Broadway Musical Stars Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit

How do you solve a problem like “Chess”?

With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (of ABBA) and Tim Rice, and now with a new version of Rice’s book by Danny Strong, “Chess” tells of the Cold War chess rivalry between Freddie Trumper (Aaron Tveit) of the US and Anatoly Sergievsky (Nicholas Christopher) of the USSR, as well as the woman, Florence Vassy (Lea Michele), who gets caught in the middle. While beloved by some, “Chess” is a famously messy musical, particularly due to Rice’s confused book, which has been reworked too many times to count. Songs have been moved, added, cut, or reassigned. Settings (both locations and years) have been altered. Characters have been expanded, removed, or significantly tweaked. The ending (particularly for Florence) has gone through numerous versions, each with completely different meanings and messages. Even seemingly core and essential details, like who wins the chess matches, have been changed across productions. 

This revival represents director Michael Mayer and Strong’s third stab at the material, having previously worked on it in 2018 and 2022. Among Strong’s larger changes is altering the timeline and providing some wider historical context, setting the first act amidst the SALT II treaty negotiations and the second act culminating with the Abel Archer 83 military exercises. In theory, this should work, and in the first act, it basically does. The second act premise, though, goes off the rails: the various shifting allegiances become convoluted and the idea that the US and USSR were ready to blow each other up with nuclear weapons based on the outcome of a chess match is absurd. The stakes are unnaturally high, with a countdown to world destruction — but then nothing happens. No bombing occurs. What’s more, the book has been pored over, snipped, and revised so often that there remain remnants of earlier versions, such as lines referencing moments that have been cut or motifs that never get resolved. 

Regardless of the version, there is a compelling human drama at the center of “Chess,” floating atop some killer songs and an often gorgeous score. In its sweeping musical moments (“Nobody’s Side,” “Anthem,” “I Know Him So Well,” “Someone Else’s Story,” and the catchy but dated “One Night in Bangkok”), it’s easy to see why “Chess” has diehard fans. However, there’s so much else that brings everything down: clunky plotting, nonsensical character motivations, and, here, a useless ensemble. Mayer has the chorus thrash about in a mob and sit onstage all of act one, but then completely forgets about them for act two. We might have been better off without these useless pawns. 

As soon as the overture begins, this revival feels less like a Broadway production and more like City Center Encores! concert. The cast is stacked but there’s no set to speak of, beyond some stairs that house the onstage orchestra, a row of banquet benches, and several columns filled with lawn chess pieces. The back wall features some very on-the-nose projections, including the domes of St. Basil’s in Moscow, American and Soviet flags, and an oft-repeated photo of a child being hoisted over a wall. The costumes are entirely nondescript, with the leads in black and white, and the chorus in grey double-breasted suits. The lighting design is occasionally effective, other than several strips of thin, chintzy LED light strips that rotate between blue and red. 

The production seems to have no faith that the audience will remember this is a Cold War musical, so it constantly reminds us in the projections, lighting, and in the speeches of the character known as the Arbiter (played by Bryce Pinkham). As our narrator, the Arbiter here is an annoyingly metatheatrical figure, who quips to the audience, praising Michele’s singing, apologizing for Tveit’s character’s last name sounding like Trump (“remember this show was originally written in 1984”), constantly referencing the fact that we’re watching a musical, and making cringy attempts at topical jokes about RFK Jr.’s brain worm and Joe Biden’s decision to run for re-election. Pinkham comes across as pesky and tiresome, though this is mostly the fault of Mayer’s direction and Strong’s writing. 

Despite this revival of “Chess” making some wrong moves, it always remembers that the queen is the most powerful piece, wisely letting Michele shine like the star she is. Unlike in “Funny Girl,” in which she was perpetually the center of attention, here she has to share the stage more, and does so with humility and aplomb. Never overpowering or scene stealing, Michele has a commanding presence, and finds the depths of pain, longing, and conflict in her character. She is an undeniable grandmaster, with the rare combination of perfect technique, clarion tone, vocal power, and exemplary emoting skills. This performance solidifies that Michele is back on Broadway, hopefully for a long time — and we are certainly lucky to have her. Her rendition of “Nobody’s Side” is so superb it will make you wish we still had encores on Broadway. 

Tveit is as talented as always, and his hair is as mesmerizingly coiffed, but sadly he doesn’t have much to do, especially in the second act. His voice is intoxicating and he’s clearly having fun with the role, but as the show progresses, his presence becomes superfluous, with Strong relying on increasingly unrealistic reasons to keep him around. Freddie is not well developed or nuanced, flipping between asshole antics and depressive paranoia. Tveit tries his best, but he fades a bit compared to Michele and Chrisopher. 

Of our three leads, Christopher may be the only non-household name, but he gives an impressive performance. He captures the cynical and suicidal pain of Anatoly, a child chess prodigy ripped from his family and turned into a Soviet robot, who now must confront what he wants in life, if he can love, and how he feels about his mother country. Christopher’s singing is quite powerful, too, especially his “Anthem,” but his key achievement is proving that acting and character work are vital to nailing this role.  

Sean Allan Krill as Walter, the CIA operative, and Bradley Dean as Molokov, the KGB chess mentor, serviceably represent feuding factions and come off as equally slimy. Rounding out the principal cast is the usually lovely Hannah Cruz as Svetlana (Anatoly’s wife) in a rare misstep. Despite using a Russian accent in her dialogue, she makes no attempt to sing with it, a confounding and distracting choice (made especially stark because Dean and Christopher expertly speak and sing with Russian accents). 

For a musical about chess, this revival ironically doesn’t seem very interested in the game itself. This production has two chess matches, and in both the players stand at microphones narrating their moves in monotone voices (“Pawn to E6,” “Knight to F3”), thus rendering the matches in an entirely nontheatrical and nonvisual manner. For those unfamiliar with chess or unable to imagine the board, pieces, and moves in their head, the crucial matches are impossible to follow. Mayer and Strong seem exclusively invested in the symbolism of the Cold War as a chess battle, so they don’t let us see and understand the contours of the actual chess matches. 

Alas, the debate of whether “Chess” can be saved or fixed must continue, for this is likely not the best iteration of the material. What Florence sings rings true for “Chess” overall: “I’ve still a lot to prove; there must be more I could achieve.” There’s so much potential, it’s hard not to continually yearn for a version of “Chess” that fully works. 

Although this “Chess” match may not have produced a new champion, there’s still some thrilling gameplay, especially from Michele and Christopher, who help provide insight into the magic of “Chess” and make this sometimes uneven game still feel entirely worth watching.