2010 Musical - chess

From the writers of ABBA's Mamma Mia

(Scroll down for more behind the scenes videos of our upcoming show)

CHESS THE MUSICAL proudly brought to you by the Townsville Choral Society.

SEASON AT TOWNSVILLE CIVIC THEATRE:
Friday, 29 January @ 7.30pm
Saturday 30 January @ 7.30pm
Sunday Matinee 31 January @ 2pm
Tuesday 2 February @ 7.30pm
Wednesday 3 February @ 7.30pm
Thursday 4 February @ 7.30pm
Friday 5 February @ 7.30pm
Additional day held (if required) Saturday 6 February @ 7.30pm

Book tickets now at the ticketshop - Riverway or Civic Theatre Townsville

Cast and Production Crew:

Music by Benny Andersen and Bjorn Ulvaeus (of ABBA fame)
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Director - SANDRA NEAL
Vocal Director - TYLER CHIN DOU FOONG
Choreographer - DEBBIE CLEMENTS
Orchestral Director - RYAN CHRISTOFFERSEN

FLORENCE Rachel Cairns
ANATOLY Josh Palmer
FREDDIE Adam Mullamphy
MOLOKOV Michael Gleeson
SVETLANA Jolene Kemp
WALTER Dominic Lucas
ARBITER Adam Sperring

ENSEMBLE
Steve Bennett, Becki Bradley, Andrea Campbell, Melissa Casella, Melissa Clarke, Cynthia Clarke, Winsome Denyer, Matthew Higgins, Leo Hogan, Brendan Kavanagh, Carla Lejarraga, Liam Mooney, Brodie Norton, Matt Palmer, Cassie Pudney, Phil Schneider, Daniela Tama, Karen Thomas, Sean Thomas, Alex Thomas.

DANCERS
Lukas Carr, Lynda Carter, Hannah Croft, Jaden Cross, Alex Darnley-Stuart, Molly Elliot, Steven Golding, Mira Irving-Brown, Kathryn Konidis, Brodie Norton, Dayna O'Brien, Courtney O'Brien, Penny O'Donnell, Jillian Page, Ashley Pilleron, Melissa Prince, Cassie Steen, Robert Street.

CHOIR
Gabirelle Ace, Kimberleigh Bates, Sarah Binder, Jordan Bonner, Katie Brenton, Joe Burnett, Luis Camarilla, Sarah Carr, Ashleigh Chappel, Spencer Cliff, Samantha Coleman, Tamara Collard, Jessica Cotton-Brown, Janelle Croft, Lucy Croft, Julie Dell, Alycia Doyle, Cheryl Elliott, Nicholas Eva, Bronte Fabris, Peggy Fleming, Fiona Gillman, Desiree Gowell, Katmarie Hannah, Rachel Harris, Roymata Holmes, Tim Honeyball, Nicole Ireland, Dani Jones, Mark Kent, Kulumba Kiyingi, Lyn Knight, Kathryn Konidis, Kathryn Laslett, Tania Millican, Ryan Mills, Connor Milne, Emma Mitchell, Kimberly Murphy, Sarah Murr, Amy Nasarenko, Naomi Page, Laurie Page, Lorraine Peagram, Shannon Pengelly, Amelia Phillips, Fiona Phillips, Cheryl Platt, Josie Power, Richard Price, James Raggatt, Alexandria Read, Sherrie Robertson, Sharon Rogers, Emily Rowbottom, Carmen Smith, Nicola Sockhill, Drew Thompson, Terri Triebel, Danielle Walker, Lucy Ward

Chess is a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.

Plot synopsis

Act 1

The world chess championship is being held in the northern Italian town of Merano. The brash American champion, Freddie Trumper, relishes the crowd's affection, while his Russian challenger, Anatoly Sergievsky and Molokov, his second (actually a KGB agent), watch with curiosity and disdain on TV. The opening ceremony features an arbiter insisting on holding the proceedings together, US and Soviet diplomats vowing their side will win, and marketers just looking to make a buck. Freddie storms out of a rules meeting, leaving his second, Florence, in an argument with the Arbiter and the Russians. She later scolds him, but he insists that she, a child émigré who escaped Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, should support him. Instead, she reflects that "nobody's on nobody's side". The first game of the match goes badly, with dirty tricks nearly evolving into a brawl. A meeting to smooth things over goes badly and strands Anatoly and Florence together, where they quickly develop feelings for one another. As the matches continue, Freddie flounders and blames Florence, who leaves him. Anatoly wins the championship, then defects to the west. Answering reporters' questions about his loyalties, his "Anthem" declares that "my land's only borders/ lie around my heart."

Act 2

A year later, Anatoly is set to defend his championship in Bangkok, Thailand. Freddie (who is now working for Global Media) is already there, chatting up locals about the nightlife. Florence and the Anatoy are now lovers, and worry about the situation. Molokov, meanwhile, has trained a new protégé to challenge Anatoly. Freddie interviews Anatoly on TV and makes obvious attempts to rattle him, even declaring that Anatoly's wife (Svetlana) is being allowed to leave the USSR to attend the match. She and Florence both reflect on their relationships with him. Freddie goes to Anatoly with information about Florence's long-lost father, claiming that instead of being a hero as she believed, he was a collaborator. Anatoly, and later Florence, dismiss him, unwilling to hear what he has to say. He reflects on his life and his obsession with chess as a way to escape an unhappy childhood. In the deciding game of the match, Anatoly manages an exceptional victory, and realizes that it may be the only success he can achieve - Svetlana castigates him for wallowing in the crowd's empty praise. Both acknowledge they are doomed to care only for themselves. Later, he and Florence reflect on their story that seemed so promising, and how they "go on pretending/ stories like ours/ have happy endings."

Behind the scenes look at chess! - Want to watch more visit our youtube channel.