What I liked
The costumes and facial jewelry were gorgeous, I loved how each outfit was unique but fit into the larger black, white, & bedazzled color scheme. Whitney Vigil is electric as Florence and delivers an incredibly rousing rendition of my favorite CHESS number, “Nobody’s Side.” During the dance numbers I couldn’t take my eyes off the two Dream Kings, JD Morabito and Jenna Small!
What I didn't like
The band was mixed slightly too loud and the consonants were muddled so I had immense difficulty understanding the lyrics in a singing-heavy show — I had to read the Wikipedia synopsis afterward to fully comprehend the narrative. I loved the choreography but the long, thin shape of the venue wasn’t the best suited to the staging and the close proximity of dancing actors to front row audience was a little bit nervewracking.
My overall impression
A visually stunning rearrangement of the Cold War musical classic, featuring a stellar ensemble with standout performers and sweeping choreography in an intimate venue. Those who have not seen CHESS before may have some difficulty following the story, as this iteration features a significantly updated book and the lyrics are often difficult to understand.
