Chess will close earlier than expected, with a final Broadway performance on June 21.
The musical revival, starring Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher, ends its run after about seven months on Broadway. Michele previously announced she would be leaving the show June 21, but the musical had put tickets on sale through mid-September and announced Joanna “JoJo” Levesque as her replacement.
Since the announcement, Chess has been nominated for five Tony Awards, including nods for Christopher and featured actors Bryce Pinkham and Hannah Cruz, with winners to be announced June 6. But the musical missed out on a best revival of a musical nomination and a nomination for Michele, who has appeared to be a draw for ticketbuyers thus far.
And the musical’s grosses have been on a downward trajectory since its November opening, when it received mixed reviews. The production hit its highest gross of $2 million Thanksgiving week, but in recent weeks has been bringing in under $900,000 with capacity around 70 percent.
The show began previews at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre on Oct. 15, 2025, before opening Nov. 16. Danny Strong revised the book to the musical, which originally ran on Broadway in 1988, with a score by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA.
