Lea Michele Sets Final Bow in Chess on Broadway

Michele stars as Florence Vassy in the new Michael Mayer-directed production at the Imperial Theatre.

March 20, 2026 By Meg Masseron, Logan Culwell-Block

Lea Michele will play her final performance in Chess on Broadway June 21, the date the twice-extended run was most recently set to conclude. Producers have now revealed that the production will extend yet again, with tickets for a new block of performances to go on sale next week. Michele's successor as Florence Vassy is to be announced.

Michele stars alongside Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher in the first-ever Broadway revival of the musical , which officially opened November 16 at the Imperial Theatre after beginning previews October 15.

Nicholas Christopher is leading the musical's Broadway return as Anatoly Sergievsky, with Tony winner Aaron Tveit as Freddie Trumper, Michele as Florence Vassey, Hannah Cruz (Suffs) as Svetlana, Bradley Dean (The Phantom of the Opera) as Molokov, Sean Allan Krill (Jagged Little Pill) as Walter, and Bryce Pinkham (Holiday Inn) as The Arbiter.

The company also includes Kyla Louise Bartholomeusz, Daniel Beeman, Shavey Brown, Emma Degerstedt, Casey Garvin, Adam Halpin, Sarah Michele Lindsey, Michael Milkanin, Aleksandr Ivan Pevec, Aliah James, Sydney Jones, Sean MacLaughlin, Sarah Meahl, Ramone Nelson, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard, Michael Olaribigbe, Katerina Papacostas, Samantha Pollino, Regine Sophia, and Katie Webber. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger.

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

With music from ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and lyrics by Tim Rice, this revival is refreshed with a new book by Emmy winner Danny Strong (Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2). Choreography is by Lorin Latarro (Waitress) and Brian Usifer serves as music supervisor.

The creative team also includes scenic designer David Rockwell, costume designer Tom Broecker, lighting designer Kevin Adams, sound designer John Shivers, video designer Peter Nigrini, associate director Johanna McKeon, and associate choreographer Travis Waldschmidt.

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—and competing for the same woman—at the height of the Cold War.

READ: Danny Strong Has Spent a Decade Rewriting the Book for Chess. Now It's Finally Coming to Broadway

The musical 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

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.

Visit ChessBroadway.com.