A revamped production of the musical ‘Chess’ hits the stage in Charlotte

Why don’t Americans love “Chess?”

The music comes from Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the team behind ABBA. (And thus, of course, the immensely popular show “Mamma Mia!”) Tim Rice, whose resume runs from “Jesus Christ Superstar” through “Aladdin” to “The Lion King,” wrote the lyrics and story. The original 1984 concept album produced a top 10 hit in America with “One Night in Bangkok” and cracked the top 50 in album sales that year.

Yet the 1988 stage version earned no Tony Awards, despite being directed by Trevor Nunn of “Cats” and “Les Miserables” fame. That technology-laden version ran just nine weeks, flopped on an abbreviated tour and has never been brought back to Broadway. Meanwhile, the show continues to be revamped and remounted around the world, notably in a 2018 London production that inspired Rice to predict wrongly it would return to New York that autumn.

Yet, it refuses to die. Tom Hollis, who became chair of the Central Piedmont Community College drama department the year before the album appeared, said the powerful songs “Anthem” and “Someone Else’s Story” remain audition favorites with young people. In fact, when he and choreographer Ron Chisholm held auditions for “Chess” last year, more candidates than usual showed up for a Cold War story set before many of them were born.

CPCC Theatre will unveil its version Feb. 14-23 at Halton Theater, mainly relying on the 1986 London production but incorporating other elements. Hollis said the show has had so many makeovers that Rice sends it out with an essay saying essentially, “Do what you want,” and suggesting the placement of songs. (You can read about its tortuous history at Wikipedia.)

So what has held “Chess” back?

Partly its age, partly its cumbersome book (written in the U.S. version by Richard Nelson), partly its desire to bite off more than it needs to chew: Chisholm said the first draft of the concept album was five hours long, and he and Hollis were still working last month to whittle down a production that was coming in at two hours and 50 minutes.

Championship games

Rice had his first ideas for the show not long after the 1972 World Chess Championship, where tantrum-prone Bobby Fischer became the first and last American champ by defeating introverted Boris Spassky in a contentious match. Rice had written his first four musicals with Andrew Lloyd Webber. But when they finished “Evita,” and Lloyd Webber decided his next big project would be “Cats” — which didn’t interest Rice — the lyricist moved over to the ABBA duo.

They built their project around three main characters: a raging American, a gentle Russian, and the woman caught between them, because she handles the American but falls in love with his rival. The creators heaved in political satire, mockery of national characteristics (German and British, as well as American and Russian), a subplot for the Russian’s discarded wife, eventually another subplot for the handler — her father, presumed dead, may be alive behind the Iron Curtain — and Soviet-U.S. spy machinations.

No wonder Hollis and Chisholm said the key to success comes in simplifying and tightening.

“We’re putting the emphasis on music, lyrics and characters,” said director Hollis. “We’re doing a stylized production on a simple set, designed mostly in black and gray, except for vibrant colors when the action moves to Bangkok. We have a larger orchestra than usual, 16 players, and it’s a difficult score: It’s in all kinds of time signatures, and then it bursts into rock ‘n’ roll.

“For the first time, we’re working with students in our videography and simulation and game design programs, so there’ll be projections as well as live news footage on screens. One of the problems is how to show the actual chess game to the audience. Other productions have tried actors dressed as giant chess pieces or people holding up knights and bishops on long poles, but we didn’t want that.”

‘Chess’ as rock opera

Chisholm, who has been making local productions jump for four decades, does have a couple of traditional dance numbers in two chess-themed ballets. His most important job, though, is to use bodies in a nontraditional way.

“We’ve cut some of the repetition, so the audience stays more with the main story,” he said. “The movement has to do that, too: You direct the audience’s attention toward the crucial points that move that story forward.

“We’re calling it ‘controlled chaos.’ We told the cast, ‘This will be so fine-tuned that you can’t make a mistake, or you’ll kill the person next to you.’“

They both realize the main purpose for any CPCC Theatre show is to help students grow as singers, dancers or actors. On that level, “Chess” has already succeeded.

“Doing this version as a rock opera challenges them in a different way,” Hollis said. “We’re dealing with a new generation, and these kids are excited to dig back into history and take on a new type of musical.”

“Chess”

WHEN: Feb. 14-23 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Halton Theater, 1206 Elizabeth Ave.

TICKETS: $10-$22. Charlotte-area students $5 with ID; CPCC students free with ID.

DETAILS: 704-330-6534 or tix.cpcc.edu.

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