Chess, a musical of the Cold War, directed by Lorrie Ferguson (previous PM&L credits include The Game’s Afoot, Man of La Mancha, and The Mousetrap) opens Friday, November 8th, and will run Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until Sunday, November 24th.
The collaborators on Chess are giants of rock music and rock musicals. The music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) of Mamma Mia fame, lyrics/concept by Tim Rice (Evita, Aladdin, The Lion King), and book by Richard Nelson. In Chess, the ancient game becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, competitive gamesmanship, super-power politics, and international intrigues. A love triangle forms: the loutish American chess star (Jeffrey DuBois, Spring Grove, IL), the earnest Russian champion (Michael Metcalf, Elgin, IL), and a Hungarian American female assistant (Rebecca Zellar, Antioch, IL) who arrives at the international chess match in Bangkok with the American, but falls for the Russian. From Bangkok to Budapest the players, lovers, politicians, and spies manipulate and are manipulated to the pulse of a monumental rock score that includes “One Night in Bangkok”, “Heaven Help My Heart”, and “I Know Him So Well.”
Chess will run Fridays and Saturdays, November 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, and 23rd at 8 pm. Sunday matinee performances will be November 10th, 17th, and 24th at 2:30 pm. Tickets are available now and are $18.00 for adults and $15.00 for students and seniors. To reserve your tickets directly through the box office, which opens October 16th, please call 847-395-3055. The box office is open Monday-Thursday, 6:30-8:30 pm; Saturday, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm; and an hour and a half before curtain on show dates.
