After nearly four decades, cult classic musical Chess returned to Broadway last weekend, this time to a wave of mixed reviews.
As Chess.com reported back in May, the revival marks the first Broadway production of the musical since its short-lived 1988 debut. Interest ahead of its premiere has been high, with previews of the show playing to nearly 100 percent capacity, grossing $1.86 million and placing it just behind the mega-hit The Lion King, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Developed over more than seven years, the new production features a heavily revised book by Emmy Award-winner Danny Strong (Dopesick, Empire). The famous Cold War love-triangle plot centers on a World Chess Championship match with two grandmasters: Freddie Trumper (Tony winner Aaron Tveit) and his Soviet rival, Anatoly Sergievsky (Nicholas Christopher).
The star of the show is Emmy nominee Lea Michele, who plays Florence Vassy, a Hungarian-born woman raised in America who is caught between the two rival grandmasters.
The premiere took place at New York City’s Imperial Theatre on November 16, and you can see some clips from the show in this report by Broadway.com.
Chess.com was also in attendance for the red carpet premiere, with streamer/creator Julesgambit present to interview the cast as they arrived.
Chess.com’s partnership with the Broadway show gave members the chance to play against bots Freddie, Florence or Anatoly. Tveit admitted to Chess.com that he had in fact played against his own bot.
“My bot absolutely destroyed me. That’s been really fun, because I have a lot of friends who have nothing to do with theater, who have played on Chess.com for a very long time. Having them play me and text me about it, and make fun of me, has been awesome,” he told Julesgambit.
My bot absolutely destroyed me.
—Aaron Tveit, star of Broadway musical Chess
So what do critics think about the revival? Well, it’s safe to say the reviews are as mixed as it gets. The New York Daily News summed up the split reactions perfectly with, “This is the Broadway show of the fall that some will claim to dislike and yet most everyone will enjoy, even if that has to be in secret.”
However, many critics were also fairly positive, agreeing that the production’s greatest quality remains its score, with a soundtrack by ABBA’s songwriting duo Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, whose music has long outlived the show’s reputation.
The Washington Post’s review offered a fairly positive take, calling the revival “packed with bangers,” and praising the performance of the hit song One Night In Bangkok.
The effort to lend Chess geopolitical resonance, including in the present, can feel at odds with the soapy drama at its center: chess nerds with rotten childhoods who crave love as much as victory. If the result is an unwieldy but rousing hot mess with outsize ambitions, maybe now we know how its chess prodigies feel.
New York Magazine‘s critic agreed with that sentiment toward the song, saying:
The song is such a ridiculous rush that it pretty much justifies the whole project. I think some plot still happens after that, but frankly, I left my heart—and my wallet and my keys and my sobriety—in this Bangkok, and I’m okay with that. Who knew chess could get you so high?
Who knew chess could get you so high?
—New York Magazine
Another positive review came from People Magazine, which wrote, “This Chess may still be a complicated game, but with singing this good, the production lands a decisive victory.”
Others were less convinced, such as the New York Times in its review, “At Least They Have the Music,” describing it as “absolutely thrilling and parts are flat at best, aggressively dumb at worst.”
The Guardian was also not impressed in its 2/5 stars review, calling the revival “messy” and “wasting catchy ABBA songs.”
As is often the case, reactions from fans seem much more positive than from professional theater critics. On Broadway.com, the show has a 4.5/5 rating after 64 reviews. Regardless, having the cult classic back in the spotlight on Broadway after nearly four decades is clearly good for the game.
Tickets for Chess are available at chessbroadway.com.
