Lea Michele seems to be irreplaceable. In 2022, she stepped into “Funny Girl,” reversing the fortunes of that flagging show. Sales soared, and when she was done, the production closed. Now she is starring in a revival of “Chess,” and the producers of that show have likewise opted to close up shop when she departs.
The move, announced on Tuesday evening, is a change of plans.
The “Chess” producers announced in March that Michele would be replaced by the singer-songwriter Joanna Levesque (known as JoJo) next month and that the show would run until at least Sept. 13. As recently as Sunday, Levesque was still expecting to join the cast; she posted on Instagram expressing gratitude for “my last show before I go into @chessbway.”
But on Tuesday the production reversed course and said Michele’s final performance on June 21 would also be the last for the production.
Michele’s run in “Chess” strengthened the show at the box office but did not result in a Tony nomination for the actress. And the show’s grosses have fallen significantly over time — it grossed over $2 million for several weeks in November, but this month weekly grosses have dropped below $1 million — and tend to fall further when Michele is out.
The economics of Broadway have become increasingly challenging, as both capitalization costs and running costs have risen. Musicals, which cost more to sustain than plays, have proven particularly vulnerable.
Last week, the producers of “Death Becomes Her,” which opened in 2024, announced that the musical, which has not made a profit, would close June 28. “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” which opened in 2019 and has been a hit, is planning to end its run Aug. 30. Two of this season’s new musicals, “The Queen of Versailles” and “Beaches,” closed less than two months after they opened. And several other Broadway musicals — some new, some long-running — are confronting unsustainably low grosses.
“Chess,” set partially in the 1950s, is about a Cold War love triangle involving two chess grandmasters (Nicholas Christopher and Aaron Tveit) and the woman they love (Michele). The musical features songs by Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Bjorn Ulvaeus; Andersson and Ulvaeus are both members of Abba.
The musical first ran on Broadway in 1988. The current revival features a new book by Danny Strong and is directed by Michael Mayer. It did not land a Tony nomination in the best musical revival category, but it was nominated in five other categories, including for Christopher and for the featured performers Bryce Pinkham and Hannah Cruz, as well as for lighting design and orchestrations.
Reviews were mixed for the revival, which began previews Oct. 15 and opened Nov. 16 at the Imperial Theater.
The production, with Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens and the Shubert Organization as lead producers, was capitalized for $15 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That money has not been recouped.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
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