
About a minor sporting triumph, sharing
A show with esoterics
Paranoids, hysterics
Who don't pay attention to
What goes on around them"

Their lyrics do an excellent job commenting on the story, advancing the plot and deeply exploring each character's thoughts and motives.

Courtney James and Nick Carter do something innovative and that is to showcase the difference between American and Soviet societies with their costume designs. At no moment is that more evident than when Florence and Svetlana meet in Act II. James and Carter have Jankowicz's Svetlana stunningly clad in a conservative black velvet sweater dress that covers her whole body. Meanwhile we see Danskey's Florence dressed in an expressive, modern white silk skirt and navy jacket.

Poor lighting along with a generic set design took away from the production's better moments. Ben Levine's lighting design was sporadically successful in lighting particular characters at the appropriate moments.

James Raymond's set features a painted collapsing blue-green-black-white chess board backdrop, reminiscent of the show's original London production logo, with a series of two columns adorning each side of the stage. The design failed to convey the grandeur of such a meeting between the two superpowers and the show's Bangkok and Budapest locations. A nice touch though was the presence of a red telephone, a symbol of the hotline between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War, in several of the hotel room scenes.

Chess opened in London in 1986 for a three-year run and a revamped version on Broadway ran for a brief 68 performances in 1988. There's almost universal acclaim for the music and disdain for the book. Kensington Arts Theatre's production is no different. While the book causes the show to drag at times, the talents of Teresa Danskey and Ward Ferguson are this production's grandmasters.

Runtime: Two hours and 40 minutes with one intermission

Photo: Ward Ferguson and the ensemble of Chess. Credit: John Nunemaker.

Chess at Kensington Arts Theatre - 3710 Mitchell St, Kensington, MD 20895 - runs thru May 30. For more information and tickets please click here.

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