Chess Lyrics
- Act 1
- Merano
- The Russian And Molokov Where I Want To Be
- Opening Ceremony
- Quartet
- The American And Florence Nobodys Side
- Chess
- Mountain Duet
- Florence Quits
- Embassy Lament Anthem
- Anthem
- Act 2
- One Night In Bankok
- Heaven Help My Heart
- Argument
- I Know Him So Well
- The Deal (No Deal)
- Pity The Child
- Endgame
- Epilogue: You And I The Story (Reprise)
This musical was originally created for the West End, that is, for an English audience, but after its success there, it was decided to transfer it to Broadway and to re-do completely, leaving only the skeleton of the story, and everything else was modifiable – music, libretto, set of songs, lyrics. The decision was made to adapt a musical to the audience of the United States. Including the nationality of Freddie’s lover and switching the original world chess champion. But these were just a minor details, because after changes in the musical, dialogues were about a third part, rather than a few minutes, as before.
Despite the fact that the West End has shown good performance, the Broadway version could not make a big miracle, and because of the constant small ticket sales, the musical was closed just after 68 presentations (not including 17 previews). The show closed with a negative financial result, as ticket sales brought almost always less than the minimum required amount for the continuation of its productions. Gerald Schoenfeld, one of the producers, admitted that advances from theater lovers were not enough for the general public to show lasted on, and it generally worked on 80% of its power.
Despite the financial setback, the show received five Drama Desk Awards, and two nominations for Tony. Also, the director received 1 Theatre World Award, and the recording of the music from the show was nominated for a Grammy in 1988, but the reward then went to much more interesting and exciting musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim.
Later versions of the musical processed to improve the show and eliminated the defects of the American version, as version of West End could not play anywhere except the UK, according to the terms of the production contract. After the removal of this condition in 2011, a good version became the frequent visitor to the United States.
Release date: 1997
Last Update:January, 13th 2016