Lea Michele will depart the Broadway revival of Chess on Sunday, June 21, finishing an engagement that began with the show’s first preview last October.
Her replacement in the role of Florence Vassy has not been announced.
Michele’s exit was announced today by producers Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens and The Shubert Organization along with Creative Partners Productions.
The former Glee and Funny Girl actor co-stars with Aaron Tveit, Nicholas Christopher, Hannah Cruz, Bryce Pinkham, Bradley Dean and Sean Allan Krill. She is the first of the principal cast to announce a departure date.
Notably, Michele’s exit will occur after this year’s Tony Awards on June 7. A nomination and possible awards-show performance seem likely.
The revival opened November 16, 2025, at the Imperial Theatre to mixed reviews, though most critics praised the vocal chops of Michele, Tveit and Christopher.
Chess features a new book by Danny Strong, with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, based on an idea by Rice. This new production is directed by Michael Mayer and choreographed by Lorin Latarro with original orchestrations by Anders Eljas, orchestrations by Anders Eljas and Brian Usifer and music supervision by Brian Usifer.
English (US) ·