Glenn Bugala, director of Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s production of the musical “Chess,” happened to be staying in London when the original production was playing in the West End.

But he didn’t see it.

“The friends I was staying with said, ‘Oh, no, don’t bother seeing that show,’ so I didn’t see it,” said Bugala. “And I could kick myself, because it was few years after that that I fell in love with the music.”

How much did Bugala fall in love with “Chess”’ score - by Abba members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus’ score, with lyrics by Tim Rice?

“I burned through two cassette tapes, and then I moved on to a CD, and I burned through that, too,” said Bugala. “Once I heard the music, I was immediately hooked. … It merges classical and rock elements in a really unique way.”

The one thing most people know from “Chess” is the 1985 radio hit, “One Night in Bangkok,” but the show tells the story of a woman and two volatile chess masters—one American, one Russian—who square off in love, chess, and politics at the time of the Cold War.

“It fictionalizes the matches between Bobby Fischer and (Russian chess masters), and the high drama that was there, and the accusations and the blow-ups,” said Bugala. “The show’s prime theme is to talk about conflicts between countries, between lovers, and between opponents, so it has the love interest mirroring the moves of a chess match, and political intrigue.”

Britain’s critics had a mixed-to-positive response to the show in 1986, but when it made the jump to America in 1988, significant changes led to critics panning it outright.

“The biggest mistake they made is, they set it after the Berlin Wall fell, so when Russians defected, it didn’t make sense,” said Bugala. “The line, ‘These are dangerous and difficult times’ became ‘These are promising times.’ It just blew up the whole show.

“ … We’re doing the London version of the show. We may be the first group in Ann Arbor to do the London version, because up until recently, Samuel French was not licensing the London version to Americans. So this may be a first opportunity for locals to see this version - the original concept.”

Another novelty is Bugala’s inclusion of the Ann Arbor Civic Chorus, which will be on stage throughout A2CT’s production of “Chess,” vocally backing up the choral numbers.

“That’s a cool thing, but it means a lot of people are on stage, so you’re dealing with a lot of logistics,” said Bugala. “The show is so big and so sweeping. It’s set in six or seven countries, with about 25 to 30 different locations.”

Bugala will use projections and unit sets to meet the show’s demands, but mostly, he wants to get out of the way of the score.

“One of the mantras I’ve had through the proposal process and now is, ‘It’s all about the music, stupid,’” said Bugala. “The music is so gorgeous. I just want to do what I can to make it the prime focus.”

Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.