Steadstyle Chicago
	March 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Chess In 1990 The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire put on a production of "Chess," a rock musical about life and heart.  This piece was written by Richard Nelson with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA.  Rice has just completed "Evita" and had hoped that Andrew Lloyd Webber would work with him on this one as well, but since he was unavailable, Rice took another road.  It was first a concept album in 1984 and "One Night In Bangkok" became a hit single.  In 1986, it became a live musical in London.  This was the same year that Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The story behind "Chess" is more than just the game, but also the games played in the political arena as well as struggles of life itself.  The story is a love triangle between an American Grand Master, Freddie (Courtney Crouse), the Russian Master, Anatoly (Jeremy Trager) and the woman in the middle, Florence (Maggie Portman).  The time of the story is the 1980's, during the Cold War, a time when the Russian (Karpov) and American (Fisher) garnered the majority of the media attention.  They were the very best of the best.  This is no longer the case.  Courtney Crouse handles the attitude of his character well and has the feeling that must be conveyed in "Pity The Child" in the second act, but lacks the vocal power to reach some of the notes as written.  Jeremy Trager, who is always on his game, delivers a powerful performance.  Maggie Portman does another fine job, and each time I see her shows me just how much talent she has. Directed by Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier, who also handles the choreography, this particular production is unique in that the No Exit Cafe, a former chess players haven/coffee shop, is a very intimate theater.  Theo Ubique once again proves that a big show can be scaled down to fit the venue.  They are the experts at using their space to the Nth degree and having an ensemble that can take on many roles and do so to perfection.  Each of the actors in this story is able to sing, dance and act.  And besides that they are also your waiters and servers in this special little cabaret, where you have the option of having a dinner with your show. The ensemble players, Anthony Apodaca, Jenny Guse, Jenny Lamb, Ben Mason, and Travis Walker as well as John Taflan as the Arbiter, John B. Leen as Molokov, and Stephanie Herman as Svetlana make Theo Ubique a special experience.  These are dedicated performers who love what they do and in spite of this being a different kind of musical, one that is not well known, this theater company gives it the heart and soul that makes it work.  The musicians, although small in numbers are huge in talent and sound.  Under the musical direction of Ryan Brewster (also the master of the keyboard), Shawn Davis (drums), David Saenger (guitar), Julia Macholl (violin) and Chris Skrable (flute), this group rocks! "Chess", A Cold War Rock Musical, will continue through April 25, 2010 at The No Exit Cafe located at 6970 N. Glenwood Avenue in Rogers Park.  The performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m.  Tickets range from $25-$30 and a dinner package can be purchased for $25 more.  To reserve your spot call 800-596-4849 or online at www.theoubique.org.  Free parking is available at the lot on Morse and Ravenswood with a shuttle that will take you directly to the theater door.  There is also street parking, but check the meters.  And you are just a hop, skip and jump from the Morse Avenue Red line station.    About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.