Tip-Off
Jade Stice is featured in 'Chess' musical

Jade Stice, a Castle High School alumna and a veteran of Broadway’s "Miss Saigon," will portray Florence in Diamond Head Theatre’s Hawai‘i premiere of "Chess," the Tim Rice-ABBA musical playing Feb. 16 through March 4.

Stice earlier appeared in numerous Castle shows, as well as "Singing in the Rain" and "Blues in the Night" at Diamond Head Theatre. She also co-produced "Forever Plaid" in its Honolulu debut at the Hula Hut.

A fellow "Saigon" alumnus, Matthew Pederson, also will star in "Chess," as Freddie. He earlier played the title role in DHT’s "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and appeared in the ensemble of "Miss Saigon" when it made its debut two years ago at Blaisdell Concert Hall.

The production also will feature Guy Merola as Anatoly; he appeared in DHT’s "Falsettos" and Manoa Valley Theatre’s "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

Andrew Sakaguchi will be guest director-choreographer.

Others in the cast are Renee Garcia as Svetlana, John Bryan as The Arbiter, Jim Kleveland as Gregory and Leonard Piggee as Walter.

The production team includes Jeffrey Cooper as musical director, Stephen Clear as set and lighting designer, Sukey Dickinson as costume designer, Kurt Yamasaki as sound designer, and Deanna Luster and Dawn Oshima as stage managers.

In "Chess," the classic game becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, politics and international intrigues. The pawns form a love triangle: the loutish American chess star, the earnest Russian champion, the Hungarian-American female assistant, all manipulated to the beat of a rich score that includes such hits as "One Night in Bankok" and "I Know Him So Well."

Curtain time is 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $10 to $40, on sale at the box office. Reservations: 734-0274.

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