REVIEW: ABBA and the Cold War: The History of Chess the Musical: Chapter 1

ABBA and the Cold War: The History of Chess the Musical

Chapter 1: The Three Knights

Over the decades I've spent as a student of my favorite artform, musical theater, I've developed an affinity for ambitious works that have flopped. As you probably surmised, the years have been filled with many such pieces. Two of them really have sparked my interest so much so that I have made it my mission to see as many iterations and interpretations of them as I can, always in the hope that finally someone has cracked the code and turned the flop into the big hit that it deserves to be. One of them, Merrily We Roll Along, finally found that success a couple of seasons back. By every reasonable metric, that production was a hit - except one. Mine. My search continues for that show finally being everything I think it can be. Maybe it isn't possible. Maybe it's just that I'll have to be happy that it has one of my favorite scores, and a "perfect" production just isn't out there. 

The other show, which I've seen many versions of may be in the same situation. I adore the score, no matter the iteration, but I've yet to see the "perfect" version. Still, I hope, and that's why I am excited for the upcoming Broadway revival. Will this one be that evasive production of Chess that will solve all of its problems? That remains to be seen, of course, but I know at least that with Tveit, Michele and Christopher singing it, the score will be great to hear.

To prepare for the revival, I started researching to reacquaint myself with the show, and came across a feature-length documentary on the YouTube channel, Wait in the Wings, which has created a few Broadway related films that can be found there. Their most recent effort is the search engine friendly titled ABBA and the Cold War: The History of Chess the Musical. Crowd funded, the film has made the most of the money gathered. The documentary is slickly produced with film clips, archival news footage and "Chessboard Cinematography" by Joel Black, and an original score by Carolee Beck that calls to mind James Bond films. Narrated by WITW founder Brendon Henderson with a confidence born from a solid script and well-documented research, and a voice that calls to mind Mo Rocca, it is a cross between 60 Minutes and a VH1 Behind the Music episode. And with interview segments featuring Michael Riedel, it also has the air of backstage gossip. An interesting, if sometimes jarring, combination.

Speaking of that research, I really appreciate their attention to giving credit where it is due, making special note to recognize Black, Beck, all of the interviewees and Kickstarter donors, and especially Julianna W. Henderson, who is not only a producer and script editor, but also Brendon's wife. Their shared passion is evident throughout.

The film itself is divided into three chapters, each helpfully bookmarked in the notes section of the YouTube page. Chapter 1 (cheekily named The Three Knights) is the first roughly 40 minutes of the film. This covers a lot of ground, from the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War, to the careers of both Tim Rice and ABBA, and a fair amount of tea on the rise and fall of the Rice - Andrew Lloyd Webber collaboration. The juicy bits about Cats and a near lawsuit over the song, "Memory," and how Rice's affair with Elaine Paige figured into it will certainly scratch the itch some Broadway fans may have for gossip. Similarly, though less dish-y, is the background of the rise and fall of one of rock and roll's greatest groups. Then there is the pretty thorough section about the world chess championships concerning American Bobby Fischer and Soviet Boris Spassky, and later, Karpov and Kasparov. The film does a great job explaining the tournament, the political ramifications and the parallels to the musical. 

But it also goes into a bit of the process that went into the now famous Chess concept album, and how the pop kings and the musical theater guy finally gelled, creating the company that would eventually bring them together, forming The Three Knights production company.

As you can see, there is a lot packed into just the third of the movie. In the coming weeks, I'll let you know what I think about the other two "chapters." So far, I can recommend it.