Terrace Theatre, Long Beach Opened: 4 October 1990 Closed: 24 October 1990
This had the same director as the Marriott Lincolnshire production, David H. Bell. It followed that script and featured some of the same costumes. By the time this production opened, the US Tour should still have been on the road, but due to its early closure, the set and costumes were available for hire and so this became an amalgamation of the two previous productions.
Where the US Tour had opted for one location - Bangkok, the Marriott had stuck with the two location setting - Bangkok and Budapest and so it was here. Marriott had been done in the round, but the Terrace was a huge proscenium arch style theatre, so the director had to re-imagine the entire show. He did, however, retain many ideas from his previous version, such as the spilt bedroom concept and the human chess pieces. The large chess floor brought to the production an exciting element of modernity, but the story was now set in 1979, so the additional set pieces were given a less glitzy finish and did look a bit drab at times. The general colour pallet and lighting was much more similar to Broadway than to the touring version. There was no video screen and any scores or reports on events were generally presented by the Arbiter.
Scene & Song List
Act One - Bangkok PROLOGUE MUSIC / THE STORY OF CHESS APUKAD Florence's father gives her one of two chess pieces on a chain, keeping one for himself
WHAT A SCENE! Reporters ask questions - Freddie storms out
PRESS CONFERENCE "Well what did we say, he's out of his tree...." SMILE, YOU GOT YOUR FIRST
Walter, Freddie and Florence / Anatoly and Molokov (Split bedroom set.....)
WHERE I WANT TO BE
HOW MANY WOMEN
THE ARBITER
US v USSR (Encouraging times, but only first verse)
THE ARBITER (Continued) CHESS 1 (Human chess pieces make first appearance)
Yoghurt!
QUARTET
Molokov and Florence - arranging the meeting
Walter, Florence, Freddie - Advertising and discussing Freddie's walk out YOU WANT TO LOSE YOU ONLY FRIEND?
SOMEONE ELSE'S STORY
The Restaurant - usual dialogue TERRACE DUET
CHESS (Reprise) In the middle of the duet... staged as a pas de deux
TERRACE DUET (Continued) WHO'D EVER THINK IT
ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK
STORY OF CHESS (Reprise) Acrobatic Arbiter appears and sings "Each game of chess..."
CHESS 2
FLORENCE QUITS
A TASTE OF PITY
NOBODY'S SIDE
Underground Car Park: Walter, Flo and Anatoly, defection
REPORTERS A room at Bangkok airport
ANTHEM
Act Two - Budapest (Two months later) Arbiter's welcome and score recap
Anatoly, Florence and Walter in a church
Florence and Molokov in the church
HEAVEN HELP MY HEART
Freddie's Hotel Suite - Freddie being interviewed by a reporter
Walter arrives, they argue about a meeting with the secretary of state NO CONTEST
A picnic with Anatoly and Florence, Anatoly's friends and news of Svetlana in Bangkok
YOU AND I
YOU KNEW BETTER / YOU AND I - Svetlana (Svetlana's hotel room)
Molokov and Anatoly - re the problems of family back in Russia A WHOLE NEW BOARD GAME
ARBITER (Reprise) "I'm on the case..."
Molokov and Walter - re info that Florence's father is alive
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
Walter and Florence - Is it possible her father could be alive? Molokov introduces Svetlana. Anatoly and Florence - news of Anatoly's brother's accident
I KNOW HIM SO WELL (Split hotel room effect again)
Anatoly and Florence - re her father
Florence and Freddie - Florence asks for five day postponement
PITY THE CHILD
Florence and Anatoly - speak by phone, re no postponement, he either plays or forfeits the match
ENDGAME The human chess piece Queens, robe and crown the Kings in prep for the match
Airport - Anatoly and Svetlana then Anatoly and Florence
YOU AND I
Walter, Molokov and Florence - an agent is being released rather than her father
Florence and a stranger. He gives her a package sent from Anatoly, it is the chess piece her father kept... The man returns with her father.
APUKAD Instrumental ANTHEM Choral version
Programme Images
The Cast
Florence: Jodi Benson Anatoly: Robert Yacko Freddie: Kim Strauss The Arbiter: Eddie Mekka Molokov: Frank Kopyc Walter: Jeff Austin Svetlana: Ann Morrison
The Creative Team
Director and Choreographer: David H. Bell Musical Director: Rob Bowman Conductor: Jeff Rizzo Costume Designer: Sylvia Moss Lighting Designer: Kim Killingsworth Sound Designer: Jonathan Deans