Lea Michele will depart Chess on Broadway on June 21.
Michele leaves the production after opening the musical at the Imperial Theatre in November. A replacement for Michele’s leading role of Florence Vassy will be announced at a later date, with a new block of tickets set to go on sale next week, implying a continued run for the show.
In the musical, Michele’s Vassy is caught between American chess prodigy Freddie Trumper, played by Aaron Tveit, whom she coaches and once loved, and Russian grandmaster, Anatoly Sergievsky, played by Nicholas Christopher, who has drawn her interest. Chess also features Hannah Cruz, Bryce Pinkham, Bradley Dean and Sean Allan Krill.
Chess marked Michele’s return to Broadway after replacing Beanie Feldstein in Funny in September 2022. Michele was previously on Broadway in Spring Awakening from 2006 to 2008, which helped lead to her well-known role as Rachel Berry on Glee.
During her turn in Chess, Michele has been a reliable box office draw, as evidenced by a $802,675 drop in grosses, when she was out of the show for several performances in February due to a scheduled absence. She leaves two weeks after the 2026 Tony Awards ceremony, where the musical could be in contention for several categories. The production did not list a reason for her departure.
Chess features a new book by Danny Strong, music and lyrics by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice (Evita), direction by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and choreography by Lorin Latarro (Waitress).
