'Chess' to Close Early on Broadway, Timed to Lea Michele's Exit in June

Key Points:

• The Broadway revival of "Chess" will close early on June 21, coinciding with Lea Michele's scheduled departure from the production, despite plans for Joanna "JoJo" Levesque to take over the lead role through September.
• The musical initially opened to strong ticket sales last fall, breaking several house records at the Imperial Theatre, but attendance has recently declined to about 70% capacity.
• "Chess" received five Tony Award nominations, including nods for Nicholas Christopher, Bryce Pinkham, and Hannah Cruz, but its lead stars Lea Michele and Aaron Tveit were notably excluded, and the show was not nominated for Best Musical Revival.
• The production, set during the Cold War and centered on a chess tournament between American and Soviet grandmasters, features music by ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and a new book by Danny Strong, directed by Michael Mayer.
• "Chess" has a complex Broadway history, with the original 1988 U.S. production closing after two months, making this revival its first Broadway run in nearly 40 years.