Chess – 2025 Broadway Cast Recording (Ghostlight Records).
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
This new cast recording of the current Broadway revival of Chess features Aaron Tveit as Freddie Trumper, Lea Michele as Florence Vassy and Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly Sergievsky, alongside a formidable ensemble.
Though the actual storyline might be less familiar to some than many of the big numbers – particularly ‘I Know Him So Well’, ‘Someone Else’s Story’ and ‘One Night in Bangkok’ – this latest production, directed by Michael Mayer with musical direction from Ian Weinberger, still delivers on the immense vocals and slick pop-rock orchestrations across the board.
Tveit’s vocals are a standout, particularly in ‘Pity the Child’ which showcases both the volatility of his character as well as the clear intensity of the score. He’s equally effective in ‘One Night in Bangkok’, where his phrasing choices sharpen the song and bring it firmly back to its musical theatre roots rather than straying into mainstream hit territory.
Christopher brings the necessary gravitas, power and grounding to Russian chess grandmaster Anatoly, while Michele’s depiction of Florence has undeniable precision, despite at times lacking some power and depth, making some of her numbers feel more emotionally distant. This character choice works well for ‘Nobody’s Side’, where the slight coolness reinforces her guardedness at this point, portraying her as steely and unyielding. By contrast, more moving numbers such as ‘I Know Him So Well’ would perhaps have benefited from less of this resolute determination and more vulnerability.
However, this latest version more than delivers on polish and modernisation. The orchestrations are both clean and contemporary, perhaps more so than earlier recordings, giving a necessary tweak and point of difference to this production without detracting from the history and cultural relevance of the Cold War era in which it’s set.
The ensemble is outstanding in the group numbers and the production values, unsurprising given the pedigree behind both the cast and creative team, give the album a cinematic and 21st century presence.
Sorcha Exworthy
- Chess features a new book by Danny Strong, with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice. This recording is currently available in digital and streaming formats and will be released on CD and vinyl later this year.
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