Chess, the musical opened in London 1986 starring Elaine Paige, Tommy

Korberg and Murray Head, but began life as a concept album two years

earlier.  With lyrics by Tim Rice (Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King)

and music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the BB of the pop group

ABBA, swiftly generated two hit singles with One Night In Bangkok and

I Know Him So Well. With three successful years on the London stage the

show started to move around the globe with mixed success.

 

After some American rewrites the show didn’t translate to Broadway

audiences the same way it did in London, but drew rave reviews for it’s stars

Judy Kuhn and David Carroll.  Eventually the show opened in 1990 at the

Theatre Royal, Sydney, after another set of rewrites, starring Jodie Gillies,

Robbie Krupski, David McLeod, John Wood and Maria Mercedes.  Two of

the most successful productions of Chess have both happened in London.  

First as a concert production at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008 starring Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, Adam Pascal, Kerry Ellis and Marti Pelow and the second, a production at the English National Opera in 2018 starring Michael Ball, Cassidy Jansson, Alexandra Burke and Tim Howar, with an ensemble of 44 and the full ENO orchestra of 50 this production has been one of the largest produced.