WHEN SUPERPOWERS SING

Broadway’s new revival of Chess thrills more than it confounds

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“Welcome to our Cold War Musical!”

That greeting — from the narrator (aka Arbiter) of Chess, the famed rock opera now being revived on Broadway with a starry cast and new book — plays both ways. Yes, it’s an arresting welcome; yes, it’s clever; and yes, it’s accurate. But its snarky tone undercuts the high drama of a musical with a serious theme, whose score has long been beloved for decades.

That tone may be a shortcoming of this much-awaited revival — but since it brings so much pleasure and excitement as well, let’s focus on that.

As a prelude, consider first the show’s dramatic history. Someone will write a book about Chess’s complicated journey over the past five decades, from its inception to its arrival on Broadway (twice). It was born in the imagination of celebrated Tim Rice, lyricist and librettist of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Rice teamed up with composers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame to create Chess. The score was released as a concept album in 1984 and subsequently performed in concert at London’s Barbican Centre and elsewhere in Europe. Encouraged by its enthusiastic response, Chess premiered on London’s West End in 1986, directed by Trevor Nunn (who took over from the ailing Michael Bennett). Following its successful three-year run, the collaborators sought to revise the show for an upcoming Broadway production in 1988 with a new book by Richard Nelson that radically reworked the second act. However, it received negative reviews and closed after only two months.

In subsequent decades, Chess was performed in numerous concert versions (and a few staged productions) in America and Europe, with continuous rewrites to the storyline. It returned to London’s West End in 2018, featuring still more revisions.

And now, at last, Chess has returned to Broadway, featuring a new team of collaborators — bookwriter Danny Strong and director Michael Mayer — who have been working together on a new version since 2018. The result? The same soaring score (music and lyrics by Andersson, Rice, and Ulvaeus) and a book (by Strong) that valiantly struggles to live up to it.

Set in 1979, this revised version tells the story of a high-stakes showdown between two chess masters: America’s volatile Freddie Trumper (Aaron Tveit) and the Soviet Union’s melancholy Anatoly Sergievsky (Nicholas Christopher). Act I focuses on their melodramatic match in Merano, Italy — where Freddie forfeits, accusing Anatoly of cheating. Strong preserves the Cold War metaphor — the clash of two superpowers — as CIA agent Walter de Courcey (Sean Allan Krill) and KGB agent Alexander Molokov (Bradley Dean) maneuver for political advantage. (The Americans want successful SALT talks; the Russians will comply if the Americans motivate Trumper to throw the match.)

It’s a multi-layered story with yet another subplot — the fraught love affair between Freddie and his chess coach, Florence Vassy (Lea Michele). By the end of Act I, her affections have shifted to Anatoly, who defects. Act II tracks the resulting love triangle when the exiled Anatoly faces a new opponent in Bangkok, while Freddie returns as a TV personality. The KGB pressures Anatoly to return home, sending his wife Svetlana (Hannah Cruz) to help persuade him.

Yes, it’s complicated — often too complicated to follow. But that gorgeous rock score saves the day — and the play — as it always has. Like Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar, the vitality and style are undeniable. Mayer’s cast features powerhouse vocalists who stop the show with numbers such as Freddie’s “Pity the Child,” Florence’s heartfelt “Nobody’s Side,” Florence and Anatoly’s stirring “You and I,” and the unexpectedly moving duet “I Know Him So Well” between Florence and Svetlana. (Orchestrations by Anders Eljas and Brian Usifer.) Ensemble numbers like the disco-infused “One Night in Bangkok,” opening Act II, are delivered by a fabulous company of sixteen singer-dancers under Lorin Latarro’s kinetic choreography, dressed like chess pieces (costumes by Tom Broecker).

Production values are spectacular. David Rockwell’s set scatters the orchestra across a sculptural upstage platform, illuminated by Kevin Adams’s vibrant neon lighting. Behind them, Peter Nigrini’s flashy video projections blast energy across the stage. It’s electrifying.

Yet the melodramatic stakes of the central story — the metaphorical match between nations — are softened by the Arbiter’s tone. (This is not the fault of the excellent Bryce Pinkham, who plays him as written.) Here, he functions like a wisecracking talk-show host, offering lines like “Yes, I know his name is Trumper, but this show was written in 1984,” plus cracks about Joe Biden and even RFK Jr. The audience at the matinee I attended ate it up — but for me, those asides undercut the seriousness of the political allegory.

Nevertheless, entertainment is the chief value of this sensational Broadway revival. Future productions may continue refining the book, but as long as this score soars, Chess will endure. When it comes to Broadway musicals, more is more.

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Chess
Imperial Theatre, 249 West 45th Street
ends on May 3, 2026
for tickets, visit Chess on Broadway

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