Weather 
Lea Michele, along with the Broadway cast and orchestra of Chess, will visit The Late Show with Stephen Colbert next week for a musical performance from the hit revival. Tune in to CBS on Tuesday, March 17, at 11:35 PM-12:37 AM ET/PT to watch.
Chess made its highly anticipated return to Broadway on October 15, 2025 ahead of its official Opening Night on Sunday, November 16. It is currently scheduled to run at the Imperial Theatre through Sunday, June 14, 2026.
Starring Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit (Moulin Rouge), Emmy Award nominee Lea Michele (Funny Girl) and Nicholas Christopher (Sweeney Todd), Chess is a seductive showdown of love, loyalty, and power on a global stage. As two of the greatest Chess players in the world compete for something beyond victory, the woman between them is caught in a high-stakes battle of desire and devotion.
The cast also includes Hannah Cruz (Suffs) as Svetlana, Bradley Dean (The Phantom of the Opera) as Molokov, Tony Award nominee Sean Allan Krill (Jagged Little Pill) as Walter, and Tony Award nominee Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) as The Arbiter.
The ensemble features Kyla Bartholomeusz, Daniel Beeman, Shavey Brown, Emma Degerstedt, Casey Garvin, Adam Halpin, Sarah Michele Lindsey, Michael Milkanin, Aleksandr Ivan Pevec, Aliah James, Sydney Jones, Sean MacLaughlin, Sarah Meahl, Chloé Nadon, Ramone Nelson, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard, Michael Olaribigbe, Katerina Papacostas, Samantha Pollino, Adam Roberts, Regine Sophia, Travis Ward-Osborne and Katie Webber.
Featuring a new book by Emmy Award winner Danny Strong (“Dopesick”), with music and lyrics by Emmy and Tony Award nominees ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner Tim Rice (Evita), based on an idea by Tim Rice, this new production is directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and choreographed by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro (Waitress) with original orchestrations by Anders Eljas, orchestrations by Anders Eljas and Brian Usifer (Swept Away) and music supervision by Brian Usifer.
Chess features scenic design by Tony Award winner David Rockwell (She Loves Me), costume design by Tom Broecker (Call Me Izzy), lighting design by four-time Tony Award winner Kevin Adams (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), sound design by John Shivers (Kinky Boots) and video design by Tony Award nominee Peter Nigrini (Hell’s Kitchen). Johanna McKeon (Funny Girl) will serve as Associate Director and Travis Waldschmidt (Hello, Dolly!) will serve as Associate Choreographer. Casting is by Jim Carnahan C.S.A. and Jason Thinger C.S.A. Hair, Wig and Makeup Design are by Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young Associates.
