Chess:Sometimes it's the simple things that count

Last Saturday evening, I attended a performance of the Tim Rice musical Chess at the 14th Street Theater in Cleveland. It was performed by students attending Baldwin-Wallace University and, much to my surprise, they managed to outclass the professionals who were performing down the street at Playhouse Square. What they lacked in polish and experience they more than made up for in energy and style.

Chess is a musical that tells the story of 2 World Chess Championship matches, the first in Merano and the second in Bangcock. Involved in the matches are the American champion, Freddy who is all swagger and bravado and his Russian opponent Anatoly who mixes his intelligence with deep feelings of love. The games become complex when Anatoly falls in love with Freddy's assistant, Florence, who allows herself to be manipulated by the death of her father. All three are moved around like pieces on a chess board by their handlers and it becomes clear that they are merely pawns in a giant political game.

The 14th Street Theater can be graciously termed as "intimate" and it's obvious from the design (seats at small tables rather than in rows, the audience almost dangerously close to the stage) that it was made more for stand up comedy rather than theatrical performances. Thus, putting on an elaborate show would be problematic at best. Rather than being hampered by this, the director, Victoria Bussert, took advantage and made the show as simple as possible. The stage consists of one set, a black and white checker-boarded design and a couple of chairs for cast members to sit on. No back drops are used and it is left to the audience's imagination to paint in what is going on.

The costumes and casting are likewise are brilliantly simple. All of the Americans (with the exception of Florence) are in white and the Russians are in black. The chorus is also equally divided into the black/white contrast with only costume change occurring in the show and that is done to represent a change in a character's role in the story. By keeping things so simple, it allows the audience to become even more caught up in the story and forces us to pay more attention. It also allows for more beautifully surreal images such as the chorus members dancing out chess moves during the tournaments. As a result, the show at times went from simple to haunting almost effortlessly.

As for the cast, they were all well chosen. I would list the actors but the program was confusing in that it listed both "American" and "Russian" casts, 2 different casts for the same roles (such as 2 actors for the roles of Freddy). No explanation of what this was or which cast the audience was seeing that night. As a result, all I can say is that Freddy was performed with an appropriate amount of swagger and egotism with the actor using his height to loom over actors in an arrogant manner that masked his self-pity. The true scene stealer, though, was Anatoly who brought down the house with "Anthem" which closed out Act 1. He made the audience sympathize with his dillemas and realize that his choices, while tough, were made in the only manner possible.

The major flaw in the production would have to lay with the sound. Due to the acoustics in the theater, the orchestra often overwhelmed the singers. While that is forgiveable, what was bad was that few of the actors (including some of the leads) weren't miked to give them a chance at being heard. Thus, some of the lyrics were muffled and made it difficult to follow at times.

But, in the end, it was simplicity and energy that won out. It was obvious that everyone involved loved what they were doing and gave it all they had. I will take that anyday over a professional actor sleep walking his way through a performance. It might not be as polished but it was definately a lot more fun.