Chess in Concert involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the 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.
kerry was excellent!
sound was poor.
projection screen would have been better used to show the concert for people with poor seats
i have always loved CHESS THE MUSICAL but was disappointed with this show. - col
14 May 08
as a technician i was disappointed by the sound quality, the albert hall doesnt have fabulous accoustics but still....not being able to understand the first few of Idina's songs is appauling. Once her mic was sorted halfway through it was wonderful. Josh groban is superb and had a well deserved standing ovation just before the interval. Kerry Ellis did completely wipe the floor with the rest of the performers. She, Josh and David stole the show for me. I loved i knew him so well!! All in all its was a really good concert production and it deserved the standing ovation it recived at the end. Would have given performers a 5* bu i was let down by the sound team not so much as to ruin the show though. i am a regualar theatre goer and i loved it. i would go again if it werent sold out. Oh and the choir rocked, as did the dancers! - Jane
14 May 08
Utterly incomprehensible. Sound quality was appalling - simply couldn't understand a word that was said or sung.
Best performance of the night was, by far, the choir. All else patchy, uneven and as mentioned before you couldn't make out a single word.
I Know Him So Well was butchered also - Indina not singing at the same pace as the backing instruments in the first half of the song and seeming to try and rush through it. There were ovations, but not from me. No good at all - sorry, but that's the truth of it. - NoOne
13 May 08
Apalling sound quality let this performance down for me. The performances were very mixed. Idina Menzel's Heaven Help my Heart was beautiful but she seemed to lack something on some of the larger numbers - Nobody's Side especially. Josh Groban was fantastic throughout - yes he can't act but it is 'in concert' and his voice more than made up for it. Adam Pascal was the victim of terrible sound tech I think - his Pity the Child was fantastic but generally he was pretty incomprehensible. David Bedella was one of the few who genuinely stepped up to the occasion and really showed what a thoughtful, wonderful performer he is. Now, the star of the show - if only she had been given more to sing - Kerry Ellis. She really showed Idina up last night with a truly beautiful Someone Else's Story. Her voice is so effortlessly classy and she really puts the emotion in - the audience felt in good hands when she was on stage and it was obvious - she easily got the largest cheer of the night.
Really though, the sound quality was unforgiveable - when paying so much for tickets you might have thought they would actually make the lyrics audible! - A
13 May 08
Terrible, Terrible, Terrible!!! I thought this was supposed to be a new version of the show, based on the concept recording and sung through? Well I am here to tell you it still had the hideous boring book and bad structure. The staging of the show was tacky and old fashioned, just stand and sing, that's why we are there, not to watch the leads walk up and down stairs all night. 40 mins into the show and we haven't even had the 1st Chess match yet - can we please pick up the pace! I was really looking forward to hearing the show with a huge orchestra - but the sound was so appalling you could hardly hear them or the singers. During Endgame all you could hear was Idina and Kerry - where is the choir? Wake up Sound Operator! Now when you are asked to do a huge concert of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall, you should consider LEARNING YOUR WORDS!!!! There was auto-cue and the performers still could not find their way. I must admit Kerry Ellis wiped the floor with everyone, so relaxed, focussed and has glorious, effortless voice. I love Idina, but this is not the role for her, she sounded like minnie mouse being strangled, you can't just scream your way through this one. She just looked so unsure of what she was doing, and you could hear and see it! Josh Groben was fine, can't act, can just reach the notes. Adam Pascal was average, voice sounded tired. The rest of the cast were fine, but dull. The choreography was so obvious and the wardrobe I am sure was bought at Camden markets on Sat. When I pay £60 for a ticket - I really expect more. The score and lyrics are still wonderful (although some of the lyric changes are not needed). Yes, the story is not that easy to follow, but read the synopsis if you are lost, we really don't need to be told EVERYTHING twice (Frederick "I have agreed to new terms and will continue playing" - Arbiter - "Frederick has agreed to playing and the match will continue")I just wish they had done what they said they were going to do - the concept recording onstage! - Mr H
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