Broadway’sโข Chess Revival Grapples with Sincerity and Snark, โคAnchored by Lea Michele‘s Vocal Power
NEW YORK – A new revival of the musical Chess, currently playing at the Imperial Theater, is dividing audiencesโ with its deliberately โconflicted tone, even as powerhouse performances from โคits cast – including โLea michele – shine through. Directed by Michael Mayer, the production, โfeaturingโข music by Benny Andersson and โBjรถrn Ulvaeus, lyrics by Tim Rice, andโ a bookโ by โDanny โขStrong (based on โขan โขidea by Rice), presents a visually โฃstriking but emotionally ambivalent take on the Cold War-era story of a chess โคchampionship entangled with espionage and romance.
Michele, known for her vocal prowess, delivers a concert-like performance of โคthe show’s iconic songs.โฃ While her acting has been described as “flat and presentational,” herโค vocal moments – particularly high notes – are drawing praise. The review notes that whenโ Michele “letsโ rip with aโฃ note as big as Siberia, who really cares?” notably, original ABBA members anderssonโข and Ulvaeus were observed attending a performance at the Kennedy Center, “lovingly gazing down” while wearing rainbow necklaces.
The production also features strong performances from Aaron Tveit, playing โa faded wunderkind, and Bryce Pinkham. Tveit’s rendition โof “Pity the Child” is singledโฃ out as a standout moment, described as โ”a rock โฃconcert in heaven,” despite his character’s costuming – “dressed like Danny Ocean at a Miami funeral.” He even delivers “One โฃNight in Bangkok” “almost entirely straight.”
However,Mayer’s directorialโ approach consistently undercuts emotional sincerityโค withโข a layer of meta-irony,embodied by โขthe character of The Arbiter. The review points out that even seemingly appreciative comments from The Arbiterโข carry “the โคslightest hint of sarcasm.” โThis creates a โtension where talentedโข performers are given a platform for “top-tier broadway โcheese,” only to have the production โคimmediately “scrambleโฃ to insistโ that what we just watched is actually bad for ourโฃ diet.”
The revival’s central โconflict, the review argues, isn’t about the plot’s Cold War intrigue or the game of chess itselfโฃ -โค which “barely factors in here, save for two inventively staged sequences” – but rather a commentary on โคthe shift inโฃ cultural sensibilities fromโฃ a pre-ironicโค to a post-ironic world.
Ultimately, theโ review concludes that the โproduction isโ a “draw” in โthe “unendingโฃ battle between sincerity and โsnark,” acknowledging both its stylistic strengths and its emotional withholding.
The Chess โrevival features:
* Cast: Nicholas โChristopher, Lea Michele, Bryce Pinkham, โขAaron Tveit
* โ Director: Michael Mayer
* โ Book: Danny Strong, based on an idea by Tim โฃRice
* Music and Lyrics: Benny Andersson, Bjรถrnโ Ulvaeus, Timโ Rice
* โ Setโฃ Designer: โฃDavid Rockwell
* โฃ โค Costume โฃDesigner: Tom Broecker
* โข Lighting Designer: Kevin Adams
* โค Sound Designer: John Shivers
* โ Videoโค Designer: โPeter Nigrini
*โ Producers: Tom Hulce,โ Robert Ahrens, The Schubertโค Association
* Venue: Imperial Theater, New York.
