CHESS Previews- Page 13

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 11/5/25 at 6:17am

GirlFromOz68 said:  "I was actually assuming Bangkok given the choreographer and a lot of ensemble were all posting about it on their IG accounts even though I'd love Mountain Duet."

I didn't even know that the ensemble was involved. I need to improve my social media game. But I assume they would want Lea and Nick involved, too. And would Aaron dancing in his underwear be ok for something like Fallon?

 

[Lot666]

Posted: 11/5/25 at 7:47am

Ball of Buttah said: "The best and most consistent was Bradley. I wonder if his role is too small to garner a Tony nom."

Love to hear this.

 

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 11/5/25 at 1:48pm

Mary_Poppins said: "GirlFromOz68 said: "I was actually assuming Bangkok given the choreographer and a lot of ensemble were all posting about it on their IG accounts even though I'd love Mountain Duet."

I didn't even know that the ensemble was involved. I need to improve my social media game. But I assume they would want Lea and Nick involved, too. And would Aaron dancing in his underwear be ok for something like Fallon?

"

they may not be but ive just noticed that when choreographers and ensemble post about an upcoming appearance they are usually involved and I dont think Mountain Duet is something they have much involvement in but maybe its neither of those.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 12:10pm

So I saw Chess a second time, the first being first preview, and I have to admit that I am no longer sure how I feel. I really liked it first preview and I like some of the changes made but it feels like some of the changes made have a ripple effect that also made something weaker so it was an even exchange.

A comprehensive list of all the things I noticed from first preview to now (and opening is next week they have to be close to frozen if not already frozen). Some of these might have already been noted.

- Yes lots of the Narrator banter is cut especially in act 1
Pro... the jokes were cringy and seemed a little too meta
Con... turns out the jokes were way of making you refocus between the boring scenes so without them the reality of just how boring the book is stands out more without some comedy (even bad comedy) between them to wake you up.

- Cutting the entire scene between Florence and Anatoly before "Heaven Help My Heart" before they get into bed. 
Pro... the bed rising into the scene is no longer laughable as when it rises in now they are already in it and goes straight into the song. The writing in this scene was also very bad so while the words themselves begin gone is an improvement.... 
Con... it was a small scene by it's removal gives us less insight into Florence and Anatoly's relationship as now we see Florence fight with Freddie, take his pills, and the next time we see her she has jumped straight into Anatoly's bed. We also don't get a really look now into Anatoly's thoughts about being named champion by a forfeit and his hatred of it directly after the event. There was also some usage of the white chess piece prop in that scene that connects it from the start of the show to it's significance to Anatoly and then him giving it to Florence at the end. Now it's just something he's holding in the first song for a moment then we don't see it again until he hands it off to Florence at the end. It no longer has a meaning. It's just a random chess piece that if you didn't really notice him briefly play with it before "Where I Want to Be" comes out of no where when he hands off to Florence at the end.

-New costumes and wigs in act 2
Pro... no cons. All pro. Lea and Hannah's original looks in act two were bad. Especially Lea's dress that did not flow well when she walked. The white gown is SO much better. And having Svetlana in blue made no sense since the show plays SO much with red verse blue in the color palette and so placing one of the characters those main point in the plot is to be a Russian pawn in blue was nonsensical.

- Blocking changes in "I Know Him So Well"
Pro... again no real con here. It's a small change where rather than starting the song on the stage and moving up to the second level it now starts on the second level and comes down center. This is a good sightline change as the upper level is harder to see from all spots in the theatre.

- Removal of father of the atom bomb video before "Pity the Child"
Pro... good! It made no sense to would play that footage at that moment other than to make you question why the played that so randomly right before Freddie's big number. It flows so much more naturally into the song now.

- Nearly Naked Chess ballet removal
Con... putting the con in first as there is a small one in that knowing the original history of Chess the ballet almost felt like a small love letter to the OG vision Bennett had for Chess with telling story though movement.
Pro... why were they nearly naked? It was distracting. The giggles of awkwardness that rippled through that first preview crowd. It's cutting also goes entirely unnoticed. If you had not know that it was there in the first place, you would never know something had been cut.

Other than that, things are tighter. I think Aaron's performance especially has grown significantly in the short time it's been since first preview. Something in his performance felt restrained in his comfort to depict a mentally unstable character. That hesitation was gone and he was all in now. 

I didn't comment on it the first time I saw it cus I wanted to give a chance for chemistry to grow but it hasn't really so I feel like I can say it now....the biggest issue with this show is that Lea has no chemistry with either love interest. It's okay to not have it with Freddie as their relationship really is more of one of convenience then a real love. But I don't really care if Florence and Anatoly get a happy ending because I don't care about them as a couple. There is a moment in their parting that she like places her hand and head on his chest and it has all the chemistry of an awkward middle school dance. This lack of chemistry is only made worst by the fact that he and Hannah have great chemistry. They are BARELY in a scene together but Svetlana is straight up SMOLDERING temptress level with Anatoly. The question hangs in the air of does Svetlana actually love him or is she an amazing KGB pawn that makes you believe it, but in that one short scene you FEEL her passion for this man even if that passion is just the passion to stay alive. If one of your biggest character flaws is that you have left your wife and children for another woman, you better make me believe that you really LOVE that other woman to try and make me sympathize with you even a little bit.

Also still hate the ending. The daddy's alive ending is dumb. It makes no sense the Russians would keep this seemingly random Hungarian man alive for decades in the off chance we might one day be useful. At least give us that questioning if the man really is her father and she just convinces herself that he is to walk away with at least some kind of consolation prize ending.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 2:53pm

I so appreciate this post. The specificity and analysis are terrific. As an old-timer here - 22 years on this board - I miss these kinds of span-of-previews posts, in which changes are charted, their success and failure scrutinized. I also know that Broadway is far more expensive than it was in 2003, and multiple visits by the same person in early days of a production are rarer. But Scarlet Leigh's report is stellar example of why these boards are instructive about the craft of theater: documenting the minutiae in changes instructs those invested in the nature of 11th hour work on a show. 

This issue of missing chemistry is crucial here, because what is Chess without a pulse and an erotic overlay to all of the chest-beating and angst about competition? Romantic triangles are by definition kinky: one person torn between two others. It's not a small flaw, if it's so obviously MIA.   

Updated On: 11/6/25 at 02:53 PM

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 4:57pm

chemistry.  such an interesting subject and from my experience across theatre, TV and movies SO subjective. 

Just the other day a friend and i were discussing an old TV show we enjoyed where we loved the leads and thought they had great chemistry but I saw two people recently say they had no chemistry but one person didnt like the male lead and one person didnt like the female lead so I suspect that affected their view.

Just the other day I saw a comment about Alison Janney and Brad Whitford in The Diplomat from a person who had never seen The West Wing saying they had no chemistry but they were clear in their dislike of Alison's character in The Diplomat.

Personally,  and to be fair only going by interviews, rehearsal clips and curtain call interactions ( one particular curtain call last weekend where Lea & Nik were joking around together) Nik and Lea seem to have great chemistry but only ok chemistry between Lea and Aaron. 

However here and elsewhere I've seen the following ( from people who have a variety of views of either the actors or the characters they play):  all three leads have great chemistry, all three leads have no chemistry,  Aaron and Lea have great chemistry but Nik and Lea have no chemistry , Nik and Lea have sizzling chemistry but Aaron and Lea have no chemistry, Lea has chemistry with both of them,  Lea doesn't have chemistry with either of them. Lea only has chemistry with Hannah!! 

I think from that we can say seeing chemistry is very subjective.

My friend , who is a frequent theatre goer, made a point to me that I had never considered the other day.  She said she had found that sometimes where you are seated can affect how you view the performances and chemistry.  she gave a couple of examples where her view of performances and chemistry had changed when she had sat in different seats in different performances.  On one weekend she saw a show twice ( freebies for the second one) and she didn't think the leads had chemistry when she was mid dress circle ( mezzanine) but they next night when she was down in the stalls ( orchestra) she had a better view and thought the chemistry was great.

A lot can go into how we view performances and chemistry. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 6:01pm

Also, an actor can be having an off night or may be under the weather. The person I was with thought this might have been the case with Michele. But from comments I have read here and elsewhere, it wasn't just the night I saw it. 

I have never seen a change in chemistry based on where I was seated for a show I have seen multiple times.  JMO

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 6:11pm

uncageg said: "Also, an actor can be having an off night or may be under the weather. The person I was with thought this might have been the case with Michele. But from comments I have read here and elsewhere, it wasn't just the night I saw it.

I have never seen a change in chemistry based on where I was seatedfor a show I have seen multiple times. JMO"

fair enough re seating i was just sharing what my friend said but I shared multiple opinions where many people do think there is chemistry between the actors but some here ( and it dont mean you btw) only want to confirm the negative where there is clearly a really diverse view on this issue. 

 

[inception]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 7:34pm

Scarlet Leigh said: " It's cutting also goes entirely unnoticed. If you had not know that it was there in the first place, you would never know something had been cut.

Sort of like a foreskin 

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 11/8/25 at 12:09pm

Scarlet Leigh said: "There is a moment in their parting that she like places her hand and head on his chest and it has all the chemistry of an awkward middle school dance"

I'm pretty sure Lea did the same with Cory Monteith on Glee. And it probably looked the same because I think I know what you mean by "awkward" here. But these days no one would seriously claim they didn't have chemistry. To use the language of Glee fans: It depends on whether you "ship" a couple or not. Or any other notions one may have regarding that scene or that pairing.

(Back in those days there were indeed many fans who shipped Lea/Rachel with Dianna Agron/Quinn Fabray. Guess how they felt about Rachel and Finn. And how they detected all the magic supposedly going on between Rachel and Quinn).

A few more observations:

Over at Reddit 'No Chemistry' has become a party line of the Lea detractors. Somehow it's always Lea's fault. I always thought it depends on two people. (Another one is: Hannah outsings Lea. I'm not going to comment on that one unless someone provokes me).

The oh so unsophisticated masses on Twitter, TikTok and IG people take the opposite view. Yes, they sometimes even explicitly mention the chemistry. Granted, those posts do not even pretend to be unbiased reviews, but the discrepancy is still puzzling.

Oddly, Aaron is the one who is said to have no chemistry with all his female partners, whereas Lea has almost the opposite reputation.

Going by interview footage and some quick interactions after the bows, Nick and Lea get along quite well. Could of course be all fake just for PR but then why wouldn't they do that during the show?

I keep circling back to the idea that it may be an acting choice by Lea or Mayer.

Updated On: 11/8/25 at 12:09 PM

[Ball of Buttah]

Posted: 11/8/25 at 1:47pm

Mary_Poppins said: "A few more observations:

Over at Reddit 'No Chemistry' has become a party line of the Lea detractors. Somehow it's always Lea's fault. I always thought it depends on two people. (Another one is: Hannah outsings Lea. I'm not going to comment on that one unless someone provokes me).

The oh so unsophisticated masses on Twitter, TikTok and IG people take the opposite view. Yes, they sometimes even explicitly mention the chemistry. Granted, those posts do not even pretend to be unbiased reviews, but the discrepancy is still puzzling.

Oddly, Aaron is the one who is said to have no chemistry with all his female partners, whereas Lea has almost the opposite reputation.

Going by interview footage and some quick interactions after the bows, Nick and Lea get along quite well. Could of course be all fake just for PR but then why wouldn't they do that during the show?

I keep circling back to the idea that it may be an acting choice by Lea or Mayer."

I'm pretty sure it's definitely a subjective judgment as someone has said before. I was very apprehensive seeing the show a couple nights ago about Lea and Nick's chemistry, but it was good. Was it the best I've seen? No, but it's there. I dare say it was more than what I saw between Lea and Ramin in Summer of 2023 (when I think Ramin was tired and/or phoning it in).

For me, it was more believable when they sang and less when they spoke. I think that's dialogue and script's fault. Lea's chemistry with Aaron was a little better because, again, their dialogue and repartee was written better. 

Also, other notes I left out in my review:

- Bryce is great and much needed for the general audience. All jokes are not going to be funny to everyone, but enough people laugh that they're going to keep most of them. 

-Strong's book is much in the same category as Buffy (not Empire or anything else he has written) with same world ending stakes with campy jokes/ comedy baked in. So, if you don't like Buffy, you're not going to like this book. 

[suzcap]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 11:27am

Updated On: 11/9/25 at 11:27 AM

[Huss417]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 11:32am

Is the show still running at 2:45 or has it been trimmed down?

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 5:46pm

Huss417 said: "Is the show still running at 2:45 or has it been trimmed down?"

Looking back at the timestamp of me filming the curtain call this past Wednesday, it ran about 2 hours 35 minutes.

[Huss417]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 6:05pm

Scarlet Leigh said: "Huss417 said: "Is the show still running at 2:45 or has it been trimmed down?"

Looking back at the timestamp of me filming the curtain call this past Wednesday, it ran about2 hours 35 minutes."

Thanks for the info. Was hoping to make a 5PM reservation so I should be fine. :)

[sppunk]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 7:46pm

Ran ~2:40 Saturday matinee. 
 

My first time seeing this show and I understand the weak book. But damn this show has banger after banger and this cast slays. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 8:57pm

The perfect score and cast make the book completely tolerable. I can't wait to see this again and listen to these voices on the album. Mr. Christopher is a true star. 

[BJR]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 9:58am

I had all the same critiques of the book everyone has had, but I happen to think it's matching the score. The score may be beloved, but some of Rice's lyrics are just as silly, jokey (not actual jokes) and nonsensical at times.

I think the two fit pretty well together tonally and in quality. 

The real star of the show is the vocals. Everyone sounds incredible.

And agreed, Mr Christopher is a star. Anthem is the best number in a new production this fall. 

[DCS]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 12:47pm

Maybe I've missed it, but I don't recall seeing any news, discussion or rumors of a pending cast recording.  Anyone heard anything?  I suspect the songs we've heard so far were just promotional recordings and will be re-recorded when and if a full cast recording is made.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 1:48pm

And agreed, Mr Christopher is a star. Anthem is the best number in a new production this fall. 

Anthem received the longest and loudest applause of the evening. Just absolutely stunning. I hope this gets a cast recording very soon.

[akhoya87]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 2:13pm

Serious question, do we think they hired a Russian dialect coach?  Because the only actors who had passable accents were Bradley Dean and the ensemble member who plays the Soviet chess player at the end.  At no point did I think Anatoly was actually Russian.  (Or Svetlana, for that matter.)

That said, +1 to the Nic Christopher fan club.  Anthem alone is worth the price of admission.  

I have mixed feelings about Lea.  I saw the 2022 concert with Lena Hall, and I much preferred Lena's Nobody's Side.  Lea's felt ... empty? Technically, it was all there -- but I felt like it was more of a concert rendition than a part of the story.

I enjoyed the scenes with Bradley Dean and Sean Allan Krill.  I think it's one of the underrated parts where the book excelled, and the two made the most of the material they had.

Also, the choreography was absolutely fab.  Katie Webber and Sam Pollino in particular were standouts.  

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 2:41pm

DCS said: "Maybe I've missed it, but I don't recall seeing any news, discussion or rumors of a pending cast recording. Anyone heard anything? I suspect the songs we've heard so far were just promotional recordings and will be re-recorded when and if a full cast recording is made."

Given what they are doing to their vocal chords every night plus rehearsals during the day plus some promotion and so on (Fallon, B-Roll day just happened, Lea's singing at Stand up for Heroes tonight and I think Aaron did a song or two somewhere as well), now is not the time to even think about a studio recording. That is almost guaranteed to follow at some point.

If there's one thing everybody agrees upon it's that the vocals and orchestral arrangements are fantastic so it would be dumb and sinful not to record it. And yes, those 3 promotional tracks will be superseded by better versions.

Updated On: 11/10/25 at 02:41 PM

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 3:49pm

They are definitely doing One Night in Bangkok on Fallon.

Katie Webber posted an IG story from rehearsal and it showed the pink lighting and background they use for that song in the show. 

correction: its been posted they are doing Where I Want To Be,  One Night in Bangkok and Someone Else’s Story. 

Updated On: 11/10/25 at 03:49 PM

[Mary_Poppins]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 8:54pm

GirlFromOz68 said:

"correction: its been posted they are doing Where I Want To Be, One Night in Bangkok and Someone Else’s Story."

Well, that explains how they will include all three of them.

Since these are the songs they have recordings of, maybe they'll use the instrumental parts of those as playback and save the cost for the orchestra.

I don't watch talk shows very often: Isn't it somewhat unusual in a format like Fallon to have the guest do three songs? And what about the attire in Bangkok?

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/10/25 at 9:28pm

I would think they could get away with the style of briefs worn in ".....Bangkok" on late night TV.