ABBA and The Cold War: The History of CHESS the Musical [CC]

In the early 1980s, CHESS was poised to be the next big thing. It was a collaboration between two of the world’s most famous pop icons, a renowned lyricist, and a legendary director. A musical about a championship chess match set against the backdrop of the Cold War, CHESS had all the right pieces for success.

But things didn’t play out quite as expected.

In this new feature length documentary from Wait in the Wings, go behind the scenes to explore how a dream musical descended into a political nightmare.

This is a story of high stakes, high tension, and ticking clocks; of a lyricist’s battle for independence, of a director’s battle for control, and of how the two guys from ABBA decided to write a musical.

But above all else, this is a story about CHESS.

Works Cited: https://bit.ly/chessworkscited

A huge thank you to everyone who helped put this huge project together:
Composer Carolee Beck
Chessboard Cinematography Joel Black

And as always, my wonderful script editor, producer, and wife Julianna W. Henderson for sticking by my side as we pieced together this truly complex and incredible story.

Thank you to every person we spoke to who helped us finally document this journey and trusted me enough to tell this story (in alphabetical order):

Emily Allred
Shannon Bailey
Wayne Fowkes
Jeremy Gerard
Donna King
Siobhan McCarthy
Jessica Molaskey
Richard Nelson
Michael Riedel
Craig Wells
Wysandria Woolsey
The World Chess Hall of Fame

Another shoutout to the three resources that were truly a haven during my research:

Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway by Michael Riedel
Chess: The Making of the Musical by William Hartston
The Chess the Musical Weebly: https://chessthemusical.weebly.com/chess---london-1986.html

And one FINAL big thank you to all our Kickstarter backers and everyone who supports the channel on Patreon. We couldn't have made this without you.

$5 Standing Room Patrons:
Ann Marie Wilson
anna
Anne Dekker
Aviva Kamens
Ayinde
Ben Childs
Brent Black
Carl Baldasso
Cati
Cindy Lindsay
Danniella
Deena Abdullat
Devra Gatling
Elena Alexeenko
Elizabeth Athy
Ellie Valentine
Errorgamer
Ethan
Frances McGinn
GLENDA STANSBURY
Holly T
Igantius LIves
Jadin Stoffel
Jarred Braga
Kathryn Potter
Kelseigh Ingram
Kevin McKain
Kristin J B
Lawren Kinsey
Lillian Allen
Marisa
Mary Edwards
Mathew Palmieri
Megan McCasland
mightstill
Mitchell
Orange
Phil Edwards
Rebecca Leung
Savannah Cash
Taekook
Timothy Murray
titus
Toryana Frazier
William Lynch

Chapters
0:00 Intro
4:29 Chapter 1 The Three Knights
38:29 Chapter 2 The Exchange
1:25:05 Chapter 3: The Endgame

Следующая серия

S01E99 - State of the Wings 2025 Livestream