[jackrussell]

After flop that was the Broadway version, I haven't paid too much attention to other versions of Chess, as I think the original London production didn't really need improving all that much.

However - by far the weakest song in it, I think, is Talking Chess. In fact it's the only song that I would call weak. Not only because it's a lazy rearrangement of the Mountain Duet music, but because Freddie's behaviour seems unmotivated and out of character. It also weakens Anatoly's character development from the concept album, where Anatoly wins through his own efforts, but only when he decides to put himself first, despite the fact that in doing so he selfishly hurts those who care about him.

Does anybody have any information as to how this is handled in later versions of the show? Or any ideas as to how Talking Chess could be rewritten or replaced? Thanks all.

[Cadriel]

Like most of the London recitative, "Talking Chess" was cut from any subsequent version of the show. No analogous scene exists in most of the major variations. The only thing that really came close was in the 1990 US tour, where there is a similar encounter between Freddie and Anatoly, where Anatoly tries to concede to Freddie but is rejected. Freddie winds up giving him sort of a pep talk. It's one of several scenes that suffered badly from being really awkward (the US tour libretto rewrite was a rush job, and the author accompanied the tour and tried to smooth a lot of the quirks out). Broadway, Sydney, Off-Broadway and Stockholm all avoided any scene between the two before the final match.

Dramatically, it's definitely sketchy given the rest of Freddie's behavior in Act II. He's wildly erratic, his motivation flips about totally from scene to scene, and it's not clear what he is even doing in the act. The problem is, the show had isolated one of the main characters from the main action of the chess match (which serves as the frame of the whole piece), and then tried to keep him involved in the story. The resolution, which was followed in every version except those that are pure London derivatives (UK Tour, Danish concert tour and so on), was to eliminate the split-match format, giving Freddie a clear and well defined place in Act II. It's a structural flaw, and while I think the London version is better than many of its rivals, it's one of the main reasons why I don't think London should be the definitive Chess. (The other is that Act I is terribly bloated.)

[jackrussell]

Thanks Cadriel! It's interesting to learn that none of the subsequent versions have tried to reinstate Talking Chess or anything comparable to it.

My own preference would be to replace it with a short Florence/Anatoly number - he decides that his commitment to chess overrides all other personal concerns, and she realises that his ambition is making their relationship unsustainable. That would nicely set up the Endgame.

You're quite right about Freddie's role in Act II of the London version being tricky, but personally I like the split-match format, with each Act covering a different tournament. (Although in the libretto they're a year apart, I think in real life such tournaments are held at two-yearly intervals.) I don't think it's impossible for Freddie to show character development in Act II, especially if Pity The Child is restored to its concept album position.

You're also right about Act I being bloated, but that could be remedied to an extent by kicking Pity The Child back to Act II, and also Heaven Help My Heart would be better placed in the early Anatoly/Florence scene early in Act II.

I'm more willing to see London as the definitive Chess, except for Talking Chess and the location of the two songs mentioned above.