The Book

Tim Rice cut out the Merano and Budapest settings from the story entirely, cut the show down to 2 weeks in time frame, made Svetlana more significant, downplayed the press, made politics secondary and chess teriary (read my plot synopsis or listen to a recording and say, honestly, that you care all that much about the chess), ramped up the love angle, and used "One Night in Bangkok" as a theme throughout.

There are parts of Sydney Chess that I unreservedly love. There's this scene between Florence and Freddie where he sings a slow version of the "Silly Boy" part of "The Deal," with new lyrics, and tries to get back together with her; it's one of my favorite parts of Chess as a whole, and the only leadup that I like for "Pity the Child." (It's worth noting that Chicago kinda parallels that.) "The Deal" is masterful with the singular exception that it stops in the middle for "Let's Work Together." It would literally be perfect if not for that. I find the new ending for "Heaven Help My Heart" to be a great act I ender. The "Introductions" are wonderful. Allow me to show lyrics here:

"Introductions":

      FLORENCE
When you make good in any calling
Suddenly half the world is falling
Over itself to be your friend

      SVETLANA
That's okay by me!

      ANATOLY
"Tough at the top," is that the cliche?
I'll have to learn as nouveau riche

      FREDDIE
A new kid in town, you may not like
What you have to be

      WALTER & MOLOKOV
A job to do well, an empty canvas
A game that's more important than its players

      ALL
(Except Arbiter)
The unbridled joy
Anticipating all the
Complications of a simple board game

This, which is just great, is complemented by such material as the extensions given "Heaven Help My Heart":

      ANATOLY
Moves made on the spur of the moment
Are the moves that set you free

      FLORENCE
Heaven help my heart

      FREDDIE
One of these days and it won't be long
He'll know all about her - 

      FLORENCE
Heaven help my heart

      SVETLANA
How to fight
How to hate
When the sadness wears me down

      FLORENCE
Heaven help my heart

      ALL
(Chorale in half-time)
One night in Bangkok
And the world's in turmoil
Not much between despair and ecstacy
Not much between despair and ecstacy!

Yet the entire thing is not this good. "Anthem" is now awkward because of how "Heaven..." ended Act One; a lot of songs really just come without the thorough justification that, say, "Heaven..." or "Pity the Child" had. The dialogue is awkward, and never was Rice's strong suit in the first place. The two-week timeframe is too awkward, weakening the love story. Anatoly's win is in a context where chess never mattered all that much to anybody but the Arbiter. The Soviet motive isn't clear despite "The Soviet Machine"; Molokov says it's okay if Anatoly wins then sets out to sabotage him anyway. I preferred Broadway, where they were trying to get him back, or at least London, where they just wanted the crown back. The pressure doesn't feel on enough in "Endgame" because you know that Anatoly ought to lose; his win isn't built up all that well, except in one part of "The Deal." It should've been done up better.

The second act is very awkward, with songs that aren't really second-act numbers. Florence doesn't have one song of her own - lopsided after two in the first act - and seems kinda ineffectual through it all. I dislike that. The first act has its own issues, like the massive argument that just slams an entire song into another song.

As characters go...Freddie's still a loudmouthed jerk, Anatoly's motivation is fuzzy, and Florence is ineffectual. Not a great score. But it's still noticeably Chess, which is more than we can say for the American Tour. Florence, by the by, is Czech now - so she wouldn't be pushing 40 any more - yet a "Budapest is rising" line lingers. Weird.

As far as the big themes go, well, it lacks the media almost entirely. I dislike that; it was a very intriguing line, but Tim Rice wanted it out, so it's out. Not only was the media aspect good, but so were the musical themes attached to it. A shame to not have them. Politics are downplayed, because the show was constantly kept up to date. That was a mistake, and this production showed it; it was getting to the point where one of these days, Anatoly was going to defect and the Soviet Union would fall while he was on the plane ride to the West. (But that's just for the sitcom version of Chess.) Romance is still there, stronger than ever, and done fairly well, to be honest. It's the strong suit of this version.

So, what's the final analysis? Well, the book is rather sloppy, with some moments of real brilliance. It doesn't justify all the songs all that well, at least no better than London, and it loses the thread of its own story in different ways from what the London version did. It has a stronger Freddie, I think, but not all that much else to recommend it. And his ending is so stupid as to negate most of the benefits of his earlier characterization. (Stronger, mind you. He's still a jerk.) In total: don't get me wrong, it's still fairly good, but it is no match for London Chess.

-Wayne