I occasionally fall down a 'nobody's side' youtube hole and i always come back to this one. What does it for me are the stakes she brings to it that no one else does. She is burning with rage, and as she sings, she truly *realizes* that she's alone. It's shattering and terrifying, but what else can she do but fight? Most versions of this song have a distanced, 'let me tell you something i've learned about life' quality that is fun but not nearly as immediate. And that little bump to the tempo helps it too.
Joe LaRue lol I feel like we would be best friends because I spend all of my time watching random ass productions of chess. I 100% agree with you. This bump in tempo gives it so much more urgency and then she TRIPLES that urgency with her intensity and passion because she experiences the song as it happens. This isn’t a park and bark song, it’s a rage song. The man who she loves just abandoned her and no one but Jodi shows the fire Florence has. (Also hot take, Florence is the main character of Chess and no one will ever change my mind lol)
😳👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Back in 1998, I was in the children’s chorus for the tour of “Joseph...Dreamcoat” when it rolled through my hometown of Pittsburgh and Jodi Benson was the narrator...her performance was RIDICULOUS!!! And to top it off, she was one of the sweetest human beings EVER! ❤️
I played Simeon in that tour and Pittsburgh was a favorite! She was by far the best anchor this show could have ever had and I'm so glad you had that experience when you were a kid!!
She is absolutely breathtaking. She played that role with so much passion and heart, and belted those notes like I never could have imagined. It's so hard to believe she was Ariel! But there she is, right there, tackling this huge, powerful role and absolutely slaying it. Bravo, Ms. Benson. Bravo.
She's absolutely my favorite Florence here. Anyone who wants to play this part in 2019 should of course have their own take, but if they wanted to take any inspiration from anyone, I would point them to this performance. Judy Kuhn's Florence is a bit tepid for me. I think the beauty of the character of Florence is the balance (and struggle) of so many emotions - passion, power, strength, sadness, fragility, love, childhood issues, etc. Jodi completely plays to each of these throughout the entire performance. So good.
This is absolutely one of the best version of Nobody's Side I've ever heard, and I've probably heard about 98% of the recorded versions that are out there. She plays this with such a beautiful mixture of anger, confusion and sheer passion like no-one else!
How did I not know this version existed??? And more importantly, where the hell has Jodi been all this time????? Come back to Broadway, Jodi; we miss you!
Wow this is amazing, I love her but didn't expect her version to be the best of them all! I get what Howard Ashman saw in her, she has chops for days...
After seeing and hearing literally hundreds of versions of this show, the Long Beach CLO's version remains one of my most favorite. Robert, Jodie and the whole cast performed to a fantastic level. Jodie is my favorite Florence and this is the best version of Nobody's Side, hands-down. She kills it with the ".. But I don't have the nerve to leave!" line.
Time for my yearly posting to say Thank You to Robert Yacko for posting this and a huge Thank You to Jodi Benson for showing everyone how to really play Florence! Also, how is it possible to get goosebumps on top of goosebumps? So, so good. Hope all is well, Robert! :-)
Fun! 1, I saw Jodi Benson's performance, my first ever trip to Long Beach, when I was little. This is a cool RU-vid find. 2, my son and I attended the Long Beach Chess on Sunday at Scottish Rites theater. (We live in LB) just connecting these dots.
Everyone is talking about Jodi's performance, as they should, but I also love the production as well. I'm a sucker for props and sets that move on their own for scene transitions (even though that was obviously a stage hand getting rid of the chair still seen from behind the curtain at this camera angle) and the chess board lights going out in segments via the musical stings near the end of the song are a nice touch.
What was the story on this show? Did Freddie win? Did Anatoly win? Florence stab them both? I love Chess, the only musical that you just never know what's going to happen.
That tough part is there are no definitive versions. it got radically changed in the transfer to NY because the original director passed away. There is talk from the lyricist that there may be a film of it in the works. Inn our version, Anatoly sacrifices the final game and agrees to go back to his wife to protect his family, but only in exchange for Florence's father. Florence gets her father back in the end thanks to Anatoly's sacrifice..
