Chess will play its final performance on June 21 at the Imperial Theatre, ending a run that had been scheduled to continue through September 13 and cancelling Joanna "JoJo" Levesque’s announced start as Florence Vassy on June 23.
The revival leaves the stage after 34 previews and 241 performances. The production, which brought Chess back to Broadway for the first time in nearly 40 years, was led by Aaron Tveit as Freddie Trumper, Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly Sergievsky and Lea Michele as Florence Vassy, with Hannah Cruz as Svetlana, Bradley Dean as Molokov, Sean Allan Krill as Walter and Bryce Pinkham as The Arbiter.
Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens, and The Shubert Organization issued a statement praising the company: "The opportunity to witness Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher perform this legendary score by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice alongside a company filled with some of Broadway’s most remarkable talent is something that will stay with audiences long after they depart the Imperial Theatre." They added, "Bringing Chess back to Broadway for the first time in nearly 40 years has been an enormous privilege, and we are extremely proud of everything this production accomplished during its historic Broadway run."
The show leaves with industry recognition: it earned five Tony nominations this year, though it was not included in the Best Revival of a Musical category. The numbers that marked high points—such as a reported weekly gross of $2,066,742 in the week ending November 30, 2025—stand beside sharper drops: in the first week of April, when Michele was on vacation, box office fell to $585,803 and occupancy dropped to 66%.
That contrast helps explain why the production’s many schedule changes ended in an early closing. The revival had been extended multiple times, and producers said they were "immensely proud of the extraordinary work this cast and creative team have done in reimagining Chess for a new generation of theatregoers while honoring the passionate fans who have championed this musical for nearly four decades." But the run also "saw longtime fans and first-time audiences alike embrace this production," the same statement said, underscoring the awkward gap between critical attention and steady commercial momentum.
The early closing directly cancels Levesque’s run, which was set to begin June 23. Levesque had been announced as Florence Vassy but will not appear because the show ends two days earlier. The roster of principal performers who carried the revival to the Imperial remains intact on the record: Tveit, Christopher and Michele anchored the production through its final curtain.
The tension around the production is plain in two facts that sit next to each other: Chess returned to Broadway for the first time in nearly 40 years and received five Tony nominations, yet it did not secure a slot in the Best Revival category and struggled to maintain audience levels as newer productions opened. Those competing realities—historical significance and uneven box office performance—shaped the decision to end the run on June 21 rather than allowing it to continue through September 13.
For theatregoers and the company alike, the closing answers a simple question about what happens next: the revival’s Broadway run concludes immediately, shortening a season that had impressed some critics and voters but failed to sustain the ticket demand its backers had hoped would carry it through the summer. The production will be remembered for returning Chess to the Imperial Theatre after nearly four decades and for the performances that earned five Tony nominations, even as its early shutdown prevents planned casting changes and an extended season.
