The Broadway Revival of Chess will close earlier than expected.
According to a report by Varietypublished on Tuesday, May 26, the show will see the curtain fall definitively on June 21 when its star, Lea MicheleIt was already confirmed that he would leave production.
The news comes after the Cold War musical, which premiered in London’s West End in May 1986, failed to earn a 2026 Tony Award nomination in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical despite widespread acclaim directed at Michele, 39.
The snub came as the production attracted five 2026 Tony Award nominations in other categories: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Michele’s co-star. nicolas christopherof the work, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role for Bryce Pinkhamof the work, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role for hanna cruzof the work, Best Orchestrations and Best Lighting Design of a Musical.
Lea Michele is out of the upcoming Funny Girl performance as she handles her son Ever’s “scary” hospitalization. “I’m so sorry but unfortunately I’ll be out of @FunnyGirlBwy today,” the Glee alum, 36, wrote on Wednesday, March 22, via her Instagram Story. She shared a photo of herself holding her son’s hand with a stuffed animal. […]
The original plan for Chess was for Michele to be replaced by Joanna “Jojo” Levesque in the role of Florence Vassy while production lasted until “at least September,” according to the outlet.
He also pointed out that Chess has “struggled to maintain momentum, and attendance has fallen to about 70% capacity in recent weeks.” Michele’s main co-star Aaron Tveit He was also snubbed in May when the 2026 Tony Awards nominations were announced.
Chess producers Tom Hulce and Robert Ahrensas well as The Shubert Organization, Broadway’s oldest professional theater company, shared a statement about the show’s closing with the outlet. “Seeing long-time fans and first-time audiences embrace this production with such enthusiasm has been incredibly rewarding for everyone involved and a powerful reminder of why Chess has endured for so many years,” the statement said. “Bring Chess Returning to Broadway for the first time in nearly 40 years has been an enormous privilege and we are extremely proud of all that this production accomplished during its historic run on Broadway.”
Michele spoke with Us weekly in July 2025 about starring Chesshis sixth show on Broadway, while raising a young family. The actress shares two children with her husband. Zandy Reich: son Ever, 5 years old, and daughter Emery, 21 months.
“I’m constantly learning and growing and asking the moms around me, working moms, for advice, like, ‘How do you do this?’ and ‘How does it all balance?’” Joy alum said Us At the moment. “[I’m] “I’m really trying to prepare my family as best I can to approach my job and stay as present as possible when I’m at home with my family, and then as present as possible when I’m at work.”
He continued, “It’s not about perfection, it’s about being present. That’s what I try to remember as much as I can.”