Cast announced for CHESS THE MUSICAL
Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Paulini, Rob Mills, Alexander Lewis & Mark Furze are set to star in Chess the Musical touring Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane from April to June 2021.
Featuring the iconic music of Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA) with book & lyrics by Tim Rice, the worldwide stage hit Chess the Musical will be presented as a semi-staged concert-style production featuring Logie-nominated and recent star of CHICAGO Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Grease, Rent, Love, Loss, and What I Wore); Aria chart-topping vocalist Paulini (The Bodyguard, Saturday Night Fever, Hair); New York Metropolitan Opera singer Alexander Lewis (West Side Story for Handa Opera, The Merry Widow, Ragtime); semi-finalist in The Voice 2020 Mark Furze (Home and Away, Underbelly, It Takes Two); musical theatre favourite Rob Mills (Wicked, Ghost, Grease); opera singer Eddie Muliaumaseali’i (Show Boat, Das Rhinegold, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and musical theatre all-rounder Brittanie Shipway (The Voice, Big Fish, The Sapphires) with backing by a professional twenty-five piece orchestra.
Chess the Musical is inspired by extraordinary real-life events and first premiered to glowing reviews in London’s West End in 1986 starring the beloved Elaine Paige. The West End season ran for three years, resulting in a BBC listener poll ranking CHESS THE MUSICAL seventh in a list of ‘Number One Essential Musicals’ of all time.
Featuring hits including I Know Him So Well – recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling UK chart single ever by a female duo – and the upbeat pop favourite One Night in Bangkok, music from Chess the Musical is known the world over, with the original concept album described by Rolling Stone as having a “dazzling score (which) covers nearly all the pop bases”. Time Magazine declared the score as “rock symphonic synthesis ripe with sophistication and hummable tunes”.
Chess the Musical tells the story of a complex love triangle combined with dramatic political intrigue, set against the background of the Cold War in the early 1980s, where Soviet and American forces attempt to manipulate an international chess championship for political gains.
Chess the Musical is produced by impresario Adrian Storey from StoreyBoard Entertainment (Barnum, Follies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and directed by renowned director Tyran Parke (Barnum, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George) and with Musical Direction by David Piper (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, The Boyfriend, The Boy From Oz), Set & Costume Design by Dann Barber (Barnum, 33 Variations), Choreography by Freya List, Lighting Design by Gavan Swift & Sound Design by award-winning designer Michael Waters.
StoreyBoard Entertainment presents CHESS THE MUSICAL
With music by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA), lyrics by Tim Rice & Björn Ulvaeus and book by Tim Rice
Touring nationally April – June 2021
Melbourne
Regent Theatre
Thursday 22 April at 7:30pm – NEW PERFORMANCE ADDED
Friday 23 April at 7:30pm – NEW PERFORMANCE ADDED
Saturday 24 April 2021, 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Adelaide
Her Majesty’s Theatre
Thursday 27 May 7:30pm
Friday 28 May 2021, 7:30pm
Saturday 29 May, 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Perth
Co-produced by Perth Symphony Orchestra and StoreyBoard Entertainment
Perth Concert Hall
Thursday 3 June, 7:30pm – NEW PERFORMANCE ADDED
Friday 4 June, 7:30pm – NEW PERFORMANCE ADDED
Saturday 5 June, 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Brisbane
QPAC
Tuesday 8 June at 7:30pm – NEW PERFORMANCE ADDED
Wednesday 9 June at 7:30pm – NEW PERFORMANCE ADDED
Thursday 10 June, 2:00pm and 7:30pm
For further information: www.chessmusical.info
Tickets from $85 (credit card charges and transaction fees apply). Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia).
Will Chess the Musical be coming to Sydney.
Is Chess coming to Sydney in 2021?
So much distortion in sound from so many of the cast was really disappointing in what was otherwise an enjoyable evening. Full marks though to Eddie Muliaumaseali’i, Paulini, Alexander Lewis and Rob Mills who retained clarity and musicality, both of which l feel are of some importance in such a production. Also (and this is probably just carping under the Covid circumstances), Chess is such a powerful show that a concert/semi-concert rendition does not do it justice. For that, l believe you really need a full production with a first-rate acting/singing cast who will catch those in the audience who are not already familiar with the show.
Having said that – thank you so very much for getting live production back on the road again! More power to you!