Slow Burn Puts the Moves on “Chess”
By Skip Sheffield
Hey kids, let’s put on the most difficult show possible!
That’s what I imagine artistic director Patrick Fitzwater
said when he proposed tackling “Chess,” the short-lived Broadway musical, for
Slow Burn Theatre Company.
I saw a national touring production of “Chess” back in 1990
at the Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami
Beach. I don’t remember much about the production, but
I do know it looked completely different from Slow Burn’s take, which continues
through April 5 at West Boca Raton High School Performing Arts Theater.
“Chess” is set during the Cold War at a grandmaster chess
competition that is more than just a game. Frederick “Freddie” Trumper (Rick
Pena) is the cocky American grandmaster and Anatoly Sergievsky (Matthew
Korinko) is his reserved Soviet opponent.
The characters recall their real-life counterparts: bad-boy
braggart American Bobby Fischer and the more refined and civilized Boris
Spassky and their televised 1972 “Match of the Century.” The concept was originally a 1984
double LP record album, with songs by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaceus of
Swedish pop group ABBA, with lyrics by Tim Rice (“Lion King”). The minimal book
is by playwright Richard Nelson.
The entire production is “sung through,” like an opera, with
no spoken dialogue. The story begins in the Italian town of Merano. The president of the International
Chess Federation, known as The Arbiter (Conor Walton) explains the setup in
“The Story of Chess.” As Freddie and Anatoly contemplate their moves surrounded
by dancing players representing chess pieces, they are encouraged and advised by their
seconds. Freddie’s is the Hungarian-born, English-raised beauty, Florence (Amy Miller
Brennan). Anatoly’s is the scheming Molokov (Elvin Negron).
Watching a chess game is not very exciting, so a plot, such
as it is, is added as a romantic triangle amongst Freddie, Florence and Anatoly. Anatoly is quickly
smitten by the alluring Florence,
and because Freddie has not been her ideal love mate, she is up for a swap. Anatoly
is up for a major life change.
Rick Rena is an actor with dark Latin good looks. For this
role he has chosen to bleach his hair an unnatural shade of orange. Because his
character is not very pleasant or likable, perhaps this physical change is meant
to underscore that.
In her auspicious Slow Burn Theatre debut, Amy Miller
Brennan is far and away the best thing about this show, although in Act One she
is saddled with a most unflattering outfit. She is beautiful and her singing
voice is sensational; especially in a heart-wrenching duet “I Know Him So Well”
with Anatoly’s estranged wife Svetlana (Carla Boronada, also in excellent voice).
Rick Pena is the costume designer, which brings us to another
point. He has chosen a black leather and vinyl motif for both men and woman of
the chorus, which casts the show in a completely different and darker light. If
you are not into leather fetish fashion, you might consider it sinister.
There are only a few memorable songs in the score. Aside
from the aforementioned “I Know Him So Well” there are “You and I,” “Someone
Else’s Story” and the radio hit “One Night in Bangkok.”
The vocal harmonies are gorgeous and many Schvartzman’s band
is again excellent. The raked, chess-themed set by Sean McClelland must be
challenging for the performers. Additional visuals are provided by large video
monitors.
I don’t know what happened to the 1990 national tour, but I
can guarantee the budget must have been 100 times larger than Slow Burn’s. For
that, this is another minor miracle for this fearless company.
Shows are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The
show goes on the road April 10-13 at the Aventura Center.
Tickets are $40 adults, $35 seniors and $25 students. Call 866-811-4111 or go
to www.slowburntheatre.org.
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