'Chess' fails as a mate with stage

Lisa Bornstein, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 28, 2006 at midnight

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In barely two years of existence, Next Stage has shown itself to be a new company, straddling the divide between community and professional theater, and one with a striking clarity of purpose. The show has brought, and continues to bring, shows to Denver that were talked about elsewhere and unproduced here: Recent Tragic Events, Assassins and the upcoming The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow.

Its current production, Chess, doesn't get produced much, either. Unfortunately, there's good reason: The 1988 British import was a critical and commercial failure, and Denver director Gene Kato's attempt to patch the London and New York versions together can't salvage a show that screams for emotion but never earns it.

The subject was unlikely, but most musicals are: Soviet and American chess stars face off for the world title amid Cold War intrigue, and a romantic triangle forms when the American's second falls for a Soviet rival.

With music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and lyrics by the usually sharp Tim Rice, the score sounds like the worst of ABBA's latter days. There are a few exceptions - Someone Else's Story, elevated by Janelle Kato's strong and confident singing as the Hungarian-born second, Florence, and the Terrace Duet, when she is paired with talented, precise Michelle Merz as the Russian's wife, Svetlana.

Next Stage continues to draw an impressive group of performers. Brian Hutchinson, so powerful in Assassins, brings a distinctly European quality of restraint to the conflicted Soviet champ, Anatoly. Joel Sutliffe's American, Freddie, has an electric confidence and terrific rock voice until the second act, when it is stretched too thin on the high notes.

As Freddie's agent, David Kincannon supplies a singing voice that bolsters the entire production. David Fletcher gives Molokov his own conflicted nature as a KGB agent but doesn't possess the vocal power to override the electrified five-piece orchestra. Very few in this company do. Next Stage is commendable for taking on musicals with actual live music, but the Phoenix Theatre is too small and too solid, sending the sound bouncing around the room.

Already, Rice's lyrics were hard to understand, shoved uncomfortably into the score; with poor acoustics they are often impenetrable. A large ensemble starts off well but soon turns the music into a muddy pile.

But little was going to raise Chess to a triumph. It's a rock opera with a synthetic heart that starts at fever pitch but never earns its frenzy.

Chess

• Grade: C

• When and where: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and this Monday, through May 13, Phoenix Theatre, 1124 Santa Fe Drive

• Cost: $15 to $20

• Information: 303-777-3292

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