'Chess' pleases packed theater

Between a backdrop of flags and a packed audience, the Pennsylvania Players performed Chess for the fifth time yesterday. Chess, a Swedish play, is the story of two chess masters, their shared lover and a world chess championship. The show was performed for the third of five sold out shows, and Producer Katherine Sorg, a College junior, described it as having the most energy of all the performances. "This show was great," crew member and College freshman Paul Pimentel agreed. "The crowd was mostly students and they really seemed to love it tonight." The show's powerful songs are what seemed to bring out the applause from most people. Bryan Reid's strong rendition of "Where I Want To Be" in the second scene brought cheers and whistles from the previously docile crowd. Less strong than Reid was College junior Christopher Wilkes, who played Freddie, one of the male lead characters. His voice was hoarse and cracking, as he nursed a sore throat that he has had for weeks. "Freddie's voice seems to be really off," said Ken Wu, a College junior in the audience. "Things like that make the performance seem really flawed." Chess featured two female leads, played by Seema Desai and Jill Abramovitz, both College seniors. Either together in "I Know Him So Well," or separately, the two performers were powerful and convincing actresses. Perhaps what inspired the crowd most was "Arbiter's Song," strongly sung by College junior John Hedges, whose dancing ultimately rendered the song "cute." Accompanying Hedges was the Arts House Dance Company, which performed throughout the musical. Well choreographed and well costumed, the dancers were received enthusiastically by the audience, especially during a sexy rendition of the popular song "One Night in Bangkok." "This was a great show," said Reid, after the show was over. "It's really a lot of fun and I've had a really great time doing it."