Illinois Wesleyan University's Virtual Production of CHESS Premieres This Weekend

Illinois Wesleyan University's virtual production of Chess begins streaming this weekend on Friday, November 20 at 7:30pm and continues throughout the weekend on Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22 at 2pm and 7:30pm.

Chess stars Lizzie Maguire as Florence, Matthew Fecko as Anatoly, Andy Jump as Freddie, Michael T. Votaw as Molokov, Dylan Holt as Arbiter, Mike Jostes as Walter, Cheron Whittley as Svetlana, Trey Ehrhart as Gregor, Darian Conn as Nikita, Jared Garner as Harold, and Josie Corraro as Jo. The ensemble features Angie Cornwell, Megan Boggs, Bryant Cobb, William Dusek, Jacqueline Galliano, Erika Harper, Jacob Nuti, Maura Pawelko, Ryann Piker, Kameron Roberts, and Joe Storti.

Check out rehearsal footage from the production below!

Chess is one of many productions to be streamed at the University. Future shows include Mary Jane by Amy Herzog, Stage Door by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman, and Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown.

For more information, visit www.iwu.edu/theatre/season/

Presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

CHESS has a book by Richard Nelson, lyrics by Tim Rice, and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson. Based on an original idea by Tim Rice. The plot of Chess centers on an unconventional love triangle between two chess grandmasters competing in the 1984 World Chess Championship Match -- one American, one Soviet -- and the woman who serves as a chess second to the American, but who falls in love with the Soviet. The Cold War intrigue centered on the US versus USSR plot twists was a hit in London's West End in 1986 and a miss on Broadway in 1988, but the musical score has long remained popular with fans around the world.

Many different versions of the show have emerged over the years, featuring modified plots, different selections of music, and various casts. The original 1984 concept album was a worldwide hit, reaching the top 10 status in the United Kingdom, West Germany, and South Africa. It was even the number one album in Sweden for seven weeks, thanks in large part due to ABBA's contributions to the score. The biggest hit of all from the album was "One Night in Bangkok," which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs that gained significant popularity included "I Know Him So Well" (a #1 hit in the UK) and covered by Whitney Houston in the US, "Nobody's Side," "The Arbiter's Song," and "Pity the Child." "One of the best rock scores ever produced. This is an angry, difficult, demanding and rewarding show." - TIME