Giles

'Chess' in Concert
A 2008 revival of the musical "Chess," in which melodies by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics by Tim Rice propel the story of a Russian and American chess players (Josh Groban, Adam Pascal) and the woman (Idina Menzel) they both love. (150min)

June 17 (check you local PBS station) EST 8:00 PM

here's the trailer:

http://icethesite.com/default.aspx?articleID=310

Groucho

Wow, that's a show with everything but Yul Brynner!

Goldberg74

It's listed as playing on my PBS HD channel... I wonder if it will be broadcast in HD?

I will be watching this.

Thanks for the heads up!

Giles

'Great Performances' website also denotes HD - my fingers are crossed as well. If you've noticed I also posted in the DVD section and Music section that this is broadcast / released on CD and DVD all in the same week.

Chembree

LMAO! This is why i read DVD Talk!

movieking

Thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely try to record this.

marty888

Looking forward to this - terrific cast!

Drexl

It says it airs from 8-10 ET, but it's supposed to be 150 minutes. Which of those is correct?

davidh777

thanks, op

Giles

in this week's TV Guide I noted that the time slot is indeed 150 minutes.

Draven

I want to see this because of the talent involved, but I've been in Chess before. That trailer makes the show look 10x more badass than it actually is. The main conflict is over a chess game. No blood (well, one guy gets sort of beat up), no murder. Just a game of chess. Too funny.

Giles

really?? oh do tell more... ??

dstrauss

Even though "One night in Bangkok" is the song everyone knows from this show, "Nobody's on Nobody's Side" is one of my favorite songs ever.

Giles

'Anthem' is my favourite, but the lyrics of 'Quartet (A Model of Docorum and Tranquilty)' are great:

A model of decorum and tranquility
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee.

Draven

A few years ago the local theater company I work with did the show. I was basically a chorus member, but it was interesting. I love the music from that show...but the script is truly terrible in just about every way. Just laughably bad.

Giles

I assume you were singing the American version of the musical. I must admit I've never seen the musical performed, just know the songs and the general story. I'm really looking forward to seeing this, cause I know the musical has been edited and rewritten numerous times. The UK version being the supposed superior version when compared to the US version, which was critically mauled when it debuted on Broadway. This new version is the final 'final' version which merges some story structures of both versions.

Draven

It's been done and redone so many times that it's very confusing now. This was a few years ago but I seem to remember we were doing some rewrite that came out of Houston or something like that. We were aware of the changes that had been made but honestly...any way you cut it the central conflict is a board game. It's not nearly as dramatic as the music makes it out to be.

Giles

^ bump!

Tonight!

shaun3000

Wow, this is really bad. It's a heck of a production and the cast is incredibly talented. You couldn't ask for better leads than Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel! But the plot is absurd, the lyric are horrible, the script is corny, and the music cheezy and repetitive. (I'm all for establishing themes but all the songs sound the same!)

To be honest, I always thought Chess was a one-hit-wonder from the 1980s. I had no idea "One Night in Bangkok" was from a major musical.

I imagine that if Tim Rice weren't involved, this would have never made it past the workshop stage, if it ever even got that far.

tasha99

I think there are a lot of great songs in Chess, and I'm only a little embarrassed to say this got me a little more than choked up on "missing the 80's." I think I'll be moving it from my Tivo onto a home dvd.

movieking

I PVRed it, but I did catch a few minutes of Menzel singing. Good stuff. Can't wait to watch the whole thing.

Giles

yeah, it mixes really well with the Pet Shop Boys song 'West End Girls'

marty888

If you missed it .... or loved it a lot ..... it's now out on DVD with a list price of $19.98 (under $15 at several of the regular online sites).