Chess

Last night Harlow and I caught a WKNO broadcast of Chess, the 1986 musical that had a splashy revival this year with Idina Mendzel and Josh Groban (who I still think has never sounded finer than on his collaboration in "I'm F*cking Ben Affleck). As far as musicals go, it pushes the limits of what will pass as sung dialogue then watches them fall off the cliff. It's the Cold War! It's an American and a Russian facing - off! It's the American's publicist whose family has gone missing in the war in Hungary and somehow the Russian's publicist finds her father in jail and tries to get the Russian, who has now defected to America and left his wife and two kids for sexy America publicist - to throw the match! You try singing about that!

I really got a kick out of watching my daughter fall under the spell of musical theater. And she's not the only one. Caleb came home to find me doing pushing ups to showtunes. In honor of Chess, here's some fun facts and a cheesy video!

It was totally written by the dudes from ABBA!

You know that awesome 80s song, One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head? Totally from Chess. And Murray Head? Totally Anthony Stewart Head's (Giles!) brother.