CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews- Page 16
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#375
Posted: 5/5/26 at 6:45pm
She was scheduled to perform in tonight’s show up until 5:15pm this afternoon. I was supposed to attend tonight’s performance, but opted to get a refund instead. This would have been my fourth time seeing the show.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#376
Posted: 5/5/26 at 6:54pm
Peppa222 said: "Was Lea always scheduled off tonight, or is that a new development? Telecharge has an alert on the ticketing page saying she's out."
No she was not scheduled to be out tonight. It must be that she's upset not being nominated a TONY. Seems obvious enough!
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#377
Posted: 5/5/26 at 7:16pm
I am so happy for Nick. I also loved Tveit in this and thought this performance was more deserving of a nomination than his performance in Moulin Rouge. JMO
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#378
Posted: 5/5/26 at 7:30pm
Robbie2 said: "Peppa222 said: "Was Lea always scheduled off tonight, or is that a new development? Telecharge has an alert on the ticketing page saying she's out."
No she was not scheduled to be out tonight.It must be that she's upset not being nominated a TONY. Seems obvious enough!"
Deleted
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#379
Posted: 5/5/26 at 7:39pm
Dolly80 said: "Robbie2 said: "Peppa222 said: "Was Lea always scheduled off tonight, or is that a new development? Telecharge has an alert on the ticketing page saying she's out."
No she was not scheduled to be out tonight.It must be that she's upset not being nominated a TONY. Seems obvious enough!"
Well this is all pretty transparent isn’t it.
id say it’s Karma that she hasn’t been nominated. She clearly doesn’t want to go in and see her colleagues being celebrated and not her."
There was one time people were making assumptions about Lea being out during FG and being hateful online and it turned out her son was in hospital. lets be careful about making assumptions.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#380
Posted: 5/5/26 at 8:12pm
GirlFromOz68 said: "Dolly80 said: "Robbie2 said: "Peppa222 said: "Was Lea always scheduled off tonight, or is that a new development? Telecharge has an alert on the ticketing page saying she's out."
No she was not scheduled to be out tonight.It must be that she's upset not being nominated a TONY. Seems obvious enough!"
Well this is all pretty transparent isn’t it.
id say it’s Karma that she hasn’t been nominated. She clearly doesn’t want to go in and see her colleagues being celebrated and not her."
There was one time peoplewere making assumptions about Lea being out during FG and being hateful online and it turned out her son was in hospital. lets be careful about making assumptions."
Also her sickness the last week of FG. The hateful assumptions were out of control while she was probably recovering from a miscarriage.
The truth is she was out sick last Friday night and powered through the weekend. Pretty sure she needed to call out tonight to preserve her health the rest of the week.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#381
Posted: 5/5/26 at 8:17pm
Correct. She was out on Friday and when I saw her on Sunday, her voice sounded extremely rough. I hope she feels better soon and these hateful, disgusting comments are deleted.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#382
Posted: 5/5/26 at 9:34pm
I'm not a big fan, but I find it specious to presume her lack of a nomination would inspire a callout. It's a tough role to sing, and anyone who's been through the allergy hell that many of us experienced the last 6 days or so would understand vocal problems. The pollen hit big mid-week, and it's felled many. I hope she feels better and returns.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#383
Posted: 5/5/26 at 9:38pm
WithoutATrace said: "She was scheduled to perform in tonight’s show up until 5:15pm this afternoon. I was supposed to attend tonight’s performance, but opted to get a refund instead. This would have been my fourth time seeing the show."
They've also had a lot of swings on lately. Allergy season? 5 swings were on tonight.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#384
Posted: 5/5/26 at 10:31pm
Robbie2 said: "No she was not scheduled to be out tonight.It must be that she's upset not being nominated a TONY. Seems obvious enough!"
Care to provide any evidence for your ridiculous claim?
Understudy Joined: 2/10/18
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#385
Posted: 5/5/26 at 11:18pm
She also didn't go to the Met Gala which I believe she would have been invited too.
I might be weird but if a performer feels they couldn't give thier best either due to sickness or not mentally up to it is that so bad to hand it off to someone who can give 100%?
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#386
Posted: 5/6/26 at 2:32pm
Telecharge has Lea marked out today and tomorrow so she's clearly sick and I saw a rumour Lea has bronchitis which makes sense with the longer absence and her having been off for the Saturday matinee and being said to be struggling on Sunday.
Broadway Star Joined: 5/6/16
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#387
Posted: 5/7/26 at 11:35am
Apologies if this is repeated, but is part of her snub that its a singing role and not really acting?, havent seen this version
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#388
Posted: 5/8/26 at 10:21am
People have attacked me for my critique of the role of Florence, but it's a one-note character, and that note is a singularly narrow one. She sings for 2.5 hours about her disappointment in love, with cases made against both narcissistic men. Forget whether a feminist prism works for you, actors of any gender need something to play, goals, missions, journeys to go on. Florence begins in a state of emotional paralysis, an angry victim of high maintenance Freddie, and segues into disillusioned pawn of global intrigue once the exploited Anatoly finds his identity. Judy Kuhn had slightly more to play, because playwright Richard Nelson provided substantive scenes between the Rice lyrics-locked laments. This presentational iteration, with its Encores!-esque staging, places the unhappy leading lady downstage center for most of the evening, and lets her rip. The songs decidedly land as songs.
But they do not build a dimensional human being. Just when we most need her to break away from this insular world and find definition she again grows reflective with the bizarrely placed "Someone Else's Story." Which generically dramatizes ... wait for it ... stasis (its original purpose as Kuhn's I Want ironically noted.) You can fall hard for this performance and argue that the vocals are so exquisite Michele deserves recognition. Yet my points do help explain why neither the character's portrayal nor the piece as a whole were awarded nominations.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#389
Posted: 5/8/26 at 12:04pm
GirlFromOz68 said: "Telecharge has Lea marked out today and tomorrow so she's clearly sick and I saw a rumour Lea has bronchitis which makes sense with the longer absence and her having been off for the Saturday matinee and being said to be struggling on Sunday."
She's had a rough week already. I think she pushed herself too much last weekend pre-Tony noms. She's supposed to go on tonight and, hopefully, in much better health.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#391
Posted: 5/9/26 at 6:43am
Auggie27 said: "People have attacked me for my critique of the role of Florence, butit's a one-note character, and that note is a singularly narrow one. She sings for 2.5 hours about her disappointment in love, with cases made against both narcissistic men.Forget whether afeminist prism works for you, actors of any gender need something to play, goals, missions, journeys to go on. Florence begins in a state of emotional paralysis, an angry victim of high maintenance Freddie, and segues intodisillusioned pawnof global intrigue once the exploited Anatoly finds his identity. Judy Kuhn had slightly more to play, because playwright Richard Nelson providedsubstantive scenes between the Rice lyrics-locked laments.This presentational iteration, with its Encores!-esque staging, places the unhappy leading lady downstage center for most of the evening, and lets her rip. The songs decidedly land as songs.
Butthey do not build a dimensional human being. Just when we most need her to break away from this insular world and find definition she again grows reflective with the bizarrelyplaced "Someone Else's Story." Which generically dramatizes ... wait for it ... stasis (its original purpose as Kuhn's I Want ironicallynoted.) You can fall hard for this performance and argue that the vocals are so exquisite Michele deserves recognition. Yet my points do help explain why neither the character's portrayal nor the piece as a whole were awarded nominations."
I’d argue that the idea that Florence is a one-dimensional character overlooks a lot of what is happening in both the lyrics and the structure of the show itself.
In my view, the placement of Someone Else’s Story after The Endgame in the new Broadway version serves an important dramatic purpose. After his victory in The Endgame, Anatoly is forced to choose between returning to Russia and his wife, or staying in the West with Florence while knowing the uncertainty and consequences his family would face back home.
By the time Someone Else’s Story arrives, Florence takes that decision into her own hands. Rather than waiting passively for Anatoly to choose, she makes the choice for him and accepts the personal sacrifice that comes with it. That shows agency, emotional maturity, and strength — qualities that are hard to reconcile with the idea of her being “one-dimensional.”
More broadly, I think the show’s depth comes from the way the lyrics and music work together to reveal emotional layers beneath what the characters explicitly say. A lot of the characterization in Chess is carried through musical themes, transitions, and emotional contrasts as much as through dialogue alone. Songs are often placed very deliberately to show internal conflict, shifting loyalties, regret, or emotional growth.
Florence, in particular, feels layered because her actions are frequently driven by conflicting emotions: love, anger, survival, vulnerability, and responsibility. Someone Else’s Story is a good example of that complexity. It is not just a sad ballad placed for dramatic effect; it reframes her role in the story and reveals a character capable of sacrifice and self-awareness, even at personal cost.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#392
Posted: 5/10/26 at 9:11am
Ok, another random thought (sorry) on this lovely Mother's Day in ATL (not hot). Looking at "kid-friendly" shows advertised out there, it lists most musicals except for Chess. I think a lot of the drop off in grosses since March and it hitting the actual "ceiling" are due the adult and R-rated theme of the show. Essentially, it's not a family show like Funny Girl was. I actually like Chess more than FG. Would watch Chess multiple times, but once enough for FG.
Apologies if this was obvious, but I hadn't seen it explicitly mentioned. That's all.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#393
Posted: 5/10/26 at 4:27pm
Lea Michele was robbed of a tony nomination and Chess should have been nominated for Best Revival.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#394
Posted: 5/10/26 at 9:33pm
I saw the 5/9 matinee and really enjoyed myself. Loved the lighting especially. I never would have known Lea was recently sick, she sounded great.
-Jeff Bowen's worst onstage line flub.
Understudy Joined: 2/10/18
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#395
Posted: 5/11/26 at 12:28pm
suicidalmickeymouse said: "I saw the 5/9 matinee and really enjoyed myself. Loved the lighting especially. I never would have known Lea was recently sick, she sounded great."
That is why it is better to take a few days off than try to push through it.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#396
Posted: 5/12/26 at 3:53pm
The amount of hate that I have for the Arbiter's character is so big that even blind the way I should judge Bryce's performance, but I would not have given him a nomination for such a exposition of a character. The book dumbed down the audience so much through this narrator/arbiter that I just wanted the scenes to fast to the next musical number.
The score is perfection, I had like 6 numbers saved to listen daily, and it's a vocalist heaven because every single person there gave 150% when delivering those songs.
Michele is stuck in a one dimensional character, but her 2 solos and the duets are outstanding, and it was great to see her playing a full woman for the first time.
Hannah's entrance is great, she has little stage time, but what a voice and presence.
Tveit had to deal with a character that is very trick but in this almost manic way of seeing Freddy, I think he created a nuanced man with the best of his abilities and either ''Bangkok'' with those white underwears or singing his heart out in ''Pity the Child'', he just had me.
And what to say about Nicholas? Stunning performance, and absolutely perfect vocals, I was not believeing in what I was witnessing when he did ''Anthem'', but then came ''Endgame'' and it was simply sublime.
This is a mess of a book surround by a brilliant score, it's worth it if you like VOCALS.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#397
Posted: 5/12/26 at 9:58pm
I appreciate another weigh-in on the Arbiter as a central point of failure in the Strong book. After promising a definitive Chess that ties up the loose ends in the plotting, make the triangle organic to geopolitical stakes, and fleshes out characters locked into Rice's navel-gazing lyrics, Strong simply gives the Arbiter the meta role of critic. He both sends up and trash-talks the prior libretti. It's not witty, it's lazy. The real-time Idol-esque commentary on on-stage singing, the interpolation of 2024 presidential politics (leave Joe Biden outta this mess) into a story disconnected other than a vague Russia, Russia, Russia irony - it's all from a black bag of cheap tricks, and it's gratifying that few have been fooled. The show is no better as narrative, and arguably, without this company and Pinkham, this snide shtick would alienate half an audience. I hope it's not licensed.
CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews#398
Posted: 5/13/26 at 12:57am
I never thought anything could make me nostalgic for Richard Nelson's book. I stand corrected.
Broadway Legend
joined: 5/1/05
Blocked: After Eight, suestorm, david_fick, emlodik, lovebwy, Dave28282, joevitus, BorisTomashevsky, Seb28
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