The 2025 Broadway revival of Chess closed on June 21, 2026, after a run that put its celebrated score and powerhouse performers front and center. Critics often found the singing thrilling; they were less united on Danny Strong’s new book, the narration, and whether the Cold War story cohered. The result was a vivid musical experience whose songs proved more compelling than its dramatic machinery for some reviewers.
What is Chess about?
Set during the Cold War, Chess follows American champion Freddie Trumper and Soviet champion Anatoly Sergievsky as they face off in an international match. Florence Vassy, connected romantically to both men, is caught between their personal lives and the political stakes surrounding the competition. The story moves primarily between Bangkok and Budapest, according to the Associated Press.
A chess match supplies the framework, but the show is also a love triangle and a Cold War drama. The revival’s challenge was to make those strands feel like one story rather than competing explanations for why the characters are onstage.
How did the 2025 Broadway revival fare?
The production played the Imperial Theatre, with Aaron Tveit as Freddie, Lea Michele as Florence, and Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly. Michael Mayer directed, and Danny Strong wrote a new book. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus composed the music, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The official Chess Broadway site records June 21, 2026, as the final performance.
#1 Best Overall
Reviewers tended to find the revival strongest when it let the score and its singers take the lead. The Washington Post’s Naveen Kumar praised the vocal force and arena-like scale, while arguing that the story loses coherence. The Guardian similarly commended the performers’ work with the music but found the book and characterization wanting. These are individual critical judgments, not a numerical consensus.
The divided response is also visible in BroadwayWorld’s review roundup: its excerpts include praise for the score and leads alongside reservations about the material, execution, and unresolved structural problems. Taken together, the reviews suggest a production that could make an immediate case for the music without persuading everyone that its storytelling worked.
Rank #2
- Author: Jeremy Silman
- Pages: 360 Pages
- Publication Years: 1998
The performances and score
Michele’s Florence and Tveit’s Freddie were among the revival’s principal draws, with Christopher completing the central trio as Anatoly. The score gives all three substantial vocal showcases, and songs such as “Anthem,” “Nobody’s Side,” and “Pity the Child” could land with particular force in performance. “One Night in Bangkok,” “I Know Him So Well,” and “Anthem” are among the better-known songs identified in the AP’s account of the show.
Michele described Florence as “the hardest character in a lot of ways that I’ve ever played” in the AP’s November 7, 2025, report. That comment speaks to the demands of the role, not to a critical verdict on the production. In the same interview, she called the Imperial Theatre “a little eerie, but very powerful,” describing its accumulated history as something “absorbed in the walls.”
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Strong’s new book brought a more self-aware approach to a story rooted in 1980s geopolitics. But a new framing did not settle the central question for reviewers: whether the narration and political commentary clarified the characters’ choices or drew attention away from them. Kumar singled out the winking narration and the production’s scale while finding the story less coherent; the Guardian also questioned how the book and characterization served the material.
That tension matters because Chess has never had just one settled stage form. The revival was not simply a return to the 1988 Broadway production, nor a restoration of the earlier London version. Its reception reflects both the enduring pull of the score and the continuing difficulty of making the story’s politics, romance, and match fit together cleanly.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why was the original Broadway Chess called a flop?
Chess began as a concept album in 1984, created by Tim Rice with ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It reached the London stage in 1986, then underwent substantial revision for Broadway in 1988. The American version added more dialogue than the mostly sung-through London staging; the 1988 Broadway production is commonly remembered as a failure.
That history helps explain the word “infamous” in the revival’s framing, but it should not be used as a verdict on the 2025 production. The AP reports that “One Night in Bangkok” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; its report does not specify the chart year for that peak. The song’s pop success is one measure of the score’s reach, separate from the reception of either Broadway staging.
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For historical context, the Guardian’s review considers the show’s history alongside the revival, while the AP’s report outlines the album, London, and Broadway versions.
Is the Broadway revival still running?
No. The official production site says the revival played its final Broadway performance at the Imperial Theatre on June 21, 2026. The sources cited here establish that Broadway closing date; they do not establish current ticket availability for any later production or a verified physical cast recording or score edition.
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