November 16 was opening night for the first-ever Broadway revival of Chess at the Imperial Theatre, and the reviews are in! See what critics had to say below.
Directed by Michael Mayer, the revival began previews October 15, and is currently set to continue through May 3, 2026.
Nicholas Christopher is leading the musical's Broadway return as Anatoly Sergievsky, with Tony winner Aaron Tveit as Freddie Trumper, Lea 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
Read the reviews below.
1 Minute Critic (Matthew Wexler)
CitiTour NYC (Brian Scott Lipton)
Entertainment Weekly (Shania Russell)
The Hollywood Reporter (Richard Lawson)
The Guardian (Jesse Hassenger)
New York Daily News/The Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
New York Magazine/Vulture (Sara Holdren)*
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)
New York Stage Review (Melissa Rose Bernardo, Bob Verini)
New York Theatre Guide (Austin Fimmano)
The New York Times (Elisabeth Vincentelli)*
The Wall Street Journal (Christopher Isherwood)*
The Washington Post (Naveen Kumar)*
*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
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.
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.
Bryce Pinkham and company of Chess
Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and company of Chess
Nicholas Christopher and company of Chess
Nicholas Christopher and company of Chess
Lea Michele and company of Chess
Bryce Pinkham and company of Chess
Aaron Tveit and company of Chess
Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher in Chess
Aaron Tveit and company of Chess
Aaron Tveit and Lea Michele in Chess
Hannah Cruz in Chess
