Video: Aaron Tveit Opens Up About Wardrobe Mishap During CHESS Performance
The Tony-winner is currently starring in the hit revival of the musical.
Aaron Tveit may be a Tony Award-winning performer, but he still faces challenges while treading the boards. During a visit to The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Broadway favorite shared a story about a wardrobe malfunction that happened during a performance of Chess.
The mishap occurred one night during the Act Two opener, "One Night in Bangkok," which sees Tveit's character in various states of undress onstage. "I basically grab the pants, and I kind of made a thing out of it and I threw them offstage into the wing," he explained. "But as soon as I did that, I realized, 'Oh, they're still gonna put my loafers on. And so for the whole second half of the song, I'm gonna have to dance a bit, and I'm gonna be in loafers, white socks, and white boxer briefs.'"
Watch Tveit recall the story during his daytime appearance, where he also talks about getting a caricature portrait at Sardi's and the challenges of Chess' musical material. "I think it's the hardest vocal thing I've ever done."
Chess is currently playing at Broadway's Imperial Theatre, with tickets now on sale through September 13, 2026. The production currently stars Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit, Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher, and features Hannah Cruz, Tony Award nominee Bryce Pinkham, Bradley Dean, and Tony Award nominee Sean Allan Krill.
The ensemble includes Kyla Bartholomeusz, Daniel Beeman, Shavey Brown, Emma Degerstedt, Casey Garvin, Adam Halpin, David Paul Kidder, Sarah Michele Lindsey, Michael Milkanin, Aleksandr Ivan Pevec, Aliah James, Sydney Jones, Sean MacLaughlin, Sarah Meahl, Ramone Nelson, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard, Michael Olaribigbe, Katerina Papacostas, Samantha Pollino, Adam Roberts, Regine Sophia, and Katie Webber.
Chess features 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), based on an idea by Tim Rice, this new production is directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and choreographed by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro (Waitress) with original orchestrations by Anders Eljas, orchestrations by Anders Eljas and Brian Usifer (Swept Away) and music supervision by Brian Usifer.
