Games and girlfriends...

 While it seems to be as cold here as Siberia

or Mars (take your pick),

 I figured a Soviet/American match up might warm things up a bit.

Chess was birthed as a "concept album" in 1984 to 

help raise funds for a full-blown production in the West End.

London loved it...it played successfully there for 3 years,

but it tanked on Broadway, gone in 2 months.

The music was by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (of ABBA)

and the lyrics, Tim Rice.

A quote from Tim, following the poor reception by New York critics:

  "It may sound arrogant, 

but Chess is as good as anything I've ever done. 

And maybe it costs too much brainpower for the average person to follow it".

 I'll try not to take that personally.

 In our "Rock" theme,

Dewey Finn of School of Rock

(played by Alex Brightman, above)

sings "In The End Of Time"...

the one of the few songs kept from the movie version

(where it is sometimes referred to as "The Legend Of The Rent").

Some people really liked this musical,

but then some people really liked Cats.

 In our "Nobody" set,

Nick Cordero and the cast of 

Bullets Over Broadway

put over "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do".

Above, Karen Ziemba, Helene Yorke, Brooks Ashmanskas,

Zach Braff, Nick Cordero and Betsy Wolfe

at the recording session for the cast album.

 Nick (the tall one, at 6ft. 5in., with Zach Braff at left)

played Cheech in this production.

He hails from Hamilton, Ontario, he's 39 at present,

and has played in A Bronx Tale, Waitress, and Rock Of Ages.

 My Sunday galfriends:

Angela Lansbury (above) in Jerry Herman's Dear World.

(An aside: My father used to shoot pheasants and I can tell you

those feathers are definitely the real thing.)

 Elaine Stritch...

above, some shots of her as Melba, the reporter,

in Pal Joey, 1952.

This revival proved more successful than the original 1940 production,

with Harold Lang and Vivienne Segal playing the leads.

Prior to the 50s, several of Pal Joey's songs were banned

from radio play,

but once that ban was rescinded, 

those Bewitched and Bothered eye-brow-raisers finally

hit the airwaves, 

and the revival's success was a shoe-in. 

(BTW, understudy for Harold: Bob Fosse!)

 ...and Julie Andrews.

The above shot MUST be from Star

(she looks to have more confidence than
 Millie Dillmount could ever muster!),

but include it, I did. :)

Below, the Thoroughly Modern cast:

Beatrice Lilley, James Fox, Carol Channing, Julie,

 John Gavin, and Mary Tyler Moore.