Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher will star in a Broadway revival of Chess this fall.
The revival of the musical, which features music by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, will feature a new book by Dopesick creator Danny Strong. Michael Mayer, who also directed Michele in Spring Awakening and Funny Girl, will direct the production.
The revival will take place at a Shubert theater, with the exact dates and theater to be announced at a later date.
The production marks the first Broadway revival of the musical, which opened on Broadway in 1988 after debuting in 1986 in the West End. The show describes itself as a chess tournament between an American and Soviet chess player, as the two also fight over the woman torn between them.
While the West End show ran for three years, the book of the show was significantly altered when Chess came to Broadway, where the production ran for only two months. Rice wrote the book for the London production, while playwright Richard Nelson wrote the revised book for Broadway. Since then, the score has developed a cult following and subsequent productions, which have continued to adapt the book.
Lorin Latarro, who choreographed Waitress on Broadway, will choreograph the production.
Michele returns to Broadway after stepping in as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway in September 2022 and remaining in the role for one year. The Glee star also originated the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening.
Tveit won a Tony Award for his leading role in Moulin Rouge and appeared in the most recently revival of Sweeney Todd opposite Sutton Foster, in addition to starring in Catch Me If You Can, in the role of Frank Abagnale Jr., and also originating the role of Gabe in Next To Normal.
Christopher has played George Washington in the Broadway production of Hamilton, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway and Pirelli in the most recent revival of Sweeney Todd, among other roles.
Chess is being produced on Broadway by Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens and The Shubert Organization along with Creative Partners Productions