Broadway Chess Revival Finds a Home, Dates | 半岛体育

半岛体育

Broadway News Broadway Chess Revival Finds a Home, Dates

Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher will star in the cult favorite musical at the Imperial Theatre.

Nicholas Christopher, Lea Michele, and Aaron Tveit Heather Gershonowitz

The upcoming Broadway revival of Chess has found its home and set dates. The production will begin previews October 15 at the newly vacated Imperial Theatre, with opening night set for November 16. The Imperial was also the home of the original production of Chess in 1988.

A fan pre-sale () will begin June 25 at 11 AM ET, with general sales beginning June 26 at 11 AM ET. The run is currently scheduled to continue through March 15, 2026.

The cast will be led by Tony winner Aaron Tveit as Freddie Trumper, Lea Michele as Florence Vassey, and Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly Sergievsky. The performance will see Michele originating a role on the Main Stem for the first time since 2006's Spring Awakening. Further casting is to be announced.

READ: Lea Michele Says the Chess Score Is a 'New Anthem' for Her

With music from ABBA鈥檚 Benny Andersson and Bj枚rn Ulvaeus, and lyrics by Tim Rice, this first-ever Broadway revival will be refreshed with a new book by Emmy winner Danny Strong (Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2), and a creative team featuring director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and choreographer Lorin Latarro (Waitress). Brian Usifer will serve as music supervisor.

Based on an idea by Rice (and originally featuring a book by Richard Nelson), Chess tells the story of American and Russian chess champions playing a match against each other鈥攁nd competing for the same woman鈥攁t the height of the Cold War.

Michele previously hinted to 半岛体育 what audiences can expect from the production's new book, saying Strong has 鈥渂rought the heart across. He鈥檚 really straightened our characters鈥� storyline and aligned the music with the story really well.鈥�

Added Tveit: "We hope that amidst the great music and humor and love story, there鈥檚 going to be a little bit of thought that takes place from the audience that sees the show."

Chess began as a concept album released in 1984, after Tim Rice had mulled over the idea of a musical about the Cuban Missile Crisis for nearly a decade with his frequent collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber, never quite beginning the project. In the early 1980s, he approached Andersson and Ulvaeus, who had been itching to find creative projects outside of their hit pop music group ABBA. The concept album dominated the charts worldwide, reaching number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and earned global critical acclaim. Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson's duet "I Know Him So Well" even ranked number one on the U.K.'s singles charts for a month, and "One Night in Bangkok" was an international hit.

WATCH: Learn About Chess' Complicated Journey Back to Broadway in New Streaming Documentary

The album's popularity seemed to promise a successful theatrical adaption, but the original West End production opened in 1986 to mixed reviews. Elaine Paige, Tommy K枚rberg, and Murray Head, who all performed on the concept album, brought their roles to life onstage as part of the original London cast, with Siobh谩n McCarthy taking Barbara Dickson's place. Prolific director Michael Bennett was originally signed on to helm, but pulled out due to his declining health, and Cats director Trevor Nunn took over. Bennett's vision initially was to create a "multimedia" experience for audiences, with the theatre filled to the brim with television monitors, and the stage transformed into a tilted chess floor. The stage show's book expanded the original plot explored in the concept album, with the runtime peaking at three hours and 15 minutes long. London critics were admittedly dazzled by the score and scenic vision for the show, but nearly all expressed the book as being problematic to what would otherwise be a creative revelation.

The Broadway production鈥攚hich starred David Carroll, Judy Kuhn, Philip Casnoff, and Marcia Mitzman鈥攐pened to an even more negative critical reception, with reviewers nevertheless praising the score and the individual performances. Closing after just 17 previews and 68 performances, it seemed Chess' chance for success had passed. But via the concept album and later cast recordings from various stage productions, Chess found a devoted audience in the years since its premiere. In addition to several tours and West End revivals, a 2008 London concert staging featuring Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, and Kerry Ellis was recorded and released both as an album and a concert film.

Chess is being produced by Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens, and The Shubert Organization, along with Creative Partners Productions. The production is being presented by arrangement with Three Knights and Robert Fox Ltd.

 
Today鈥檚 Most Popular News: