Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart

Episode: Broadway on the Radio — 'Chess' at WNYC

Date: March 19, 2026

Host: Alison Stewart

Guests: Michael Mayer (Director), Danny Strong (Librettist), Aaron Tveit (Freddie Trumper), Lea Michele (Florence Vassy), Nicholas Christopher (Anatoly Sergievsky), and the Chess band

Episode Overview

In this special live recording from WNYC’s Green Space, host Alison Stewart brings Broadway to radio by featuring the creative team and stars of the revival of the musical “Chess.” The episode explores the process of reimagining and remastering this Cold War-era musical, delving into its themes of political intrigue, love, and personal ambition. Through interview segments and live musical performances, the cast and creatives reflect on the enduring relevance, artistry, and challenges of “Chess,” culminating in an engaging and layered discussion for both theater lovers and newcomers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introducing “Chess” and Its Revival

• Setting the Stage: “Chess” is described as a story full of "international espionage and duplicity, a political love triangle and a high stakes game of literal chess." (02:17)
• Live Performances: Throughout the episode, listeners are treated to several live renditions of key songs, immediately immersing the audience in the show's theatrical world.

Exploring Character Depth and the Music

Anatoly’s Inner World

• Performance: Nicholas Christopher opens with “Where I Want To Be,” revealing Anatoly’s stoicism and vulnerability. (03:04–07:05)
• On Characterization:
  • Nicholas: “I think Anatoly is somewhat of a stoic character and this is the first time that we get to see his inner thoughts and then he closes back up and then we don't really get to see that until Florence is introduced into his life.” (07:27)
  • Michael Mayer: “He is a Russian grandmaster, completely controlled by the KGB…he’s left alone to ponder his situation in a completely pure and deeply personal way—a great way for us to know what's inside him.” (07:52)

Rewriting and Directing “Chess”

• Danny Strong on Revision:
  • “It needed clarity first and foremost. And it needed some character deepening…making things feel more realistic so that you could just be more engaged with the story...because these songs are so incredible.” (09:40)
• On Collaboration:
  • Michael Mayer: “Danny [texted], 'I’m gonna fix Chess, and you’re gonna direct it.' And I said, 'I'm in.'...This was an extraordinary score. I had no idea what was going on the entire time.” (10:20)
  • Their partnership in reshaping Chess began over 10 years ago. (11:09)

The Show’s Political Themes

• Why Lean into the Cold War Frame?
  • Danny: “A way into the story would be to add Cold War plot lines to give it a bird’s-eye view, Cold War history play...it would heighten the stakes of the show...to parallel our current political situation to the events of the Cold War. So it made it very relevant.” (13:25)
• Directing Political Theater:
  • Michael Mayer: “It became a metatheatrical device...a textbook example of how to make epic theater. Humor, which is a great political tool, became part of our arsenal.” (14:41)
• Bringing Politics to the Stage vs. Screen:
  • Danny: “With the stage...you can just be more blunt and more head-on with it and not have to sort of bury it in subtext...in a very provocative, in-your-face kind of way, which is very much the style of theater, epic theater, Brechtian approach.” (16:55)

The Actor Experience and Musical Demands

On Approaching the Roles

• Aaron Tveit (Freddie):
  • On Chess’s “lore”: “No one performed any of the songs because they were too difficult. So it always had this kind of lore in my head of, like, this untouchable score.” (11:25)
  • On “What a Scene, What a Joy”: “It’s nice to get to kind of go full throttle. Narcissist, all the way. Indulgent. All the things.” (18:45)
• Nicholas Christopher (Anatoly):
  • “In musical theater class. The tenor boys would always sing anthem, and that's all I knew, really.” (11:58)
• On Casting:
  • Michael Mayer: “Both of them could do either role...these roles are incredibly demanding, not just vocally, but emotionally.” (12:21)
• Expressiveness in Chess:
  • Aaron: “When that expressive expressiveness has to be contained…there creates this, like, bubbling underneath. The way we do our chess match…you kind of get to see our internal thoughts, bubbling underneath this very still, outside kind of perspective.” (15:47)
  • Nicholas: “What you might see is this, but what's going on inside is this.” (16:15, referencing a comedic scene to illustrate his method)

Lea Michele (Florence) on Joining “Chess”

• Her Path to the Show:
  • Lea: “Michael Mayer...had brought two extraordinary female characters to me before...doing Funny Girl together...he said, 'Go home and listen to this song.'...Idina Menzel singing Nobody's Side...From the first scene I knew that this was a character that I really desperately wanted to play.” (22:14)
• Why Florence Needs to Be Tough:
  • Danny Strong: “She's the greatest strategist in the world...as a woman functioning in that men's world of competitive chess...that toughness is how she was able to survive all the darkness of what she had to experience growing up.” (24:40)
• Growth as a Performer:
  • Lea: “What I loved about our experience in Funny Girl...he gave me so much creative freedom...And I took that trust into our room at Chess. And...Michael's really pushing me, which was amazing...to find Florence's strength in her restraint.” (25:13)

The Music of “Chess” and Its ABBA DNA

• Style and Variety:
  • Michael Mayer: “The choral harmonies are right out of their songbook...structurally, many of these songs follow a very typical ABBA pop song structure...Tim Rice has created these character arcs inside this pop idiom.” (31:04)
  • Danny Strong: “There are songs that are polar opposite of ABBA, too...one second it's pop ABBA, and the next you're in a grand opera. The variety...just kind of blows me away.” (32:02)
• Vocal Challenge for Florence:
  • Lea: “Constantly shifting gears through different genres of music...the differences between what I have to do sonically with Freddie versus Anatoly...absolutely the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life.” (29:42)
• On Editing the Show:
  • Danny: “By paring it down...there's four or five songs that have been cut...it makes the songs that are there—every one is a banger.” (32:30)

Song Spotlights & Live Performances

| Song | Performer(s) | Description/Purpose | Timestamp | |-----------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Where I Want To Be | Nicholas Christopher| Opening up Anatoly’s internal struggle | 03:04–07:05 | | What a Scene, What a Joy | Aaron Tveit | Freddie’s introduction, showing his bravado | 18:03–20:44 | | Heaven Help My Heart | Lea Michele | Florence’s vulnerability—“decision from her heart”| 33:17–37:30 | | You and I | Lea Michele & Nicholas Christopher | The love and strain between Florence & Anatoly | 51:31–54:06 |

• On “Heaven Help My Heart”:
  • Lea: “As a woman who is really functioning so much and using her head...this is the first time she's making a decision from her heart, and that is terrifying for her.” (33:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Enduring Theme of “Chess”:

  • Danny Strong: “We, the people, are pawns of the decisions our governments are making. And there's a line at the end of the show which is sort of the key line...‘Just because our governments have lost their souls doesn't mean we have to as well.’” (28:52)

• Lea Michele on the Imperial Theater:

  • “I wrote my college essay that got me accepted into NYU about the Imperial Theater...it was where I made my debut in Les Mis when I was 8 years old...it's really the happiest I've ever been in a work experience in my life.” (47:39)

• The Joy and Challenge of Recording the Cast Album:

  • Lea: “Going into the studio, for me specifically with Nobody's Side...I was really sort of worried I wouldn’t be able to find that same sort of power and connection. But something really special just happened...” (43:58)

• Chess as a Metaphor:

  • Nicholas: “Like acting...there's a structure there...but depending on how you're feeling that day...the number of possibilities is infinite.” (38:41)
  • Aaron: “Much like life, too, you think it's going to go one way and then it can just really not go any way you plan and you have to adjust…” (39:07)

Character Relationships and Dynamics

• Freddie’s Complexity:

  • Aaron: “Freddie's dealing with some mental health issues that I think stem from being thrust into the spotlight as a child...narcissism...brilliance...these things are very closely tied together.” (40:18)

• Mutual Respect by the End:

  • Nicholas: “There’s a fascination...of how you [Freddie] navigate the world that is the complete antithesis of the way Anatoly has been programmed.” (41:10)
  • Aaron: “By the end, we come to this kind of mutual understanding of each other...it's, you know, that we're all pawns to these big governments and then we can see each other at a more human level by the end of the show.” (41:39)

• On Hannah Cruz/Svetlana’s Role:

  • Nicholas: “What an uphill battle she has every day to enter into Act 2, to get the audience to see her perspective and to just sing her face off and act her face off in, what, like 20 minutes of stage time? And she's so memorable.” (42:43)

The Collaborative Ensemble

• The Company’s Camaraderie:
  • Nicholas: “For the first time since rehearsal, we were all in one room again, like Leah was just talking about. And we got to eat dinner together, and we got to really, like, snack and joke around and have this experience. So that's really what I remember from it.” (46:28)

Final Thoughts & The Future of “Chess”

• Relevance Today:

  • Danny Strong: “I just think it makes the show more relevant every day that every day what we're going through...is just exactly what the show is discussing.” (28:52)

• Moving Forward:

  • With a new, streamlined script and an all-star cast, this revival of “Chess” is presented as a timely, emotionally rich, and musically thrilling event, resonating with contemporary audiences.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:04 — “Where I Want to Be” live performance
• 07:12 — Panel on Anatoly’s character and the show's setup
• 09:01 — Danny Strong on why “Chess” needed remastering
• 10:20 — Michael Mayer and Danny Strong: 10-year collaboration
• 13:25 — Adding Cold War elements to the narrative
• 15:47 — Actors on expressing emotion through chess
• 18:03 — “What a Scene, What a Joy” live performance
• 22:14 — Lea Michele on joining “Chess” as Florence
• 25:13 — Lea and Michael Mayer discuss their collaborative growth
• 29:42 — Lea Michele on vocal demands and vocal range in “Chess”
• 31:04 — Discussion of ABBA’s musical DNA
• 33:17 — “Heaven Help My Heart” live performance
• 38:41 — Chess as a metaphor for acting and life
• 41:10 — On respect and rivalry between Anatoly and Freddie
• 47:39 — Lea Michele on the significance of the Imperial Theatre
• 51:31 — “You and I” live performance

By drawing personally and politically relevant parallels, the Green Space event offers both a tribute to “Chess” and a vibrant case study in theatrical revival—reminding audiences not only of the importance of great music and storytelling, but also of the culture and community built around them.