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#176

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/22/25 at 1:15pm

GirlFromOz68 said: "Jarethan said: "Finally saw this tonight.

I have only seen 4 productions of this (original London, original NYC, Signature in VA, and tonight. I far enjoyed this far more than any other version.

Major plusses:

The four lead performances, including Bryce Pinkham. I thought the narration worked much better than a lot of prior posters did. Part of the reason was that it did help to lend clarity to a story that has always been as clear as mud at times. The other factoris that Pinkham is a very charming performer (although I wish they would get him a better suit...his suit looked ugly to me).

All three leads sang at the top of their game, with Christopher's held note in Endgame as thrilling asany of Nicole Scherzinger's last season. That said, I actually was most impressed with Aaron Tveit's overall performance. His singing was on par with the other two IMO, but I thought his acting was more impressive (this coming from someone who has never been a huge fan). I genuinely felt sorry for Freddie in a way I have never felt before. for the very first time ever, I felt he was charismatic on stage.

How often do you see a show in which each of the three leads had at least two genuine show-stoppers. They brought down the house deservedly in all cases, with the two biggest ovations going to Anthem and Pity the Child.

The orchestra did justice to the score, amazing with only 17 people. That score remains to me one of the all-time greats; to have such strong singers was a huge plus.

I felt that the book helped the show a lot, even if there was quite a bit more dialogue than I ever would have expected.

I enjoyed seeing the orchestra on stage and like the basic set and projections.

Quibbles:

Don't remember the title off the top of my head, but I missed the 'Oh my dear, how boring, he's defecting' song. It added humor, although the narrator did provide a good amount.

I did not remember hearing two of the songs before(one Svetlana, one Florence) and would need to hear them more to assess whether they are in the same league as the rest of the score; but on first hearing, they did not seem memorable.

Act 2 started a little slow. IT was not helped by the fact that the actress who played Svetlana was very shrill in her first song; and, although she got better, I was unimpressed by her.

There were a couple of really stupid choreographic choices in the first act. The wave had been mentioned by a number of posters; I thought the choreography for that entire number was awful, although it did not have much impact on my overall enjoyment...just as some stupid touches in SB last season did not keep me from finding the overall show thrilling.

Bottom line: Loved it!

PS -- I was in front mezzanine A401 and 402, which was pretty far to the side, if not extreme. Not once did we feel that our seats were deficient, since the action was really kept pretty stage center. IF the seats further to the side are cheaper, I would definitely buy them. All you will miss IMO is seeing part of the orchestra on the side of the stage in which you are seated.

PPS -- Perhaps I was having a senior moment that lasted awhile, but I do not remember any dance in the second act that reflected the triangle. There was dancing in One Night in Bangkok that occasionally had three people dancing together. It was the closest thing the show has to a traditional production number and no trio stood out among the crowd. IF anyone else was there tonight, was I looking at something else when this dance was happenin?. IF I saw it, it made no impression."

According to others the ballet in Act 2 was cut on Saturday."

Thank GOD!

#177

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/22/25 at 2:12pm

THDavis said: "EvanHansen said: "The ballet was indeed cut."

Any decision to deprive the audience of Casey Garvin in a “flattering” costume is, in fact, a hate crime."

You guys are super weird sexualizing this actor in literally any show he’s in.

#178

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/22/25 at 2:23pm

Got tickets yesterday in front mezzanine for early next March, very excited!!

#179

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/22/25 at 2:31pm

It just made it to the TKTS booth for the first time (I believe), Wednesday night, 10/22. Affordable, $89-161. I'm beginning to think the booth will ultimately be the way to see this for those of us unwilling to take out a second mortgage. Curious to see how the Wednesday matinees sell when they begin.

"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling

Updated On: 10/22/25 at 02:31 PM

#180

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/22/25 at 5:45pm

Auggie27 said: "It just made it to the TKTS booth for the first time (I believe), Wednesday night, 10/22. Affordable, $89-161. I'm beginning to think the booth will ultimately be the way to see this for those of us unwilling to take out a second mortgage. Curious to see how the Wednesday matinees sell when they begin."

It was on TKTS last night as well.

#181

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/22/25 at 10:34pm

The show is very good, even though it is staged like an Encores concert. The people who have claimed this is not a concert presentation are blind. It’s still good but it is not anything more than Encores does. The sound currently sucks, but I assume this will be worked out in previews.

In any case, it’s a very enjoyable production.

Updated On: 10/23/25 at 10:34 PM

#182

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 10:14am

I won the lotto for last night and was in the rear orchestra (last row). It was a bit partial view because sometimes the screen backdrops, especially during the Act II interview, aren’t fully visible.

I agree with the previous posters that this is very much a bossed-up concert style presentation, although considering how often the setting changes, I’m not sure what other way would be conducive to the storytelling, as well as the orchestrations (which create a nice “wall of sound” effect).

The score remains an absolute treasure trove of bangers, including the addition of the “new” songs, and to hear the score live for the first time (I have the concept album and OBC on vinyl) was absolutely thrilling. Going in with only a cursory understanding of the story (because it has changed so much), I can’t really compare to other versions, but I think it worked well enough where I didn’t have many issues or questions with the through-line of the story. I did have a little bit of an issue with the Arbiter using his otherwise effective fourth wall breaks to remind us that this is “a Cold War musical” because it took me out of the action (albeit briefly). The choreography was also serviceable, with “One Night in Bangkok” being the only true production number (although I missed the fluid sexuality from the 2018 staging - in this, all the couplings were heterosexual)

The performances are all on the spectrum of good to absolute knockout. Sean Allan Krill’s role is kind of thankless but he makes the best of it - since it’s hard to be the only principal who doesn’t have a song when everyone around you is doing vocal pyrotechnics. Bradley Dean was an EXCELLENT Molokov, and made “The Soviet Machine” into a highlight; same with Hannah Cruz and “He Is Man, He Is A Child”.

Bryce Pinkham’s Arbiter is very much a scene stealer, although the topical jokes (see box) he uses at times are a bit pandering to the audience and I don’t know if they are written or ad-libbed, but he can do without them. Otherwise, I would put him in contention for a possible Featured Actor nomination.

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

There was a joke about RFK Jr. and his brain worm, one about the name “Trumper”, and also one about Joe Biden running for re-election

Now for the core three. First, it’s nice to see Lea Michele playing an adult. I don’t think she is 100% settled into being the apex of the love triangle just yet, but I can see she is getting there - I mostly just need to see more fire in her angrier moments since it feels like she is holding back. Vocally, her tendency to finish musical phrases ahead of the actual music irritated me since it sounded like she was skipping notes/talking through parts of her songs. The only time she didn’t do this was “Someone Else’s Story” and that’s when she sounded her best.

Tveit was a much better Trumper than I anticipated. I don’t think he had the louche and smarmy a-hole inside him but he absolutely did and it paid off in spades, especially when it came to showing the cyclical nature of his bipolar disorder and how he’s basically self-destructing in real time. They did lower the keys for multiple songs though, so “Pity The Child” wasn’t necessarily the blistering indictment of a lost childhood I was hoping it to be.

This show belongs to Nicholas Christopher. This is a man who is able to convey a weary and sad existence through a carefully moderated affect and gallows humor. Watching him navigate the agendas that other characters attempt to impose on him was masterful, leading to some of the most thrilling moments of the night in both “Anthem” and “Endgame”. Even “Where I Want To Be” set the tone that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with. If this show walks off with any assured Tony nominations, it will be him because this is a star making performance in every sense.

Overall, I think they are in good shape but have plenty of room to adjust throughout previews. Whenever you want to go, I don’t think you will leave disappointed.

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#183

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 2:30pm

First, if you must go, I got a pair last night in the orchestra row O for $91 on Telecharge which was better than the 20% discount at TKTS and the view was fine. Second, don't go. Honestly, this was one of the worst shows I've ever seen, not just of Chess which I've seen many versions of, but ever. At least New York New York had Stroman choreography. As my date said, this looks like a show you'd see on a cruise ship. Why a narrator? Why's the band on stage? Why does the choreography look like it was done by David Byrne? Why is there zero chemistry between anyone on stage? And why does Michael Mayer think this is a comedy and think the audience is so stupid that we can't figure out what's going on? And if you think it's supposed to be funny, why cut the "Embassy Lament"? "One Night In Bangkok" had glimmers of what the show could be before it self destructs. And look, it's got a decent shot of recouping, but that's mostly from Lea Michelle's reputation. Her Florence has no teeth, no love, and no risk. It could be sung by any other belt soprano and no one would notice a difference. It's that bad. They would've better off simply doing the original concept album straight through. Just heartbreaking to me. They could've done so many other versions that would justify this revival including the Royal Albert Hall one with Idina, Josh, and Anthony. It's so much better than this one, it's not even close. This version takes out nearly everything that made Chess good and amplifies the awfulness.

#184

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 2:49pm

quizking101 said: "Bradley Dean was an EXCELLENT Molokov, and made “The Soviet Machine” into a highlight"

Is there any chance he might get a supporting Tony nom? I'd love that for him.

==> this board is a nest of vipers <==
"Michael Riedel...The Perez Hilton of the New York Theatre scene"
- Craig Hepworth, What's On Stage

#185

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 2:50pm

Jumpin_J said: "First, if you must go, I got a pair last night in the orchestra row O for $91 on Telecharge which was better than the 20% discount at TKTS and the view was fine. Second, don't go. Honestly, this was one of the worst shows I've ever seen, not just of Chess which I've seen many versions of, but ever. At least New York New York had Stroman choreography. As my date said, this looks like a show you'd see on a cruise ship. Why a narrator? Why's the band on stage? Why does the choreography look like it was done by David Byrne? Why is there zero chemistry between anyone on stage? And why does Michael Mayer think this is a comedy and think the audience is so stupid that we can't figure out what's going on? And if you think it's supposed to be funny, why cut the "Embassy Lament"? "One Night In Bangkok" had glimmers of what the show could be before it self destructs. And look, it's got a decent shot of recouping, but that's mostly from Lea Michelle's reputation. Her Florence has no teeth, no love, and no risk. It could be sung by any other belt soprano and no one would notice a difference. It's that bad. They would've better off simply doing the original concept album straight through. Just heartbreaking to me. They could've done so many other versions that would justify this revival including the Royal Albert Hall one with Idina, Josh, and Anthony. It's so much better than this one, it's not even close. This version takes out nearly everything that made Chess good and amplifies the awfulness."

i feel like you just took a good ****

#186

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 2:57pm

I find it interesting that some people in this thread are already putting Lea Michele as the front runner for the Tony. Florence doesn't strike me as the kind of role with which wins that kind of award, but maybe some voters will think of it as the Tony she would have gotten had she been in the original cast of the Funny Girl revival...

#187

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 3:03pm

Lot666 said: "quizking101 said: "Bradley Dean was an EXCELLENT Molokov, and made “The Soviet Machine” into a highlight"

Is there any chance he might get a supporting Tony nom? I'd love that for him."

I think it’s really going to depend on how the revival is received and if they prefer the severity of Dean’s performance over the levity of Pinkham’s.

Re: Lea’s Tony Chances - While there is a nomination precedent for the role (Judy Kuhn), I think any nomination/win may come from the otherwise depleted field of potential candidates this year. If people try to award her a Tony as a makeup for “Funny Girl”, I think that would absolutely be gilding the lily since she literally got a spotlight performance on the 2023 Tonys, over a year after the revival had opened.

Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!! www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm

#188

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 3:18pm

itsahopi said: "THDavis said: "
Any decision to deprive the audience of Casey Garvin in a “flattering” costume is, in fact, a hate crime."

You guys are super weird sexualizing this actor in literally any show he’s in."

You’re right. His socials make me feel like he’d rather no one comment on his physical beauty - I’ll refrain from here on out so that you’re more comfortable. 💔🤕

Updated On: 10/23/25 at 03:18 PM

#189

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 4:54pm

THDavis said: "itsahopi said: "THDavis said: "
Any decision to deprive the audience of Casey Garvin in a “flattering” costume is, in fact, a hate crime."

You guys are super weird sexualizing this actor in literally any show he’s in."

You’re right. His socials make me feel like he’d rather no one comment on his physical beauty - I’ll refrain from here on out so that you’re more comfortable. 💔🤕"

Casey has entered a daddy era. Honestly, the looker for this cast IMHO is Michael Olaribigbe (which, whoever saw Heart of Rock & Roll, he is the guy that crossed the stage in nothing but a towel before the sauna scene)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtfdEkKuj_i/?igsh=MXBubTNtMGR1ODFycA==

Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!! www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm

#190

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/23/25 at 11:11pm

I went in never having seen a previous production of Chess and never listening to the entire score. I knew the “hits” from various standards albums. Overall, I had a lovely night. I think the score is sung beautifully with a great orchestra and a stellar cast. Everyone is firing on all cylinders. The score sounds like an old school 80s mega musical which makes me feel warm and sentimental.

If I had to name a Chess champion, it’s Nicholas Christopher. He owns the role and the stage. Strong contender for Best Actor in a Musical. A powerhouse showing a full range of emotion. But all three leads are fantastic. Say what you will, but Lea is beloved by audiences and she delivers the goods. Nobody’s Side was thrilling and the crowd was electric for her. Aaron gives us a fully realized Trumper.

There was heat between Lea and Nicholas. I think they are settling in. I thought Hannah Cruz was an exceptional actress. Her singing also felt shrill and nasally at times she was very good.

Bryce was fantastic. I’d say another front runner come award season. I also felt the current political jokes were a little hacky but I get it. He was a masterful guide.

Overall I’d recommend it. I somehow lucked out and got a last minute single second row center orchestra seat for less than $200. That seemed like a steal nowadays.

"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

#191

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/24/25 at 12:57am

I certainly think the FUNNY GIRL goodwill will ultimately push her to a nomination, especially considering it would be her first. But that’s probably as far as it goes.

"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards

#192

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/24/25 at 5:38pm

Was thinking about passing on this even though I want to see Nick. Looks like I will be seeing it next week with a friend while in NYC. Nobody's Side is my favorite song in the show. Hoping Michelle does it justice!

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

Updated On: 10/25/25 at 05:38 PM

#193

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/25/25 at 6:19pm

Just saw the matinee and I thought the cast was superb. I still think they could cut some material. It let out at 4:45.

#194

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/26/25 at 3:52pm

I saw the matinee on the 25th and wanted to put some thoughts down. Setting the stage - I am a huge fan of the show and the weeks leading up to this have led me to go down a Chess rabbit hole and become pretty much obsessed with it, so I had high hopes for what I was about to see. Overall I think the show is successful with some pretty big caveats but the reason I was excited for it, to hear this cast tackle this score, had me over the moon.

The good (of which there is a lot!): The main trio is firing on all cylinders and has wonderful chemistry with each other. It’s great to see Lea Michelle play an adult for once and she has a real gravitas and iciness to Florence that I thought was spot on. Her voice is perfect for the material, in fact my only note for her is that I wish she let herself get a little bit messier or rough around the edges - it wasn’t that she was holding back I think, but I feel like she continue to grow into the role and hopefully find ways to experiment with her vocal choices. Tveit really gagged me, he was loose, charismatic, and dark in a way that I did not think he necessarily had the capability of being. He traced Freddie’s arc beautifully and in his press conference and Pity The Child (in a slightly lowered key that I actually quite liked due to the new eerie feeling it gave to the instrumentation) had two heart-stopping moments. Nicholas Christopher is flat out giving the best male vocal performance on Broadway.

The supporting cast was excellent as well, Dean and Krill are perfection and Cruz, who I was unfamiliar with, really slayed. Svetlana is a tricky role to pull off, coming into the proceedings so late in the game, but she brought a rage and presence that immediately captivated me. Her voice is *piercing*, at times a touch shrill, but for the most part it was thrilling. Bryce Pinkham is a joy to watch, especially with The Arbiter number, he has the audience in the palm of his hand; I shudder at the thought of a less capable actor having to throw out some the jokes he’s forced to here (more on that later)

I think the streamlining of the book and the added Cold War elements actually really worked and added stakes to the proceedings without messing up the calibration of the show. The new touches they added to Freddie, while a heavy handed, worked as well, and the additional elements of the Anatoly/Florence relationship helped to make what is normally an insane leap in the mountain duet mostly land. This is the most accessible version of the musical we’ve probably yet seen, and the audience around me was eating up. Also a major hand to the orchestra, one of the best I’ve heard in a broadway house in quite some time. The staging is sleek and elegant, and I think the version of it as a pseudo-concert worked due to the sheer number of setting and scenes this show goes through and it placing the music first and foremost.

And now. The bad: The Arbiter, while useful in untangling the story and establishing motivations and relationships, the modern day asides and political jokes were flat out terrible. The RFK Brainworms and Biden second election joke are a real low point of my theater-going experience. The constant commenting not on the actual story but on the nature of Chess The Musical and the songs that are performed kept taking me out of the story and halting the momentum of the show - what should be a rollercoaster was a series of fits and starts at times. This again is no fault on Pinkham, but it speaks of a lack of trust in the material, strange when Strong has kept saying in press that he is a major fan of the show. A lot of the new elements of the book are clunky as hell, and much of the dialogue tends to be rote and pedestrian, strange again for a man who has two Emmy’s.

All in all, when the show gets out of its own way (particularly in the second act and thrilling sequence from The Deal through Endgame) and lets the cast sing, it soars. I do think this is a can’t miss show for the opportunity to hear (imo) one of the great musical theater scores performed at this caliber.

Updated On: 10/26/25 at 03:52 PM

#195

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/26/25 at 5:12pm

"The constant commenting not on the actual story but on the nature of Chess The Musical and the songs that are performed kept taking me out of the story and halting the momentum of the show - what should be a rollercoaster was a series of fits and starts at times.."

Still can't wrap my brain around this as a "fix" on a book - commenting on the earnest work of other librettists as a solution to storytelling challenges in the piece's DNA. We expect a modicum of meta commentary in an Encores! concert prism - the format is a calculated revisit of material with the audience sharing the appraisal that results - yet on Broadway anticipate a revitalized show to work as a standalone construct. Maybe this winking annotation works for many -- who just want these characters to belt out that treasure of a score - but insulting prior iterations to make a case for your own feels like creative sloth.

"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling

Updated On: 10/26/25 at 05:12 PM

#196

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/26/25 at 7:09pm

#197

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/26/25 at 9:07pm

This meta thing via presentational narration was apparently a developing element of the Strong book at the Kennedy Center ("Much-needed comic relief was offered by Bryce Pinkham in the role of the arbiter, offering droll summaries of the proceedings.") and in the staged reading at the Broadhurst, correct? Yet the Strong book overall was panned in DC as no improvement over Nelson's*. So is this the fix on a heretofore unsuccessful fix? To self-annotate in real time the problems in bending text to fit a settled catalog of beloved songs? To in effect juke a show that was once a sung-through concept (as an early fan I'll subjectively add; still the most theatrical). Can someone who knows the progression via Strong comment? We were led via interviews with Mayer and Strong himself that this is a carefully wrought, definitive solution.

*Variety, 2/18/18
"Unfortunately, Strong’s new book — as is generally said of the “Chess” rewrites that preceded it — underscores the intractability of the musical’s convoluted tale, an implausible love triangle involving the U.S. and Russian chess grandmasters, and the women they love, during the cold war politics of the 1970s and ’80s. It remains comically contrived, especially as act two focuses on the menacing pair of CIA and KGB agents that repeatedly threaten the players if the next match isn’t thrown. Meanwhile, the personal sagas head for a predictably maudlin ending ... like the two grandmasters on stage, lyricist Rice and company might have more chin stroking to do before making their next move with the troubled musical. If indeed the new script is the determining factor, they could be at stalemate."

"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling

#198

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/27/25 at 8:23am

I haven’t seen Chess before though I’ve heard a few of the songs done by many different performers (eg I know Him So Well and Someone Else’s Story). I’ve seen Michele sing some songs in YouTube clips and she doesn’t sing them in legit soprano which to my ears is much less thrilling. For those more knowledgeable about the show or this production, what is your reaction of Michele’s vocals as compared to someone like Judy Kuhn?

#199

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/27/25 at 9:17am

Kuhn doesn't sing them "in legit soprano" either, despite being able to, because this is not a legit soprano role. Of the many, many people I've heard sing Florence's songs in various different languages, other than Kuhn I'm not sure any of the actresses I've heard COULD sing soprano.

I suppose Kuhn barely ever sings in straight tone, while Michele certainly does - but then so do most of the women who have played Florence.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think Michele is as good at conveying acting choices through song as many of the women I've seen or heard play Florence, although the semi-concert staging doesn't help her with that. But for me, it's not about her vocal stylings (which, thankfully, seem a bit less sterile and poppy in the actual show than on the pre-release recording, based on the very short clips I've seen).

#200

CHESS Previews

Posted: 10/27/25 at 11:17am

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I find it interesting that some people in this thread are already putting Lea Michele as the front runner for the Tony. Florence doesn't strike me as the kind of role with which wins that kind of award, but maybe some voters will think of it as the Tony she would have gotten had she been in the original cast of the Funny Girl revival..."

I think it's because this season doesn't seem to have a knock out performance as of yet.

Of course will have more contenders for the spring, but as of now I think she could win.

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