Wasn’t It Good?

In 1987, my grandparents took me to see the original production of Chess in London’s West End. It was thrilling, with its Cold War–inspired story and tech-forward production design, featuring a tiled stage that mimicked a chessboard and that lit up accordingly, and also rose, tilted, and helped bring the story to life visually. How very ’80s.

The real star of the show, though, was its pop-music score, written by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with lyrics by Tim Rice, which was first released as a concept album in 1984. It was high-octane musical-theater music, with songs that ranged from rock-infused grooves to heart-rending ballads, and that required big voices to do it justice. Some of those songs, such as “One Night in Bangkok” and “I Know Him So Well,” became pop hits in their own right, and for good reason. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to that album over the years.

But, despite what my 13-year-old sensibilities thought, Chess wasn’t perfect. So, when the show crossed the pond to Broadway in 1988, the creative team made a lot of changes. Too many. In the process, they made a real mess of the show, including adding more to the story and changing some lyrics, all of which confused audiences. The production closed less than two months after it opened.

All these years later, Chess has remained a cult favorite — a show that’s loved for its music, but whose complicated book has given it a reputation for being a bit tricky. Multiple attempts have been made to clean it up, but the show just kept feeling like a series of powerful songs stitched over a geopolitical think-piece. After a while, that just became part of its charm.

Thankfully, the show’s creators haven’t given up. The new Broadway revival of Chess that opened last month at the Imperial Theatre (site of its 1988 production) has arrived with a kind of swagger that feels both overconfident and long overdue. This production doesn’t untie every narrative knot, but thanks to a powerhouse cast (especially the three lead performances), it gets more right than it gets wrong. In short, it exceeded my cautiously optimistic expectations.

The revival boasts a new book by Danny Strong (Empire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) that attempts to solve many of the show’s challenges by making it more obvious what’s happening. This is mostly accomplished via winking narration by the Arbiter (Bryce Pinkham, who does a nice job with an enhanced role) that often breaks the fourth wall.

Chess still tells the story of two Grandmasters, an American named Freddie Trumper (Aaron Tveit) and a Russian named Anatoly Sergievsky (Nicholas Christopher), and the woman, Florence Vassy (Lea Michele), caught between them. To be clear, Freddie’s last name is not one of Strong’s changes; that name’s been there since the show opened in London back in 1987.

The musical essentially plays out during two chess world championship matches: one in 1979 in Merano, Italy, and one in 1983, in Bangkok, Thailand, during which loyalties are tested and relationships shift. The game is, at times, more than a metaphor for geopolitics, with government agents on the two sides engaging in diplomacy and war games behind-the-scenes that threaten world peace.

The new book is ambitious in how it tries to modernize and clarify the story’s stakes. But its tone swings between intensely dramatic and slightly campy, and at nearly three hours, it occasionally feels overstuffed. The second act eventually feels like a sprint to the finish line. And yet, when it clicks, which is more often than not, this version of Chess is an improvement over previous U.S. iterations.

Directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), the revival has a pared-back production design. There’s no set, per se, and only minor costume changes. The result is a theatrical experience that feels almost like a concert at times — not a bad thing when your lead trio can sing like this. 

And those three lead performances are fantastic. Michele, Christopher, and Tveit each deliver exactly what audiences hope for, and more.

Michele’s Florence is, quite simply, a star turn. This role is a blend of emotional vulnerability and vocal athleticism, and she handles both with ease, not surprisingly. The Glee star’s voice — famously polished, yes, but now richer and more controlled — soars through the score without ever feeling showy for its own sake. Songs like “Nobody’s Side” and “Someone Else’s Story” aren’t just nailed technically, they feel lived in. (That said: Kudos to the stage manager, who keeps things moving even when audience members justifiably leap to their feet to applaud after Michele sings.)

Then there’s Christopher, who delivers the kind of performance that makes you sit up a little straighter in your seat and repeatedly say “wow.” His Anatoly is deeply human — thoughtful, restrained, and quietly devastating. Christopher brings a natural authority to the role, but he avoids the trap of stiffness. Instead, he plays Anatoly as a man slowly unraveling under the weight of politics, love, and conscience.

Vocally, he’s superb: warm, resonant, and emotionally precise. There’s a depth and vulnerability underpinning every song he delivers, especially in numbers like the soaring Act I closer “Anthem,” where his voice carries both lyricism and sheer emotional force. (Just don’t sit too close to the stage; that boy spits when he sings an intense lyric!)

If Tveit’s performance isn’t as notable as Michele and Christopher’s, it’s only because — other than “Pity the Child” in Act II — he doesn’t get the same kind of “belty” songs the others do. (The sexy “One Night in Bangkok” number right after intermission is notable for reasons other than the song itself.) But the Tony winner’s performance crackles with charisma and volatility, effectively capturing Freddie’s arrogance and insecurity.

Is Chess suddenly a perfect musical? No. Does every update Strong made work? Also no. I could have done without some of the modern-day references, such as one about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his brainworm, which is a distraction. Yes, there’s also a crack about Joe Biden’s decision to run for re-election. As Pinkham’s Arbiter notes, the show gives it to both sides.

And if Strong was going to cut songs like “Embassy Lament,” he also could have cut “He’s a Man, He’s a Child.” I also would have preferred the production kept “Prologue” and didn’t replace it with a more generic overture at the top of the show.

But with performances this strong — especially from Michele and Christopher — it’s good enough. Suffice it to say, I need a cast album ASAP.

This revival is a reminder of why so many of us still love Chess, and why it’s remained in the cultural conversation for nearly 40 years: When the right artists are in place, as they are here, the show is thrilling, emotional, and absolutely a winning move.

Checkmate.