A new version of the musical Chess is in the works, composers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus told TheaterMania. The pair announced no additional details.
The show, which has book and lyrics by Tim Rice, involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. The show’s 1988 Broadway production, starring David Carroll, Philip Casnoff, and Judy Kuhn, closed after 68 performances.
A 2008 concert version of the musical at London’s Royal Albert Hall, starring Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, Kerry Ellis, Adam Pascal, David Bedella, Marti Pellow, and Clarke Peters, was very successful, and spawned a PBS broadcast as well as a CD and a DVD of the concert.
Andersson and Ulveaus are the co-founders of the music group Abba, whose songs are featured in the smash Broadway hit Mamma Mia!. A concert version of their newest work, Kristina, will play Carnegie Hall on September 23-24.
