Friday, October 27

ENO to present Chess the Musical next April

Baz Bamigboye has reported in the Daily Mail this morning that Chess the Musical , by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus presented by the English National Opera is due to run at the Coliseum for the first time in 30 years for five weeks only from 1st  May until 2nd June 2018. Tickets go on sale from 3rd November at 10:00 am with previews scheduled to begin on April 26th .

This new West End production, featuring English National Opera’s award-winning Orchestra and Chorus, will be directed by Laurence Connor, whose recent credits include School of Rock and Miss Saigon on Broadway and in the West End, Les Misérables on Broadway, and the international Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour. Choreography is by Stephen Mear. This is the fourth production in collaboration with ENO by Michael Linnit and Michael Grade.

The production will  feature a 48 piece orchestra with casting currently underway. It is not yet known  whether this concert is related to a potential Broadway revival of the show.
Chess tells the story of  a romantic triangle between two players in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any specific individuals, the characters personalities are loosely based on those of Victor Korchnoi and Bobby Fischer and the oddity of the Merano championship in the musical is based on the similar oddities which occurred during the 1978 World Championship between Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov. The musical contains some powerful classic numbers including I Know Him So Well, One Night In Bangkok, Anthem and Heaven Help My Heart.

The show opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End in 1986 where it played for three years. A much-altered US version premiered on Broadway in 1988, but ran for only two months. It last toured he UK in 2010/2011 when it was directed by Craig Revel Horwood.

Buy tickets for Chess the Musical

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