Manatee Players stage the Cold War musical 'Chess'

"Chess" has a checkered history.

The musical, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson -- the songwriters from Abba -- debuted as an album and spawned a couple of hits before it ever came to the stage. It opened on London's West End a couple of years after the album was released and was a huge hit. The London version was a spectacular rock opera, with little or no dialogue. The writers decided to focus on the story instead of the spectacle and re-wrote it, using the same songs, as a conventional musical for Broadway, where it flopped.

"With the American version, you have to pay attention," said Rick Kerby. "It can be hard to follow because there's a lot going on. The London version is a thousand times harder."

Kerby the producing artistic director of Manatee Players, is directing his company's staging of "Chess." It opens today in Stone Hall at the Manatee Performing Arts Center.

Manatee Players' "Chess" uses the American script. Kerby prefers that version, even though it didn't do well on Broadway. He attributed the lack of success of that show to the fact that audiences thought they would see the London version, and got something very different.

The show's big hits are "One Night in Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well." Cory Woomert, who plays Freddie Trumper in the Manatee Players production, knew those songs but nothing else about the show.

"I knew a couple of the songs, but I didn't even know they were from 'Chess' until I started to look at the show before I auditioned," he said. "And I'm so glad I auditioned, because now I love the entire show."

Woomert plays an American chess master, loosely based on Bobby Fischer, who's battling a Russian master during the Cold War.

The Russian is played by Omar Montes. Unlike Woomert, he knew "Chess" well.

"This is kind of the role that I've been salivating to play," he said. "There's a lot of political tension. Chess was utilized, particularly by the Russians, as a statement, because it was an intellectual game."

In the musical as in history, the Russians had dominated the chess world for many years until a young and unconventional American came along and crushed Russia's best players.

Although some of the drama of the show takes place between two men hunched over a chess board, Kerby said this production is visually impressive, with a spectacular set by Kenneth Mooney and lights by Joseph Oshry. And it's packed with great songs, he said.

"It is a show that focuses on the music," he said. "I like to tell people that if you like Abba, if you like 'Mamma Mia!,' you're going to love 'Chess.' "

Details: Feb. 11-28, Stone Hall at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $27-$37. Information: 941-748-5875, manateeperformingartscenter.com.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Manatee Players stage the Cold War musical 'Chess' ."