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Chess the Musical
Monday April 28th - Saturday 3rd May
A brief introduction:
Music: Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus
Lyrics: Tim Rice
Book: Richard Nelson
Using as a metaphor the world of international chess, Tim Rice originally conceived to write a musical about how the Cold War affected the lives of all those it touched. The story revolves around the romantic triangle that develops when an American chess champion and his lover travel to Merano to defend his title against a Russian opponent who secretly plans to defect to the West.
Rice originally approached
Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the score, but his former partner was already
committed to other projects. Then, in 1981, producer Richard Vos introduced
Rice to Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, two members of ABBA who were looking
to branch out into musical theatre. The team immediately set about creating
a concept album. Two numbers from the album did well in the charts. "One
Night in Bangkok" first appeared on the UK charts on November 10, 1984
and stayed there for 13 weeks, at one point reaching the #12 spot. In the
US, it jumped to #9 in April of 1985 and topped the charts in France, Australia,
Belgium, Austria, South Africa, Denmark, Israel, West Germany, Switzerland,
Holland and Sweden as well. Another single, "I Know Him So Well,"
followed, eventually reaching #1 on the UK charts during its 16 week run.
With Chess already a worldwide phenomenon before it had even opened, expectations
were high. The London production opened in the West End on May 14, 1986 and
ran for three years