CHESS 1988 BROADWAY Sealed LP RARE Record shrink wraped UNOPENED

$

33

You are bidding on a sealed, unopened, in original shrink wrap LP or record recording (not CD) of the

Broadway musical

CHESS

Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes. Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any specific individuals, the character of the American was loosely based on chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer,[1] while elements of the story may have been inspired by the chess careers of Russian grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov.[2]

As had been done with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita, a highly successful concept album of Chess was released in 1984. The first theatrical production of Chess opened in London's West End in 1986 and played for three years. A much-altered U.S. version premièred on Broadway in 1988, but survived only for two months. Chess is frequently revised for new productions, many of which try to merge elements from both the London and Broadway versions; however, no major revival production of the musical has yet been attempted either on West End or Broadway.

Chess came seventh in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the U.K.'s "Number One Essential Musicals."

RE the American production and this LP recording of the Original Broadway Cast:

The American version has different settings and a completely different Act 2 from the West End, London version. In particular, the entire show is about one chess match, not two. Act 1 involves the first part of the match, which is held in Bangkok, Thailand, while Act 2 handles the conclusion, and is set in Budapest, Hungary. Also, the incumbent champion is switched in the American version (that is, Anatoly Sergievsky rather than Freddie Trumper) as is the winner of the final Sergievsky-Trumper match (i.e. Trumper rather than Sergievsky).

In 1956, a Hungarian revolutionary, Gregor Vassy, calmly explains to his daughter Florence the history of chess, before the two are separated in the midst of a violent rebellion in Budapest ("Prologue" / "The Story of Chess"). Decades later at a press conference, a brash American chess player, Freddie Trumper, relishes the crowd's affection in Bangkok ("Press Conference"), while the current world champion, a young Russian named Anatoly Sergievsky, and his second, Molokov (a KGB agent), watch with curiosity and disdain ("Where I Want to Be"). During the match ("Chess"), Freddie accuses Anatoly of receiving outside help via the flavor of yogurt he is eating, and Freddie storms out, leaving his second, Florence (now an émigrée in the U.S. who escaped Hungary during the 1956 uprisings) in an argument with The Arbiter and the Russians. Florence later scolds Freddie, but he insists that she should unwaveringly support him ("You Want to Lose Your Only Friend?").

Freddie, supposed to attend a meeting with Florence and Antoly to smooth things over, is sidetracked by the nightlife ("One Night in Bangkok") and shows up late, stumbling upon the scene of Anatoly and Florence who—having waited a while for Freddie's arrival—quickly developed feelings for one another and are now holding hands ("Terrace Duet"). When Freddie accuses Florence of conspiring against him, she decides to leave him ("Florence Quits" / "Nobody's Side"). As the match continues, Freddie, distracted by his developing personal problems, flounders, finishing the first act with 1 win and 5 losses; one more loss will cost him the match. Anatoly surprises everyone by suddenly defecting from the Soviet Union. Answering reporters' questions about his loyalties, he declares that national borders do not matter to him as much as the borders around his heart, i.e. his new-found love for Florence ("Anthem").

Eight weeks later, everyone is in Budapest to witness the conclusion of the match ("The Arbiter" / "Hungarian Folk Song"). Florence is elated to be back in her hometown of Budapest, but dismayed that she remembers none of it ("Heaven Help My Heart"). The scheming Molokov offers to help her find her missing father and starts "investigating" the fate of Florence's father. The plot quickly spins into political intrigue involving the Russians' attempts to get Anatoly back ("No Contest"); even Svetlana, Anatoly's estranged wife, has been flown into Budapest to pressure him to return to the Soviet Union. These threats strain Anatoly's relationship with Florence ("You and I"), and she shares her woes with Svetlana ("I Know Him So Well"). The boot is on the other foot, and the stress of personal problems now impedes Anatoly's ability to play chess, so that Freddie starts winning games until they are tied 5–5. Molokov brings Florence to see a man claiming to be her father ("Lullaby"), and implies that harm will come to the man if Florence remains with Anatoly.

During the final game Anatoly realizes that despite all the harm he has brought with his defection, he cannot hurt his true love, Florence, by depriving her of her father. He chooses to recant his defection and makes a tactical error during the game. Freddie immediately takes advantage of the blunder and proceeds to win the game and the match, becoming the new world champion ("Endgame"). Anatoly returns to Russia a broken man.

Florence is waiting for her father so they can leave for America when she is approached by a stranger who introduces himself as Walter. He confesses to her that the old man is not her father and her father is most likely dead. It seems that the Soviets struck a deal with Walter, a secret CIA agent, that if they managed to get Anatoly back, they would release a captured American spy. Their initial attempts at getting Anatoly back by using Svetlana and other family members had failed, and they had finally succeeded by using Florence. As the curtain closes, Florence has left Freddie, been lost by Anatoly, and lost the father she never had, and she realizes, like Anatoly, that love is all that matters ("Anthem – Reprise").

Songs

• "Prologue" - Ensemble
• "The Story of Chess" - Gregor
• "Press Conference" ‡ - Freddie, Florence & Reporters
• "Where I Want to Be" - Anatoly
• "How Many Women" - Florence & Freddie
• "Merchandisers" ‡ - Walter & Vendors
• "U.S. vs U.S.S.R." ‡ - Molokov, Walter, and Delegates
• "Chess Hymn" † - Ensemble
• "Chess" ‡ - Ensemble
• "Quartet (Model of Decorum and Tranquility)" - Molokov, Anatoly, Arbiter, Florence
• "You Want to Lose Your Only Friend?" - Florence & Freddie
• "Someone Else's Story" - Florence
• "One Night in Bangkok" - Freddie & Ensemble
• "Terrace Duet" - Anatoly & Florence
• "Florence Quits" ‡ - Florence & Freddie
• "Nobody's Side" - Florence
• "Anthem" - Anatoly

• "The Arbiter" ‡ - The Atbiter & Reporters
• "Hungarian Folk Song" - Ensemble
• "Heaven Help My Heart" - Florence
• "No Contest" - Walter & Freddie
• "You and I" - Anatoly, Florence, Svetlana
• "A Whole New Board Game" ‡ - Freddie & Reporters
• "Let's Work Together" ‡ - Molokov & Walter
• "I Know Him So Well" - Florence & Svetlana
• "Pity the Child" - Freddie
• "Lullaby" (Apukád er?s kezén) - Gregor & Florence
• "Endgame" - Molokov, Arbiter, Florence, Freddie, Anatoly & Ensemble
• "You and I (Reprise)" - Florence & Anatoly
• "Anthem (Reprise)"‡ - Florence

† Song appears on album, but was deleted from production and is not found in the script licenced for production.
‡ Song featured in the Broadway production, but was unrecorded for the cast album.

Original cast

• Freddie – Philip Casnoff
• Florence – Judy Kuhn
• Anatoly – David Carroll
• Molokov – Harry Goz
• Walter – Dennis Parlato
• Arbiter – Paul Harman
• Svetlana – Marcia Mitzman
• Gregor Vassy – Neal Ben-Ari
• Young Florence – Gina Gallagher
• Nikolai – Kurt Jones
• Joe, Harold (Embassy officials) – Richard Muenz, Eric Johnson
• Ben – Kip Niven