In the midst of a punishing winter, the Cold War-era musical Chess is captivating Broadway audiences with its complex love triangle featuring Tony winner Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher. The trio recently sat down for an exclusive conversation at Rockefeller Center’s Pebble Bar, discussing the long-awaited revival and their personal connections to the material, followed by an intimate photoshoot that mirrored the show’s sleek, neon aesthetic.
Chess has earned a reputation as a notoriously challenging work to stage, undergoing revisions since its 1986 West End debut and 1988 Broadway run. This echoes the journey of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along, which finally achieved widespread acclaim with a 2023 Broadway revival over four decades after its original staging. Like Merrily, the success of this Chess revival is largely attributed to the exceptional talent of its leading cast.
“When I first started listening to the music and when this project was brought to me, for whatever reason, I just saw it so clearly,” says Michele, who portrays Florence Vassy, the determined chess second at the heart of the show’s romantic entanglement. “It’s like how we talk about playing chess in our show. For me I could just see the board. I could read it so clearly and I understood everything about it. Merrily was a very big factor as well. It’s so much about having someone bring in a vision, the timing being right and then three people coming together who have a connection in what we can do individually and what we bring together that really allowed all the stars to align for our production.”
Christopher, who embodies the disciplined Russian grandmaster Anatoly Sergievsky, was initially familiar only with the song “Anthem” from his theater camp days. “I knew there was some sort of weird classical rock/pop Broadway show out there, but I had no idea,” he says. Now fully immersed in the world of Chess, he recognizes the enduring power of the score and the story, and its multigenerational appeal. “We’re seeing parents who had seen one of the 68 shows during the first run on Broadway bringing their kids, or people from London who had seen the original London version coming over and bringing their kids. It really seems like this generational love and passion for this musical is bringing people together, which is so exciting.”
Tveit, who plays the arrogant and volatile American grandmaster Freddie Trumper, shares this observation. “When people come to the show, I say, ‘Okay, what did you know about Chess?’ It’s either nothing or everything, there’s nothing in between. So many people have come and said that they saw the [original] show on Broadway. It’s incredible that something that ran for seemingly such a short amount of time found this kind of cult following.”
Tveit delves into the complexities of his character, focusing on the underlying humanity. “I’m interested in this guy’s mental health state, the idea of trauma and childhood trauma. We live in a day and age where any 11-year-old with a phone can all of the sudden get all this notoriety because they post a video online and a million people watch it. We don’t know what the cost of that is going to be in 15 or 20 years. So to think about this guy who was thrust onto the world stage at 11 years old with no support system, no family structure behind him, it started to make sense to me how and why he could become who he is and be in this terrible co-dependent relationship.”
This production of Chess features a revised book by Danny Strong. “The three of us had a really intimate experience over the summer with [director] Michael [Mayer] and Danny, where we got to work on these characters and really take the time to develop the dynamics and the relationship and the complexities,” Michele shares. “For me, it was so important that Florence not just be this sort of pawn, excuse the pun.”
While each character undergoes a significant emotional journey, Michele playfully concedes that, “Nick wins the crying award. That says a lot, because I usually am the crier. But we have a cry-off at the end of the show.” Tveit adds, “I’ve been called TT in other shows, for Teary Tveit.” Christopher delivers a particularly poignant performance in “Endgame,” a power ballad during the climactic chess match. “It feels like a true exploration of self. What I have is the sounds of the incredible voices behind me, the sound of the orchestra and then it’s just this sort of void of blackness,” he says. “And yet there’s the added ingredient to the mix of all of these eyes on you at the same time, where it takes an incredible amount of focus to open yourself up to that, to then be able to share a real piece of myself with the audience every night.”
The actors also reflected on the importance of balance in their lives. Tveit, a father of a 14-month-old, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to pursue his passion while cherishing family time. “I have a 14-month-old at home, and I just keep thinking about this moment in her life, that I’m getting to do this thing that I love. My world feels so full. I’m home with her and it’s amazing and I have this beautiful family that I’m so grateful for, and then I get to go into work. The complements of the two, it’s kind of overwhelming,” he says.
Michele, who has children ages 16 months and five years, wholeheartedly agreed. “It’s an unbelievable blessing to be able to do what you love and have the support around you of the people that are helping to make that happen, especially as a working mom.” Christopher appreciates the rarity of focusing solely on one role, allowing him to dedicate his energy to the show and his personal life. He doesn’t take for granted the fact that, “I get to dedicate my full energy and my full focus to this show and to my family, to my friends.”
Chess is currently running at the Imperial Theatre, a location holding special significance for Michele, as she made her Broadway debut there at age eight in Les Misérables. Reflecting on this full-circle moment, she adds: “Every night before I go out, I have a picture of me at eight in my dressing room, and I just feel so grateful to be able to be doing what I love for 30 years now. When I walk out every night and I sing ‘Someone Else’s Story,’ I look at center stage and think, ‘I stood there when I was eight.’ It’s a really unbelievable gift.”
Watch the full interview below!
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