CHESS (2025 Broadway Revival) Reviews- Page 5

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 12/6/25 at 1:55pm

shomeika said: "MickeyJo is sooooooooooooooooooo dramatic, and goes on forever. Often what he says is on point, but it's likegurl, wrap this up in 10 mins or less, por favor."

The YouTube algorithm now favors long-form content. You want it concise, try TikTok.

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 2:24am

Chess on NBC NEWS’ ‘TODAY’ Show

3 performances

Thursday, December 11 

(7-9 a.m.) TODAY Exclusively Announces TIME’s Person of The Year. Mel Robbins on “The Let Them Theory.” Hot List: Stocking Stuffers with Chassie Post. Lea Michele on Broadway’s “Chess.” Performance by Lea Michele.   

(9 a.m.) On The Money: Smart Tipping Practices with Christine Romans. Catching up with Daryl McCormack. Hot List: Stocking Stuffers with Chassie Post. Winter Proofing and Home Gear Checklist with George Oliphant. Performance by Aaron Tveit from Broadway’s “Chess.”  

(10 a.m.) Brooke Sheilds Co-Hosts. Mel Robbins on “The Let Them Theory.” TODAY Food: Hannukah with Joel Gamoran. Performance by “Chess” on Broadway’s Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher. 

Updated On: 12/9/25 at 02:24 AM

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 5:12am

How often do Broadway shows get 3  songs across 3 hours of Today like that? I assume we might get a different mix of songs to Fallon?

Also, all the Chess clips that had been posted on YT are now taken down. Seems like the Chess producers must have asked for it as I see no other reason for it. Very different to the FG producers who seemed quite happy for her posts to stay up.

 

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 6:06am

GirlFromOz68 said:

"Also, all the Chess clips that had been posted on YT are now taken down. Seems like the Chess producers must have asked for it as I see no other reason for it. Very different to the FG producers who seemed quite happy for her posts to stay up."

Damn, did MC post anything after Bangkok and Anthem? Those were the last ones I saw. And were there any other substantial posts by other people except the stuff that got posted very early on?

MC also removed all the Funny Girl numbers. Such a shame. Maybe they should hand over their material to the Brazilians. I think they're not so easy to take down.

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 6:14am

Mary_Poppins said: "GirlFromOz68 said:

"Also, all the Chess clips that had been posted on YT are now taken down. Seems like the Chess producers must have asked for it as I see no other reason for it. Very different to the FG producers who seemed quite happy for her posts to stay up."

Damn, did MC post anything after Bangkok and Anthem? Those were the last ones I saw. And were there any other substantial posts by other people except the stuff that got posted very early on?

MC also removed all the Funny Girl numbers. Such a shame. Maybe they should hand over their material to the Brazilians. I think they're not so easy to take down."

Wow I hadn't noticed she had taken down the FG ones. that's so odd after 3 years. 

As for Chess I think I Know Him So Well was the last one she posted about 24 hours before they all disappeared and no i've not seen much other than what was on tiktok early on.

Update: I can still see all the FG ones she posted.

Updated On: 12/9/25 at 06:14 AM

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 8:31am

GirlFromOz68 said: "Update: I can still see all the FG ones she posted."

Grab 'em while you can. Maybe the changes take a while to propagate to Youtube's servers for Australia. For me the Header with DROMP, the Lea playlist and all Funny Girl videos except the 19 seconds with "Hello Gorgeous" are gone, unless I'm missing something.

So I missed I Know Him So Well. At least there was an audio boot of that.

Edit:

Now the DROMP header is back!? Still can't find the rest. This is confusing.

Updated On: 12/9/25 at 08:31 AM

[Ball of Buttah]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 8:50am

Maaaaannnn... I was just blasting Nobody's Side and I Know Him So Well all day yesterday.

They really don't want anything to compete with the official Chess YouTube snippets and the upcoming cast album. 

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 4:21pm

I wonder if they will announce the cast recording before Christmas. 

As for Today, going by ensemble members on IG they will all be there this time unlike Fallon and Aaron is doing Bangkok.

Will be interesting to see if they switch things up with Lea and Nik and do Nobody's Side and Anthem.

 

 

 

 

 

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 7:11pm

Saw this last week and loved it (notwithstanding some of the Arbiter's well-documented idiotic comments). While "Anthem" is unquestionably the musical high point, I thought Aaron was quite wonderful throughout with the exception of his "One Night in Bangkok" which I though was curiously lethargic and mostly unintelligible. Is this always the case, or did I just catch him on a bad night? Definitely going back.

[shomeika]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 9:00pm

SisterGeorge said: "Saw this last week and loved it (notwithstanding some of the Arbiter's well-documented idiotic comments). While "Anthem" is unquestionably the musical high point, I thought Aaron was quite wonderful throughout with the exception of his "One Night in Bangkok" which I though was curiously lethargicand mostly unintelligible. Is this always the case, or did I just catch him on a bad night? Definitely going back."

I loved the choreography on One Night in BK, but like you, I couldn't hear him well and the vocals didn't quite pack the punch.  Aaron was fab, imo, on the Pity The Child numbers though.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/9/25 at 9:41pm

SisterGeorge said: "Saw this last week and loved it (notwithstanding some of the Arbiter's well-documented idiotic comments). While "Anthem" is unquestionably the musical high point, I thought Aaron was quite wonderful throughout with the exception of his "One Night in Bangkok" which I though was curiously lethargicand mostly unintelligible. Is this always the case, or did I just catch him on a bad night? Definitely going back."

He was stunning during that number when I saw it (second week of previews). Go back on a Tuesday when the actors are most refreshed, if you can.

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 4:25am

A comment on one of the Chess official videos 3 days ago. This sounds like we are in for a wait if we want the cast recording.

Ludvig Andersson, a co-producer and Benny's son, was asked about that in the Dec 2025 ABBA Fan Club magazine. He said: "We have been working on that for months. New York rules regarding hourly payment and union rules unfortunately make it very difficult to bring about a cast album. It's incredibly expensive and we hadn't budgeted for that. Complicated, but we are still working on it."

It's pretty clear they didn't expect Chess to be doing as well at the box office as it has done so far. Not surprising given the history of Chess and why I've long suspected why they went with the minimalist sets, costumes etc to keep costs down. 

I was having a discussion with friends before it opened and we figured it would be doing well if it landed at $1.2-1.3M each week so I think it doing so much better than that has been a big surprise to those involved.

Hopefully this will help  getting the cast recording done. 

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 12:07pm

This morning on the Today Show...

 

Aaron Tveit and the company performing "One Night in Bangkok":

https://www.today.com/video/broadway-cast-of-chess-sings-one-night-in-bangkok-on-today-254230085829

 

Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher performing "Mountain Duet":

https://www.today.com/video/stars-of-chess-on-broadway-perform-mountain-duet-on-today-254230085831

 

Michele performing "Heaven Help My Heart":

https://www.today.com/video/lea-michele-performs-heaven-help-my-heart-live-on-today-254231109942

[Ball of Buttah]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 12:22pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "This morning on the Today Show...

Aaron Tveit and the company performing "One Night in Bangkok":

https://www.today.com/video/broadway-cast-of-chess-sings-one-night-in-bangkok-on-today-254230085829

Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher performing "Mountain Duet":

https://www.today.com/video/stars-of-chess-on-broadway-perform-mountain-duet-on-today-254230085831

Michele performing "Heaven Help My Heart":

https://www.today.com/video/lea-michele-performs-heaven-help-my-heart-live-on-today-254231109942"

Lea and Nick sounded fantastic. Why is Bangkok soooooo slow and seemingly lackadaisical?? The dancers were great in such a tight space though. And that split in the end was the highlight!

Updated On: 12/11/25 at 12:22 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 1:12pm

While an unconventional choice, I think doing “Mountain Duet” in the flagship program was the smartest idea because it gives the audience Lea Michele and also shows off a hint of Nicholas Christopher’s powerhouse vocals. “Heaven…” was also beautifully done.

The marketing quandary the show will have going forth is that “One Night In Bangkok” is the most overtly sexual, yet most well-known song from the show. I wouldn’t even call this performance censored so much as absolutely castrated. The choreography was toned down and far less suggestive, and Aaron barely moved since he was singing into a microphone. I’m thinking they need to save this song for any late night performances so they don’t do it dirty like this again.

Maybe they could have Aaron do “Pity The Child” or him, Nick, and some other principals do a modified “The Deal (No Deal)” insted

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 1:16pm

Lea and Nick sounded fantastic. Why is Bangkok soooooo slow and seemingly lackadaisical?? The dancers were great in such a tight space though. And that split in the end was the highlight!

They all sounded great, but Bangkok shouldn't be performed at 8am. Ever.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 1:17pm

MIchele's first outs, December 14 and December 16, are wide open with reduced prices. (N.B., I was about to snatch up a pair for Sunday, when my Telecharge account was locked {OT, but what a pain because apparently in my haste, to sign in as a guest, it amounted to a security breach requiring resolution). Anyway, if you don't care about Ms. Michele, it's an opportunity. There are plenty of seats at all prices, many heavily reduced.

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 2:00pm

quizking101 said: "While an unconventional choice, I think doing “Mountain Duet” in the flagship program was the smartest idea because it gives the audience Lea Michele and also shows off a hint of Nicholas Christopher’s powerhouse vocals. “Heaven…” was also beautifully done.

The marketing quandarythe show will have going forth is that “One Night In Bangkok” is the most overtly sexual, yet most well-known song from the show. I wouldn’t even call this performance censored so much as absolutely castrated. The choreography was toned down and far less suggestive, and Aaron barely moved since he was singing into a microphone. I’m thinking they need to save this song for any late night performances so they don’t do it dirty like this again.

Maybe they could have Aaron do “Pity The Child” or him, Nick, and some other principals do a modified “The Deal (No Deal)” insted"

they did it on Fallon and it was very much in the similar vein with less ensemble so I don't think you are going to get the full thing in their usual costume on TV.

As for Lea and Nik, after watching the abridged Mountain Duet,.how the hell is anyone saying they lack chemistry???

Updated On: 12/11/25 at 02:00 PM

[shomeika]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 3:21pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "shomeika said: "MickeyJo is sooooooooooooooooooo dramatic, and goes on forever. Often what he says is on point, but it's likegurl, wrap this up in 10 mins or less, por favor."

The YouTube algorithm now favors long-form content. You want it concise, try TikTok."

Ah, I deleted TIk Tok and avoid it.  I will also avoid MickeyJo.  LOL 

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 3:42pm

GirlFromOz68 said: "quizking101 said:
The marketing quandary the show will have going forth is that “One Night In Bangkok” is the most overtly sexual, yet most well-known song from the show. I wouldn’t even call this performance censored so much as absolutely castrated. The choreography was toned down and far less suggestive, and Aaron barely moved since he was singing into a microphone. I’m thinking they need to save this song for any late night performances so they don’t do it dirty like this again.

Maybe they could have Aaron do “Pity The Child” or him, Nick, and some other principals do a modified “The Deal (No Deal)” insted"

they did it on Fallon and it was very much in the similar vein with less ensemble so I don't thibk you are going to get the full thing in their usual costume on TV.

As for Lea and Nik, after watching the abridged Mountain Duet,.how the hell is anyone saying they lack chemistry???"

On Fallon, it was also a brief snippet in a medley, not the whole song. They also usually have more room on a late night stage than a daytime stage, but they could also do what Ragtime did and pre-tape it at the theatre. 

[Timon3]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 8:46pm

Is Endgame the same as the one on the OBCR?

Have they included Mountain Duet? I don’t think that song was in the original Broadway production.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/11/25 at 9:24pm

Timon3 said: "Have they included Mountain Duet? I don’t think that song was in the original Broadway production."

There's a link to them singing it on this very page from earlier today.

 

 

Updated On: 12/11/25 at 09:24 PM

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/12/25 at 2:23am

Updated On: 12/12/25 at 02:23 AM

[shomeika]

Posted: 12/12/25 at 1:47pm

Aaron Tveit and the company performing "One Night in Bangkok":
https://www.today.com/video/broadway-cast-of-chess-sings-one-night-in-bangkok-on-today-254230085829
Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher performing "Mountain Duet":
https://www.today.com/video/stars-of-chess-on-broadway-perform-mountain-duet-on-today-254230085831
Michele performing "Heaven Help My Heart":
https://www.today.com/video/lea-michele-performs-heaven-help-my-heart-live-on-today-254231109942"

These performances are other worldly!  They did a great job.  Even Aaron on  ONIB sounded strong and clear.  KUDOS!

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 12/12/25 at 2:09pm

Timon3 said: "Is Endgame the same as the one on the OBCR?

Have they included Mountain Duet? I don’t think that song was in the original Broadway production."

it was in the original Broadway version but they called it Terrace Duet. The revival reverts to calling it Mountain Duet.