Well, after sleeping on it I've decided I like it. I tweaked the dialogue surrounding it a little, but otherwise I'm leaving it as above for the time being.

Here's the song order for my revision:



So there you have it. My personal flavor of Chess, basically a streamlined Nelson book with some Sydney thrown in the smooth out the rough parts in Act II. I'm pretty happy with it, this week. But, owing to my gender, you know that could change at any moment.

I've also been checking out different ways of putting up chess, here are 2 of my "lists"

Stockholm based:


I know, it's to different from any version to be legalized, I just like the thought of this order, with of course some dialogue in between the songs.

And the concept approach with original song list plus something new and a new synopsis and a script.



I really think the concept album with the inclusion of "Florence and Molokov" can work really well, instead of having a one year interval, I would do as in New York, just set the other half of the championship in Bangkok. Thus we lose Viigand, we don't need Walter, and the love triangle is free to unfold!

kaelidancer:

I absolutely love the way you used "Argument" to lead into "You and I." Brilliant. I like "Argument" but I've always felt that eliminating the first "You and I" means we don't get to see another tender moment between Florence and Anatoly after "Terrace Duet." This solves that problem perfectly.

Your revised song list for the Broadway script looks great, too. How are you introducing Svetlana at the top of the second act? Do you have a scene leading into "Someone Else's Story"? I'd love to see your complete script. It sounds like you've managed to actually make the Broadway version work which is a major feat. Congratulations!

Cadriel's done it, too. Ask to look at his version some time.

Oh, thanks!

As for my introduction of Svetlana, it's a little shoehorned, but it works. The scene preceding it originally led into "Heaven Help My Heart," thus:



I cut Molokov's last line back a bit, and switched his "My wife would" to "HIS wife would." ... earlier in the scene he's been digging Florence about her affair ("I think I shall pray that my wife stays faithful to me..."), so this tones down the sincerity a bit, but provides a workable way to segue to Svetlana, checking into her hotel room. Here's my version of the transition:



The tactician here is a greatly diminished version of the Broadway character Nikolai. In an earlier draft I was using some Sydney dialogue which references a Tactician, so I let that character take the few bits of Nikolai I was keeping. My current (and final, I think) revision has lost the dialogue that references him, but the character remains.

And yes, I'll have to equivocate Brother Marvin Hinten, S.'s endorsement of Cadriel. He's been very very helpful to me in this process, and I've used some of the same changes his script has.

His is more faithful to the Nelson book and song order, whereas mine is a little more bent in the direction of Sydney, but it is still a vast improvement on the standard script.

So what we did....

Act 2

Bangkok
Television Report
Scene with Anatoly and Florence from the broadway script leading into
You and I
Soviet Machine
Interview
Scene from new concert with Walter and Molokov leading into
The Argument
Scene with Svetlana and Anatoly from broadway script
Someone Else's Story (Svet with lyrics written for her character)

Sounds good too! I just hate "How many women" but other than that, that's gonna be a solid version.

How about anatoly storming out to the hotel bar, Florence left speechless, can see her slumping on the loo in tears, wiping eyes with loo roll, going back, starting ikhsw, we see pov shots as she assesses where she is... Cross-fade to Svetlana's hotel room for her parts... Flashbacks...

Basically take cues and ideas from the montages during Lost in the woods from frozen 2 ( they were both power ballads, or Separate Lives shots...)