#cornelia: not only she said ''I'm going to do the most'' she also added ''and I'm doing it for the sapphics'' nothing but respect for that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theheroheart · 1 year

Text

Finally saw Chess in Oslo.

Here are lots of observations, mostly on staging/acting and things you don't get from the cast recording. Somewhat in chronological order, except for overarching stuff. (Some observations dip into deeper analysis, oops.) Some things you might know if you've seen Svenska Chess.

CAST:

First of all I got alternate (Sanne Kvitnes) and Arbiter (Cornelia Børnick). Florence was absolutely fantastic, she killed it. Easily could've been main cast. Arbiter was absolutely solid, but she didn't blow me away - but then it's kind of hard to do that as the Arbiter. Think I like both of them better than main cast, but it's hard to judge fairly without having seen them.

Rest was as expected. Adored Freddie, but I already did. Anatoly is fantastic. Svetlana surprised and impressed me, her acting improved my opinion of her. Molokov's great, but less notable. Ensemble was solid, there's a few notable ones that delighted me.

TRANSLATIONS:

Since I'm one of the only really avid Chess fans who's also Norwegian, I feel like I should comment on this.

I think the translation is fantastic. It flows well, it's overally very intelligible, it's emotive, it uses some fucking fancy words like "polemic", it's the right level of cheesy...

Adaptation-wise they also did a lot to make the story as clear as possible, adding context when necessary. Without delving too deep in the broader political context, which they don't lean as heavy on.

There's bits I would change, but overall it's really solid.

OBSERVATIONS:

ACT ONE WOO

They did such a good job establishing the shitty homelife of the Sergievskies - not in the relationship way, but that they live in a tiny apartment, and Anatoly does so much for Russia that he never gets to see his family. They even list things: tournaments, performances, greeting and handshaking workers and students, political functions... It illustrates his struggle much way than just making vague statements.

Properly showing Anatoly's homelife at the beginning is also such an improvement to just off-hand mentioning it in a way you don't really feel it.

Related: it's really obvious how much Anatoly is controlled. They make unspoken points of the passports several times. And Molokov always keeping a watchful eye. KGB guards everywhere, and blocking reporters from approaching him.

The 80s costuming is a delight. The wigs and mustaches are wild. I need to draw Freddie's sparkly party shirt cause it was insane.

I knew Freddie spilled wine all over Anatoly, but I did NOT know that that he grabs a (male) reporter's face with both hands and plants a big kiss on his lips. Barely a minute after he comes onstage.

The Hungarian revolution flashback is heartbreaking. The ballet is lovely and sad, but what's notable is that while it's happening, Florence is sitting on the stairs and crying her eyes out. Like she's having a PTSD flashback.

What's interesting is that this Freddie's rudeness feels less spiteful/defensive, and more... like a controlled performance? He's very intentionally disrespecting them. This Freddie doesn't lose his temper.

Of course, then they go to the opening party, and Freddie very clearly flirts with (or lets himself be flirted with) two ladies. (Listen, the man desperately craves approval and attention from women. Mommy issues.)

Florence goes outside to get away from the party, and to have a smoke. That's when she sings Nobody's Side. Can't remember for sure, but I think this scene has lots of focus on hotel staff in the background.

Notably there's two hotel staff that have an ongoing background romance most of the show??? They slow-dance while tidying a hotel room. They smooch every now and then. And then much later on, when Florence shows her heartbreak at the waitress, the waitress gets notable stage attention in also reacting to the heartache? (Then when Anatoly shows up, said waitress immediately steals Florence's coffee and gives them both wine, which was absolutely hilarious.)

One detail I REALLY enjoyed about the actual chess match, is that they both note down the moves in their notepads after each move. This is a big chess thing I can't remember ever having seen in a production.

And then Freddie leaves the match. Which he does by.... very calmly standing up, picking up the tiny Russian flag, then gently placing it in the middle of the board. Then he slowly walks away from the table. Takes his jacket. Calmly walks away. It's the least dramatic walk-off I've ever seen, and it was kind of a delight. And goes back to what I said about Freddie's carefully controlled performance.

Quartet is still a great song but man I remember nothing about the staging because it was very unremarkable. Florence is fucking pissed at Molokov though, and it DOES really show off what Freddie says about Florence hating Russians.

Also the Arbiter is such a bitch and I love her.

And then in the hotel bar again, Anatoly approaching Florence and she's so uninterested. And then he starts weirdly quoting Dostoevsky, and she has the biggest WTF face, and it's hilarious.

They did do a good job of showing Anatoly actually proving to Florence he's not awful, by him talking about how he heard about the Hungarian revolution, and implying some unkind things about the Russian government. And then he asks about Freddie and she's like "None of your fucking business" and he apologies and leaves, but then she's like "ACTUALLY I'M LEAVING HIM."

And then she sings "Not Me" (rewritten Someone Else's Story), explaining her frustration with her relationship with Freddie, directly to Anatoly, which I also did not expect. (This will happen multiple times in this show!)

And then ofc when Anatoly flees with Florence to defect, we get back to more proof of Svetlana's sucky life. We see her visiting a church with Micha, and being escorted out of there by armed guards. Who pack her suitcase for her. And then when she sings Where I Want To Be Reprise, she crumples and cries over her suitcase, and it's so heartbreaking.

And then we get to the fancy party, and apparently Freddie is from Pennsylvania? Lol ok. And Arbiter is partying with the head of the police.

There we this one reporter I absolutely adored. Comedically hilarious, and the 80est 80s. Real impressive mullet.

And then Florence and Anatoly invidually dealing with the press on each side of a room, singing Mountain Duet in a very different context that I'm used to. Also enjoyed how every time each one sang, their respective journalists would freeze-frame to show it's internal monologue only.

And then there's the headline of "Anatoly's defecting, and he's in love again", and THEN YOU SEE FREDDIE WALKING THE STREETS, HOLDING THAT NEWSPAPER.

And then he sings the Pity The Child prequel, and fucking breaks my heart. He's bitterly critizes them, but then also says "Is this true? Did I deserve this? Truth is, she was my only friend... Now I'm left lonely on my own again." WHY IS THIS NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM.

Fuck tho, but I love a sympathetic Freddie.

You get more Florence backstory - she fled to the US, but her mother and brother (uncle?? just guessing based on actors) got caught when they tried to flee.

During Anthem, the backdrop has mountains and sky -- which slowly turn to red during the course of the song. Which is GREAT when later on, Svetlana sings her "Who Am I" song and says "He paints Russia's sky red."

ACT 2 LET'S GO

Opening on Argument is such a choice? So wildly different from ONiBangkok. The vibe is extremely different and intense.

Freddie's in the hotel room with the newspaper when she comes back. Also he drinks whiskey. I love this song though, Freddie is SO spiteful - something he didn't really get until Florence appears to be leaving him. Honestly, this Freddie really isn't that much of an asshole TO FLORENCE. Until she hurts him first.

But what really hurts is that when the argument ends, he just sits down on the bed while she packs her suitcase...

And he sings Pity The Child to her. This makes me absolutely feral, let me tell you. The way he turns to look at her when he sings "Just in case they said no". The way she gradually becomes sympathetic while he opens up, about how his parents abused him. (They are explicitly abusive and violent, not just neglectful.)

And then when he gets to "I was only her son", he breaks down and cries, and Florence walks over and sits down next to him, and he cries into her lap, desperately clinging to her. And then as she comforts him, he tries to kiss her - and she pulls away. And gets up, grabs her suitcase, and leaves.

And then he continues the song, sitting there alone. FUCK ME UP, CHESS.

And then Svetlana appears, still closely controlled. Micha is taken to a different room and there's nothing she can do about it.

And then you get Endgame prequel! Anatoly's "you all think you see a man", they just like, put here. And you know what, it works great? Because it's when he's been dragged back by the KGB, and he's calling out their opinion to them.

And then he walks into the hotel room and Svetlana goes to embrace him and he PUSHES HER ASIDE, and starts ripping into her about how she's "letting herself be used as a tool". She is VERY JUSTIFIED in calling him out, because yeah, they've made it really obvious she's been forced to come here. And somehow HE'S complaining? I love her calling him out here.

And Micha comes in and hugs Anatoly - and Svetlana goes to hug Micha as well, but Anatoly turns, pulling Micha away from her. Ugh.

And then Svetlana leaves and sings her heartbreaking song about how she's a powerful woman who's been loyally waiting, and for what? She's on a bench, and she collapses on the ground crying. And Florence walks by (not knowing who Svetlana is), and gives Svetlana her handkerchief for her tears. CHEKOV'S HANDKERCHIEF, this will come back later on.

And then Florence alone in the cafe, breaking my heart with Heaven Help My Heart. (Also the waitress's heart, as previously mentioned.)

And then Anatoly shows up and we get Merano reprise (yeah that's a thing now). And then Freddie shows up, VERY DRUNK, and we get Totally-Not-The-Deal. Which is just Freddie calling Florence out, pubically saying awful things about her. Freddie's lowest point, right here.

Freddie throws like, peanuts at Florence or something by the way. It's funny as fuck. He grabs a reporter's camera. AND HE SHOVES THE LOVELY WAITRESS SO SHE FALLS OVER, which, Freddie, please. He's actually kind of grabbing Florence at this point.

And then when Anatoly and Florence both call him out on his shittiness, after the song Florence just stares Freddie down, until he dejectedly walks away.

(WHY IS THE DEAL NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM???)

And then we get everyone panicking about Micha being missing. Except for Molokv, who has taken Micha out and has given him a yoyo and a glass coke bottle. Amazing. (He also leaves an envelope inside a newspaper on the bench. The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant will pick this up.)

And then you get Florence and Anatoly undressed in the hotel room, and EXCUSE ME, WHY IS YOU AND I NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM? I mean it's a short version, less than 2 minutes, but I love a completionist cast album.

Lyric appreciation: "You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along the path of hope. Standing in the middle of the storm. We're woven together, now and forever." That's some evocative, descriptive language, right there.

Arbiter reprise: The reunion of the chess players. FREDDIE IS SO POLITE, smiling, offering his hand to Anatoly, taking pictures with him. Honestly, Freddie's ability to keep it together in these situations makes it SO MUCH MORE INTENSE when he does fall apart.

And then Florence and Svetlana get to meet, and guess what, THEY SING "I KNOW HIM SO WELL" TO EACH OTHER, I told you this would happen a lot. And it's fantastic, instead of two isolated viewpoints, Svetlana's first opening up to Florence, then it's them having a disagreement. It changes some lines, when Svetlana says "he'll choose his own way and leave you", she's saying it to Florence, not to herself. And Florence says, this is what she wanted to avoid.

Anatoly tracks down Molokov, demanding to see Micha. And then calling Molokov out hard, saying they've known each other 15 years, and listing examples of his loyal service that are despite the fact he still lives in a tiny apartment and can barely support his family.

And then Anatoly calls Molokov a bachelor and says he's not allowed to criticize his family. AND THEN of course we get Molokov's backstory song.

Which I'll admit I always feel weird about, but it was way better in context. Molokov using it to give Anatoly insight into what he's sacrificed. (And the lovely ballet dancers acting out the failed relationship helped.)

And then when he's calmed Anatoly down, of course he GOES STRAIGHT INTO THREATENING HIM. Saying he's going to play his last chess match ever, and lose. And then he'll be admitted to the hospital in Moscow. And then he'll release a statement saying his attempted defection was done after taking large amounts of pills and alcohol. And that he regrets the problems he's caused his family and country, and recinds the defection. And Florence will be kept under close watch, but that's it.

"What will happen to your family if you choose to stay in the west, I don't want to get into right now."

And as Molokov is saying this speech to Anatoly, there's this quiet ominous background hum that just gets louder and louder and more intimidating, and it was actually really effective and REALLY making you see the threat and the control.

And then you get a very cool scene as Endgame starts. Anatoly standing there in a spotlight, back against the audience. In the distance, the choice is lit in evil red. As they start listing grandmasters at him. You see him crumpling under the pressure - at "Capablanca", he falls to his knees.

I thought this would be GREAT if Anatoly chose to win. You don't have Talking Chess, but you have these grandmasters calling to him, like the true "win for chess" moral. But if he loses, are they judging him? Saying he's failed?

Endgame staging is actually real simple, everyone lined up. Awesomely backlit choir in the far back. Then the board is taken out, and the last match begins, and it's very intense. Freddie looks focused - not as laid-back as earlier. Anatoly looks harrowed.

I especially loved when Freddie and Molokov share the line "The clock is ticking down the minute - the circle is complete". And everyone is singing - this final move, will he resign?

And nearing the end of Endgame, Anatoly is describing the different pieces desperate attempts ("The pawn wants to be sacrificed, rook at the end of the line, a weaked knight galloping towards the king's court"), and as he does, Florence/Svetlana/Molokov all shouting at him, and he holds up his hands against each one when they yell, like he's trying to shut them out.

And then.... he picks up his king, and he lays it down. Resigning. How do they make a chess match feel this dramatic?? It's really good.

And then You And I Reprise. And during one moment, you can see Freddie in the back (back to the audience), surrounded by people, wearing a giant wreath and holding a trophy proudly.

As Florence and Anatoly draw closer, they ALMOST kiss, it looks like they'll be together - but Micha runs in and hugs his dad. And oof, man. He asks Florence to forgive him and that he loves her - IN FRONT OF SVETLANA AND MICHA BTW, who start walking away when they hear this.

And then as they part ("You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along hope's path. We stand in the ruins. We're woven together -- parted forever.") Anatoly goes back to his family. And get this, Svetlana walks across the stage and HANDS FLORENCE BACK HER HANDKERCHIEF. Absolutely ruthless. I adore it.

The next part is all Story Of Chess reprise. Freddie gives Florence her suitcase, and tries to get her to leave with him. She refuses and pointedly walks the other direction.

The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant gives her the envelope full of cash, but Arbiter lets her keep it I guess. But then Molokov shows up and gives Arbiter a briefcase? The fuck does this even mean, I don't know.

Final 'You And I' now. Florence: "Is my fate controlled by someone other than me?" Anatoly: "Do we have free will? My answer's clearly no."

And you see Anatoly in his depressing Moscow apartment. And Florence in her own apartment, and oh yeah SHE'S PREGNANT. In case you hadn't heard about that little tidbit.

CONCLUSION:

This is the most downer Chess. What's even the moral? Shit sucks? Don't count on love, you'll only be hurt? It's awful.

HERE'S THE THING: STILL FUCKING LOVE IT THOUGH. It was a fantastic ride. I enjoyed the downer ending. Even if I can't possibly argue for why it should be that way.

I feel like it does "show, don't tell" better than a lot of Chess versions. It doesn't just state things, it shows you why/how. It made me feel for Svetlana in a way I haven't been able to before.

It provided that fantastic fresh intepretations/stagings of songs I've never seen before.

And it showed a version of Freddie I almost never see - way less chaotic and volatile than I'm used to.

It's interestingly very light on literally anything American. Anatoly's defection never really happens, Walter doesn't exist, there's no politicians or delegates... The only American seems to be Freddie. If anything, it's more against Hungary vs USSR. It feels decidedly Eurocentric, which I guess makes sense given it's Norwegian and based on the Swedish adaptation.

Anyway I adored it. Probably new favourite version???

Glad I've already got tickets for 3 more performances before it closes. Trying to resist getting ticket for yet another one. But I might give in if I get on at a great seat.................

ANYWAY BYE, HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS RAMBLY MESS.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Florence's full name is Florence Csilla Vaszi. Which is pretty awesome.

Anatoly (spelled Anatolij in this) and Molokov call each other Tolya and Sascha, which also shows how long they've known each other.

#chess #chess the musical #chess på norsk #norwegian chess #chessoslo

32 notes · View notes