Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele & Nicholas Christopher Will Lead CHESS on Broadway

It's official! As BroadwayWorld first reported last week, Chess is coming back to Broadway.  Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit (Moulin Rouge), Emmy Award nominee Lea Michele (Funny Girl) and Nicholas Christopher (Sweeney Todd) will lead the first-ever Broadway revival of Chess as Freddie Trumper, Florence Vassey and Anatoly Sergievsky, respectively, in Fall 2025 at a Shubert theater to be announced.

Featuring a new book by Emmy Award winner Danny Strong (“Dopesick”), with music and lyrics by Emmy and Tony Award nominees ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner Tim Rice (Evita), and based on an idea by Tim Rice, this new production will be directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and choreographed by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro (Waitress), with music supervision by Brian Usifer. Chess will be presented by arrangement with Three Knights, The Shubert Organization and Robert Fox Ltd.

Chess is the iconic musical where power and passion collide, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. It’s America versus Russia at the World Chess Championship, where the espionage and romance are as complicated and exhilarating as the game itself. For the two players and the woman torn between them, everything—personal, professional, and political—is at risk…and nobody’s rules are the same.

Dates, on sale and theater information, additional casting and creative team will be announced shortly.

Chess was last seen on Broadway in 1988, starring David Carroll, Philip Casnoff, and Judy Kuhn. It has received several significant concert stagings, including Royal Albert Hall in 2008 (starring Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, and Kerry Ellis) and a 2022  Entertainment Community Fund benefit (starring Lena Hall, Ramin Karimloo, Darren Criss, and Solea Pfeiffer).

BIOGRAPHIES

Aaron Tveit (Freddie Trumper) Aaron Tveit is a Tony-winning, American theatre, television, and film actor. Tveit earned a 74th Annual Tony Award leading the cast of the world premiere production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. A stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s critically acclaimed film, the Grammy-nominated show premiered on Broadway in the summer of 2019. Tveit also received an Outer Critics Circle honor for his performance. Aaron most recently starred in the critically acclaimed MGM+/Amazon series” Earth Abides.” Apple TV+’s ‘Schmigadoon,” with Cecily Strong, Keegan Michael-Key, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth and more. He also appears in Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Stories” and Audible and Broadway Video’s podcast Hit Job, alongside Keke Palmer, Pete Davidson and more. Television audiences may also know him as Agent Mike Warren on the USA network series “Graceland,” the CBS comic-thriller, “Braindead,” the Emmy award winning television musical, “Grease: Live,” where he played Danny Zuko opposite Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens, and as Tripp Van Der Bilt on the Original “Gossip Girl” series. He has been seen in numerous guest starring roles on “The Good Fight,” “The Good Wife,” “The Code,” “Ugly Betty,” “Law And Order: SVU,” and more. Tveit’s film credits include Tom Hooper's acclaimed adaptation of Les Misérables, where he was seen portraying the character Enjolras alongside Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne and Russell Crowe. Other films: Out Of Blue, Created Equal, Better Off Single, Undrafted, Premium Rush, Howl and Ghost Town. On Broadway, Aaron has recently starred as Sweeney Todd in the most recent revival of the musical. He starred in Catch Me If You Can, in the role of Frank Abagnale Jr. and also created the role of Gabe in the Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical Next To Normal, which he developed Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre and debuted on Broadway. In addition to Wicked and Hairspray on Broadway,he starred in the national tours of Hairspray and Rent. He is featured on the cast recordings for Moulin Rouge The Musical! Catch Me If You Can and Next To Normal, as well as his solo album, The Radio In My Head: Live at 54 Below. Tveit has received numerous honors for his work in theatre including the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in Next To Normal and the Actors Equity Association Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Actor. Nominations included Distinguished Performance from the Drama League, Best Male Dancer from the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards, and Outstanding Featured Actor from the Outer Critics Circle Awards, all for his work in Catch Me If You Can.

Lea Michele (Florence Vassey) is an award-winning actress, singer, and New York Times bestselling author, best known for her iconic role as “Rachel Berry” on the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe- and SAG Award-winning series “Glee.” In 2010, she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Actress – Comedy. She was also recognized in the TIME Magazine’s 2010 TIME 100 List for her incredible performance. From September 2022 to September 2023, Michele took on her dream role, starring as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Her performance earned rave reviews and broke multiple box office records. Her success in this role led to her inclusion in Time 100’s Most Influential People of 2023. Michele also performed at the Time 100 Gala, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the 2023 Tony Awards, where she performed the iconic “Don’t Rain on My Parade”. In October 2023, Michele made her Carnegie Hall debut, selling out the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage in New York City as she performed some of her most beloved songs. Michele’s Broadway journey began at age 8 as “Young Cosette” in Les Misérables. Followed by the original cast of Broadways Ragtime. She later played Shprintze in the 20th anniversary revival production of Fiddler on the Roof. Her performance as “Wendla” in the Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. The show also received a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. In 2021, Michele reunited with her Spring Awakening cast for a special one-night-only concert, which was captured in the HBO documentary “Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known.” Other television and film credits include “Scream Queens,” “The Mayor,” New Years Eve, Same Time, Next Christmas and Legends of Oz: Dorthy’s Return. Beyond acting, Michele’s passion for music has defined her career. She has had the honor of performing at the White House for President Barack Obama and took the stage at a major Democratic fundraiser attended by Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton. Michele has also delivered a powerful performance at the Super Bowl, released four albums, and embarked on international tours, captivating audiences around the world. In 2014, Michele became a bestselling author with her debut book, Brunette Ambition, followed by You First the next year. With over 10 million social media followers, she is also a prominent figure in fashion, beauty, and wellness. Michele is repped by Untitled and WME.

Nicholas Christopher (Anatoly Sergievsky). Born in Bermuda and raised in Boston, Nicholas starred as ‘George Washington’ in the Broadway production of Hamilton, and most recently took over as the role of ‘Seymour’ in Little Shop Of Horrors on Broadway. Previously, Nicholas starred in the 2024 Encores! production of Jelly’s Last Jam as the titular role of ‘Jelly Roll Morton’. In 2023, Nicholas starred in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd as ‘Pirelli’, performing opposite Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. During this time, he also starred as the lead role of ‘Sweeney Todd’ for multiple performances. Nicholas studied at the Juilliard School and The Boston Conservatory, where he cultivated his unique range as both an actor and a singer. Select theater and TV credits include Miss Saigon, David Bowie’s Lazarus, Hurt Village (Katori Hall), and Rent, “ALL RISE” (CBS), “UNITED STATES OF AL” (CBS) and “SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL” (FX).

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