CHESS Previews — Page 15

"Well, the book being a bit misogynist matches the score also being so. Not a single female song passes the Bechdel test."

I raised this very issue at the start of previews and was shouted down that the show doesn't need a "woke" fix. As if giving a female character any agency beyond romantic entanglements is "woke."

Strong had an opportunity to remint Florence, to give her a new impetus in the second act, one driven by her own thwarted goals rather than further codependency to two high maintenance men. It could be handled in the book scenes, the movement of Florence into her own realm in global chess tourneys. It still shocks me that a seasoned serial writer like Strong didn't aim higher, deeper, more a reflection of reality (and at least: The Queen's Gambit). But she's still a long-suffering woman behind the men with a missing Daddy. Her kvetching over the fellas defines every song she sings. It feels more midcentury than even the 1980s, but it condemns the storytelling to a tired, hoary construct.

Updated On: 11/11/25 at 09:29 PM

A small note on an otherwise extraordinary production.

I’ve seen the show twice in the last couple of weeks, and I honestly think it’s among the very best musical productions I’ve ever seen.

The orchestra and ensemble sound phenomenal, and all five principal/supporting roles are knockout performances — they absolutely blow the roof off the place. Big, showstopper moments!

That’s why these two moments bother me so much: both of them pull the audience out of the world of the musical and drop us back into the world we thought we’d left behind when we walked into the theater.

The RFK Jr./brain worm joke lands like a lead balloon — it’s met with complete silence (at least when I saw it). The same thing happens with the Joe Biden quip. After we’ve been so beautifully transported by this production, those contemporary political references feel jarringly out of place. The Reagan line, while pretty lame, at least lives in the era of the story; the RFK Jr. and Biden bits don’t. (The Freddy Trumper character name clarification at the top serves its purpose.)

What makes it especially frustrating is how brilliantly the Arbiter has been reframed — more narrator or instigator than referee. It’s an inspired choice that deepens the world of the show and our connection to it. There’s just no need to snap us back to more current American politics in the middle of that.

In a production this strong — one of the best I’ve seen in 30+ years of theatergoing — these topical jokes feel like unnecessary speed bumps. Cutting them would keep the audience fully immersed in the extraordinary world you’ve created onstage.

Updated On: 11/13/25 at 03:19 PM

BJR said: "I think the Joe comment is a bit shocking (and triggering)"

Agreed. But I think it was meant to be.

the RFK Jr. comment got wild laughter from the audience, and the Biden joke got a mix of laughs and groans.

Same with the audience when I saw it. They both work and I'm sure they'll be kept in. Hard to believe no one laughed at all during the RJK joke during Ensemble84943089203202 performance tho.

Updated On: 11/13/25 at 04:54 PM

Sutton Ross said: "the RFK Jr. comment got wild laughter from the audience, and the Biden joke got a mix of laughs and groans.

Same with the audience when I saw it. They both work and I'm sure they'll be kept in. Hard to believe no one laughed at all during the RJK joke during Ensemble84943089203202 performance tho."

To be fair, it was a matinee, so...

Joke quality really wasn't my point, it was being taken out of the show's world and back into the real world that I took issue with.

A minor preference for what I hope (and believe) is going to be a major success!

Updated On: 11/13/25 at 05:07 PM

Yeah, I went to a matinee too and it was really lively. And yes, it will be a huge success with the brilliant cast and honestly, it's just a great show.

When I play the Narrator at Rocky Horror every October, I always interject topical material in a very similar way, and you have almost no clue what the reaction is going to be until the joke is out. Some of it is audience demographics, but some of it is just right place, right time, right crowd energy.

This year, a reference to "the inexplicable six-seven phenomenon" killed, while a similar reference to Labubus didn't. And when I updated an old joke referencing the irony of "a queer kid eating at Chic Fil A" to "a queer kid visiting Harry Potter Land," it landed with huge laughs and gasps in the rehearsal room but fell absolutely flat two audiences in a row. I changed it back to the Chic Fil A joke and it worked perfectly again.

I'm a bit surprised that, since Danny Strong's Chess has made "topical political humor" part of its identity, the jokes and references seem to be more or less frozen. You'd think in a role like the Arbiter, those jokes would shift a little week by week with the political climate, even if not simply with the energy in the room. Things are moving so fast these days that even the brain-worm joke feels dated.

CATSNYrevival said: "My apologies if this has already been answered, but does this version of the show end with Florence's reprise of Anthem?"

No - the reprise by Florence is not how this production ends.

Aaron Tveit has said twice now, on Jimmy Fallon, and on a Playbill interview, when explaining the plot, something to the effect that "yeah the show sounds confusing" or something like that. (side note off the record, it is confusing or a difficult topic for a musical, but I digress), But yeah --Aaron needs to stop saying that. I saw Lea kind of cringe each time. (UPDATE: some took issue with the previous comment, so I watched the clips again. And it was actually ME who cringed lol. Lea was not emoting it seems). So yeah, just my two cents --- but I wished Aaron didn't say that in that fashion. I am defensive of this difficult book lol.


Anyway --- the show is OT as confusing as it used to be. I had seen it 3 times before this and had ZERO clue what was going on. I mean my ass fell asleep, I kept staring at my watch, and went to the lobby a few times - this was regional theater. The narrator helps a lot - and for the first time I understood what was going on. If the narrator would drop the meta RFK/Joe Biden/"damn that was hot" then the show would be as close to perfect - imo - as it could be. I saw it Nov 1 and would love to see it again.

Updated On: 11/16/25 at 04:10 AM

shomeika said: "Aaron Tveit has said twice now, on Jimmy Fallon, and on a Playbill interview, when explaining the plot, something to the effect that "yeah the show sounds confusing" or something like that. (side note off the record, it is confusing or a difficult topic for a musical, but I digress), But yeah --Aaron needs to stop saying that. I saw Lea kind of cringe each time."

Well, she keeps letting him answer those "what this show is about" questions and she's the one who recruited him to be Freddy. In the Playbill, she's listed on top as a producer. So, Lea should be probably start answering those questions if she "cringes" at Aaron's answer.

Anyway, the book and jokes really don't matter. They have THE songs, Lea for outside Broadway commercial appeal, Nick for break-out stardom/critical acclaim storyline, and Aaron for general Broadway appeal. They also have the Florence understudies and the rest of cast/ensemble for Lea-haters. Can't wait to see it again in the Spring.

Updated On: 11/14/25 at 09:30 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "I saw this again last night and the RFK line got a huge response, as it always does when I’ve been. The Biden line always gets a less enthusiastic response and more of a groan from the audience and that’s the line I wish was removed. It seems like an add on to “appease both sides”.

Nicholas Christopher in particular, knew damn well there were critics in the house because sweet Jesus, he blew the roof off in a way I hadn’t seen him do before. Really thrilling stuff. As for the real star of the show, Casey was perfect - as always. He alone makes up for all the plot holes and any other flaws the show might have."

I was also there last night and can Christoper and Scherzinger have a battle of who can hold a note longer please.

The RFK joke took me a second as I was thinking JFK with the Cold War. I could not make out what was said about Biden.

Also I felt sorry for the people in the first row as I think only one persons head was higher than the stage. Almost as bad as Sweeney.

Updated On: 11/14/25 at 12:52 PM

Ball of Buttah said: "shomeika said: "Aaron Tveit has said twice now, on Jimmy Fallon, and on a Playbill interview, when explaining the plot, something to the effect that "yeah the show sounds confusing" or something like that. (side note off the record, it is confusing or a difficult topic for a musical, but I digress), But yeah --Aaron needs to stop saying that. I saw Lea kind of cringe each time."

Well, she keeps letting him answer those"what this show is about" questions and she's the one who recruited him to be Freddy. In the Playbill, she's listed on top as a producer. So, Lea should be probably start answering those questions if she "cringes" at Aaron's answer.

Anyway, the book and jokes really don't matter. They have THE songs, Lea for outside Broadway commercial appeal, Nick for break-out stardom/critical acclaim storyline, and Aaron for general Broadway appeal. They also have the Florence understudies and the rest of cast/ensemble for Lea-haters. Can't wait to see it again in the Spring.

"

Re the answering of questions Lea does that so everyone gets their moment.

I noticed during FG when she was doing interviews with Ramin if it was a question that wasn't particularly about her but more generally about the show or something they could both answer she would defer to Ramin and I've seen her doing this again with Nik and Aaron as so often as the more famous of the group the reporter zones in on her so I suspect that is why she has handballed those questions to him.

I had no idea Lea was a producer on this.

Updated On: 11/14/25 at 03:50 PM