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Chess Musical Shuts Down Early on Broadway
27 May
Summary
- Broadway's Chess musical will close June 21, months ahead of schedule.
- The production will not recoup its investment, producers confirmed.
- Lea Michele's final performance was the last show on June 21.
The Broadway revival of Chess will conclude its run on June 21, closing three months ahead of its planned September 13 schedule. Producers have stated that the production will not recoup its investment.
Lea Michele's final performance in the musical is set for the show's closing night. Joanna "JoJo" Levesque was scheduled to assume Michele's role starting June 23.
Producers Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens, and The Shubert Organization expressed pride in the production's reimagining of the classic musical for contemporary audiences. They highlighted the positive reception from both longtime fans and new theatergoers.
The musical, which features a new book by Danny Strong, saw its box office revenue steadily decrease since its peak last fall. A significant drop occurred in early April when Michele was on vacation.
Despite receiving five Tony nominations, including for featured actor and actress, the production did not secure nominations for Best Revival or for its lead actors, Lea Michele and Aaron Tveit.
