Chess @ Signature

Besides my love for 'So You Think You Can Dance' my other semi embarrassing fanboy status is for Mama Mia which I have now seen four times. But I did not know that the composers for that piece (of ABBA fame) had another musical under their belt, one which happened to be playing next door in Arlington... Chess. I got a rush ticket for the show, my first at this company and this venue in Shirlington (a neighborhood in Arlington). Great seat, despite being warned it would be obstructed view.

The music was very reminiscent of Mama Mia, having many of the same riffs. The real standout in this piece for me was Jeremy Kushnier, playing Freddy, who belted out his numbers. The story line managed not to be as tight as Mama Mia, which is sort of ironic considering that Mama Mia's storyline was essentially an afterthought to fit the pre made musical numbers. It is an interesting idea, comparing the drama of the cold war to that of a chess match. A strong theme was how the powers that be used its various people as mere pawns to be sacrificed for the needs of the game. In hindsight, this seems more true than it may have seemed at the time. Now that the cold war is over, I know I look back at what a colossal waste of time and energy much of it was. The piece I think captures the vibe that was the 80s and the cold war, but whether intentionally or not, also seems to capture how dated the whole thing seems now.