Chess on Broadway review: the story still stumbles, but the voices are a victory
"It would have been one of the best I’ve ever attended"
Chess returned to Broadway this November with a show-stopping cast and a score by ABBA legends Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, making for an iconic revival.
Now playing at the Imperial Theatre, the production stars Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit, Broadway icon and Glee star Lea Michele, and breakout talent Nicholas Christopher.
Set during the Cold War, the musical follows a tense love triangle between two rival chess grandmasters. The current Broadway run is scheduled through 3 May 2026.
“These performers soar through the material”
Core memories of sitting around the piano with my friends at music camp, singing through this score, come rushing back every time I see a production of Chess. And every time, I’m hoping they’ve finally made the story work. In this newest production, the highest calibre of talent brings the incredible songs by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, and Tim Rice to life, but even their brilliance can’t fully rescue the book, reworked yet again by Danny Strong. Still, it’s worth attending just to hear these performers soar through the material. Aaron Tveit is riveting as American chess prodigy Freddie Trumper; Lea Michele brings both fire and vulnerability to Florence Vassy, Freddie’s second and the shared love interest; and Nicholas Christopher, the vocal standout who holds a note so long I found myself on my feet applauding his perfection, anchors the triangle with a magnetic, quietly commanding Anatoly Sergievsky.
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Chess pits Trumper and Sergievsky against each other not just as players, but as representatives of two superpowers locked in their own ideological match. Everyone surrounding them is strategising, manipulating, and manoeuvring behind the scenes to secure a victory for their side. The pressure fractures both men, and Florence, caught between them professionally and emotionally, finds herself trying to coach, support, and salvage both throughout the show.
“Lea Michele’s ‘Nobody’s Side’ is powerful, precise, and perfectly matched”
Nicholas Christopher delivers the definitive ‘Anthem’; I’ve never heard it sung better. Lea Michele’s ‘Nobody’s Side’ is powerful, precise, and perfectly matched to her voice. And Aaron Tveit’s singing throughout the entire evening is so astonishingly relaxed and controlled that his larynx should get its own Tony nomination. Just when you think you’ve heard the best vocals of the night, Hannah Cruz as Svetlana steps forward with a full, round, gorgeously resonant vibrato that I could listen to 24/7.
“Every vocal number is staged beautifully”
The biggest change Danny Strong introduces is expanding the role of the Arbiter into a narrator, played by the delightfully charming Bryce Pinkham. Michael Mayer directs the material with clarity and elegance, and every vocal number is staged beautifully, even if the material itself doesn’t always rise to the same level. But the clunky topical political jokes and self-aware commentary on the show’s flaws don’t strengthen the storytelling; if anything, they derail it. The set feels perfectly suited to a concert staging, perhaps what this production should have embraced fully. The choreography by Lorin Latarro, however, is consistently fantastic, with One Night in Bangkok emerging as a true highlight.
“It’s a masterclass in musical theatre vocals”
There are more KGB and CIA references than ever, which I think Strong hoped would heighten the tension, but none of it made the story work. Still, seeing Chess performed by singers of this calibre is a must; it’s a masterclass in musical theatre vocals, and I found myself wishing the production had simply trusted the score. Had this been presented strictly as a concert, it would have been one of the best I’ve ever attended.
Tickets are available to see Chess on Broadway now via the official musical website.
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