Chess

I am sure I'll be mildly obsessed with the plot and implications of the musical Chess, as recorded in concert in London, in 2008. For once, this is a musical selection I would have bought even if Josh Groban had not been cast as one of the principal singers. While it sounds like a strong backing has not existed yet for a touring company to put this show on as a proper musical. [ who needs a dream? ... now I'm wher I want to be and who I want to be and doing what I said I would . . .] While Josh does not always sound as natural as full-time Broadway singers, he is very convincing as Anatoly, a nice, quiet chess player who falls in love with someone and begins on a path towards conscious self-definition. Actually his rendering of this character reminds me of a few people I have known who, if they were international chess players, would be a lot like this version of Anatoly.

I have been amusing myself this evening with the realization that the entirety of Act 2 is in fact a sort of chess game, the 6th game Anatoly never played the previous year against Freddie because Freddie didn't stay to play it out. This puts Anatoly Sergeyevich in the position of one of the king pieces, trying to keep from being placed in checkmate. Freddie, who Anatoly suggested in Act 1 was a clever player maneuvering and strategizing in real life as well as at the game table, has been playing still, ever since his girlfriend Florence ran off with Anatoly. It does beg th equestion of whether someone is playing Freddie, and certainly the CIA and the KGB try to use him, but this play against Anatoly's queen, Florence, fails, and perhaps Freddie knew it would. His final play is to talk to Anatoly about his opponent's game, and reinforcing to Anatoly that his greatest skill is as a chess player. This may well have tipped the balance, pushing Anatoly not to throw the game, and allowing Freddie to win his ultimate game. I am still debating parts of this concept, but Svetlana would almost obviously have to be the opposing queen, and Florence the queen on Anatoly's side.

I actually did google Chess in google Scholar, and found literally nothing, but no doubt there are blogs and reviews that pursue this interpretation of this lovely underperformed story.

On a minor note ( :)Yes, much of the musical utilizes minor keys, but no pun intended, really) I find the song Where I Want to Be quite powerful, and while with the ultra supportive and considerate Grobanites, Josh Groban may not feel much like this in his own personal celebrity career, I suspect the he has had days where this song would be deeply felt. This song captures very beautifully a part of the psychology of celebrity in general, and I can't help but recall while listening to Josh singing it, the whirlwind of attention that began his career on the music scene. And, for anyone for whom singing is their "primary talent" there is probably at least a small voice constantly in the background asking what happens if their voice should fail. Josh did try college, and as of the last time I checked, he still had not finished a degree yet in anything, so if he were to fail physically, by losing his hearing, or getting permanent damage to his throat, he has little outside the music industry to fall back on, not even a degree in music production. I'll bet, actually, that he has had quite a few days and nights when this song was exactly what he was feeling.