A star-studded concert of the London and Broadway musical Chess is presented December 12 at the Broadhurst Theatre to benefit The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund. Show time is 7:30 PM.
Directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer, the cast is led by Darren Criss (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as Freddie Trumper, Tony winner Lena Hall (Hedwig, Little Shop of Horrors) as Florence Vassey, Ramin Karimloo (Funny Girl) as Anatoly Sergievsky, and Solea Pfeiffer (Almost Famous) as Svetlana Sergievsky.
The cast also features Bradley Dean as Ivan Molokov, Tony nominee Sean Allan Krill as Walter de Courcey, and Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham as The Arbiter, along with Kate Bailey, Joe Beauregard, Neal Benari, Brendon Chan, Nkrumah Gatling, Masumi Iwai, Nina Lafarga, Ross Lekites, Austin Lesch, Alicia Lundgren, Sean MacLaughlin, Robin Masella, Kaitlin Mesh, Katerina Papacostas, Julius Rubio, Emily Stillings, Stephen Tewksbury, and Christopher Vo.
Chess—a love story set against the Cold War chess battles between the United States and Russia—features a score by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and EGOT winner Tim Rice. The benefit features a new book by Emmy winner Danny Strong.
The evening also features movement by Lorin Latarro, lighting by Kevin Adams, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy, scenic design by David Rockwell, costumes by Lisa Zinni, music supervision, additional arrangements, and additional orchestrations by Brian Usifer, music direction by Roberto Sinha, and arrangements and orchestrations by Anders Eljas. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger, and Lisa Lacucci serves as production stage manager.
The concert is presented in association with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman.
“We’re thrilled to help bring this new iteration of such a beloved musical to New York City,” said Entertainment Community Fund Chair Brian Stokes Mitchell in an earlier statement. “Our thanks to Tom, Ira, and the whole Chess company for their generous support of our programs and services to help those in our industry this holiday season.”
Chess debuted on the London stage with a cast led by Elaine Paige, Tommy Körberg, and Murray Head, while the Broadway company featured Judy Kuhn, Philip Casnoff, and the late David Carroll. The score includes such tunes as “Nobody’s Side,” “One Night in Bangkok,” “Anthem,” “I Know Him So Well,” “Pity the Child,” and “You and I.” The original Broadway cast recording was released on RCA Victor.
In 2003 The Entertainment Community Fund (then the Actors Fund) presented a benefit concert of Chess starring Julia Murney, Adam Pascal, Norm Lewis, Josh Groban, and more.
Chess was originally produced on Broadway by The Shubert Organization, 3 Knights Ltd., and Robert Fox Ltd.
For tickets visit EntertainmentCommunity.org/Chess.
