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- [00:05]
A
Hi, I'm Lauren Schneider with Class Notes for Broadway Radio. I'm here with Regine Sophia, a cast member in Chess at the Imperial Theater. Hello.
- [00:15]
B
Hi. Hi, Lauren.
- [00:17]
A
Hi, Regine. I'm very happy to be talking to you. And we're going to dive right into this story of two of the greatest chess players in the world competing for something beyond victory. The the woman between them faces a high stakes battle of desire and devotion. And in this story of chess. You're making your Broadway debut.
- [00:37]
B
I am. I am making my Broadway debut.
- [00:41]
A
Before we get into the particulars, will you describe opening night for us?
- [00:46]
B
Oh, boy. Opening night. If I could relive, Honestly, it was. I'd like to think of it as an opening day and night excursion that entire day. If I could relive it again, I absolutely would. Well, it started with the buzz of receiving texts from hundreds of people from high school college greeting me and wishing me good luck on the opening night and to, like, break legs and all that. So there was the buzz of that heading to the theater and also just I remember coming through the stage door and immediately being greeted with like, hundreds of people running up and down the stairs, dropping off letters with flowers, like, literally on each staircase. It was like the most beautiful, beautifully orchestrated opening night. Like, whirlwind, literally. And it was just so thrilling for me having that be my first opening night Broadway debut experience. It was such. I felt like I was truly a sponge trying to absorb every second and every ounce of, like, the legacy robe ceremonies, the pre show photo shoots that a couple of us did, and prepping for the show itself and doing pin curls, while also having surprise appearances from the directors. Like, there were so many beautiful things about that night that I just. It was just so magical, truly. Yeah, it was truly magical. And I look back on it often.
- [02:38]
A
I can understand why. I'm going to work backwards here for a moment. Tell us about the first preview. That time that you were in the theater with a live audience?
- [02:49]
B
Yeah, the first preview. So we previewed on October 15th. And as far as my experiences with previews in the past, like when we would have previews in school or in regional productions, I would usually feel as though it was another show, another opportunity to kind of introduce what we've been working on for weeks or months to an audience for the first time. So in my head, I initially had that mindset of, okay, I have my warm up routine down. I vocally warmed up, physically warmed up. Costume is on, let's do it. And then it wasn't until the last hour before curtain up, where I was talking to a few of my castmates, and they were like, they hit me with reality, saying that you're technically Broadway debuting today. You are going to be performing a show on a Broadway stage. And I. I feel like my entire world flips 180. I did not realize that that was gonna be a thing. And for specifically first preview, like, these people have been waiting to see the first moments and first steps of our production on a stage. So even just from hearing the audience cheer from the overture, my heart could. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I was just so indescribably, like, beautiful and surreal. Nothing could have ever prepared me for that.
- [04:39]
A
In this production of Chess, continuing to work backwards, let's go to that first rehearsal. What was that day like?
- [04:48]
B
That day was. It felt like the first day of school. Like, going to my classroom, reviewing my class schedules, which was our daily call of, like, finding the studio, making sure my bag was packed. It felt like the first day of school. And it was really exciting to meet everyone. And the biggest, I think culture shock, I guess, is the term. I could describe it as. The biggest culture shock of that was even just seeing the names of Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit, Nicholas Christopher, and like, even some of my ensemble members too. These people who I've looked up to for years before booking Chess, I. I was anticipating being in the room with them and, like, starting this journey. It was. I felt like I could actively feel the dream come to life. On the first day of rehearsal, walking into that room, seeing the person who. Seeing my role models as real life people, it was so special and so exciting, and it really set off the entire feel and atmosphere of our production, which was really sweet.
- [06:16]
A
I can only imagine. We're going to continue to rewind and we're going back to the process of your audition. This is a story. I love how you tell it so much. The stage is yours.
- [06:28]
B
Okay. Yes. I do love this story a lot. And I feel like I'm gonna tell this for ages, but. So I graduated with a BFA in musical theater and a minor in psychology from Penn State. That was in May of 2025. And right after graduation, I booked Bring it on at the Muny in St. Louis. And then that was in June, and it stretched till, I guess, mid June. And then I did a summer contract with Music Theater Wichita in Kansas. And we did Crazy for your first Newsies and then something Rotten. And in Newsies, it was around July, I received a self tape request from my agents for this new revival of Chess on Broadway. And it was one of the first kind of auditions that I've had since being out of school. So I was testing the water and I just, you know, came back from rehearsal one day from Newsies, set up my little camera in the Airbnb that I was staying at, and sent the tape in, not knowing where it would go. And then a week later, I received a callback for it. And it was an in person callback in New York. And at the time we were, it was. We were about to go into tech for Newsies. And one thing about that show is that it is very technical as far as the set, the set moves, the choreography where we're running around and chasing each other. There were a lot of things going on, going on. And so it was also the first time I felt like I needed to take a few days off of the current contract I was doing in order to go to New York. So there was a lot of worry and also kind of fear of missing out tech of Newsies. But luckily I was able to get the green light from the people at Music Theater Wichita. And I hopped on a plane, went to New York. It was an early flight, landed and went straight to the studio. I went straight into the callback, did my makeup in the holding room, got dressed at the, at the venue with my luggage in hand. And I just remember being like, trying to warm up myself and ground myself for the audition. And so I went in, sang my little song, and then had some sweet conversations about graduation and how exciting it is being out of school and ready to do the thing. And then I left. And I remember one thing about this was that I again had my luggages in hand and I was gonna go stay with a friend for the two days that I was in New York. And when I headed to the elevator on the first day, I bumped into none other than our new book writer, Danny Strong. And he was. I recognized him immediately. He saw my luggage and he started talking about where I was flying from and Penn State and all the wonderful things like that. And then we reached the lobby of Pearl, which was where the audition was at, and we were on the sidewalk of Pearl. And he was like, oh, it's so good to see you. Good, good job today. And I said, thank you so much. And then he goes, okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow. And I. My jaw dropped, my eyes popped out of my head. And he like puts his. In his pointer finger to his mouth, like doing a shush sort of gesture. And like, start. Starts walking the other way. And I. That was when I was like, okay, I guess I'm coming in tomorrow. Then I received the email from my agents saying that I got called back for the next day to dance and then sing. So the next day, I show up to Pearl again in the morning. We danced, I believe it was one combination. And it was. It was. It's really fun looking back on this because I remember this specific callback. We were told to bring ballet slippers, sneakers, heels, and knee pads. And that was the first time I felt my heart, like, drop in my stomach because I was like, what are they gonna make us do in this room? I was honestly quite scared. But luckily gathered all my belongings and headed straight to the. To the studio, rather. And I was like, you know what? We're gonna have fun today. I'm excited to see what this is going to be. So I ended up choosing to put my heels on, and I was stretching in the holding room. And, like, at that time, what was going through my head was, I have to get back to Newsies Tech. Like, I had a. I had a flight to catch that evening. So I really was just, like, in the moment, relaxed enough to do what I needed to do in the room and kind of really center myself enough to get the job done. So we went into the room, did the dance combination, and thank goodness that I was in the show Newsies, because my stamina was up. My endurance was ready. Like, I was. We were all sweating and working really hard doing that combo. But my, like, having done the Newsies choreography for weeks, at that point, my body was ready. So we did the combination, and then I went back to the studio to sing in the afternoon. So I got lunch, went back to the studio, and then sang some songs again. Saw Danny Strong in the room, saw a whole bunch of the creative team, and I remember saying to myself that this room had so many people, a lot more people than I anticipated. But I was like, great. This is, you know, the more the merrier. So I was really just living in the moment and singing my songs. And then we got back to talking about Penn State again, and the excitement of that, and that was that I remember leaving the room, and so I went back to the holding room, and at that point, it was empty. I think I was the last person in that specific chunk of slots that they were doing. So I was ready to gather my stuff and change to go catch my flight back to Kansas. And on my way out, the casting director stops me at the door and is like, Wait, could you actually come back for two seconds? And I was, like, confused because that had never happened to me before. And I was like, oh, boy. What are they gonna make me do? So I asked him. I was like, should I bring my book? Like, my repertoire book, in case they want me to sing again? And they. And he was like, no, that's okay. No need. So then I drop off my change of clothes, and I remember, like, taking a beat for myself to prepare myself mentally and physically for whatever they were going to ask me to do. I was like, I'm wearing my laduca heels in case they want me to dance the combination one more time. I could bring my knee pads if I wanted to, but alas, I just walked behind the casting director back into the audition room. And at that point, when I enter everyone in the room, the dozens of people in there were standing up. And that was a sight that I will never forget, because I was very shocked and confused. But I. I came in, and Michael Mayer, the director, was like, oh, I'm so sorry. We forgot one thing. And first thing in my head, I said, my knee pads. My knee pads. What am I gonna do? They're gonna ask me to do the combination again, and I don't have my knee pads. I was freaking out. But on. On the outside, I just said, oh, that's okay. And he said, you booked the job. And I. I just remember my mind went blank. My. Like, every part of my body was, like, still. I didn't know what to do, what to feel, what to think. Like, nothing. No words came out of my mouth at that point. And I just remember this blank stare. I was, like, looking at Michael Mayer. And then every. Like, there were a couple of laughs in the room when they realized how shocked I was. And he said, yeah, we'll see you in the fall. And I just. The only word that could come out of my mouth was, wait. I just said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I. I feel like I said it hundreds of times until another word came out where I was like, thank you so much. And I remember, like, hugging Michael Mayer. And, like, I, like, remember wanting to hug every single person in that room, because I just felt. I just felt like I was flying. I felt like I was soaring above clouds and literally on cloud nine. But I remember hugging everyone and saying, thank you so much, and then leaving the room, going back to the holding room. And again, I was alone in that holding room at that point. And before I could even process what had happened, I remember, like, falling to my knees in front of my stuff in the little corner and just saying a quick prayer of thank you, gratitude. I have no idea what just happened, but I feel great. And now I have to get on this flight back to Kansas. So I grab all my change of clothes, go to the holding room, or not the holding room, but the changing room rather. And I remember calling my mom, who at that time was. She was waking up from her sleep. There was like a 12 hour, 13 hour difference between us. So at that point it was probably 2am for her.
- [17:00]
A
Because she's in the Philippines.
- [17:02]
B
Yes, yes, she was in the Philippines. And she knew I was taking my flights and stuff like that. So she was. She woke up in a panic, like all mothers do, or she was like, oh, is something wrong with a flight? Oh my gosh, she missed her flight. Like she was confused why. I called her and I told her, I said, mom, I booked Broadway. And I remember in that changing room, her and I were just crying together. It was so special and so memorable. And it's. It was the feeling that I feel like I've dreamt for so long of having, like, you know, you know, as a theater kid, I've always dreamt of having, like, what would that moment be like when you finally realize that something you've wanted for so long, like this was working in a Broadway show and performing in a Broadway show, when it actually happens, like, what would it be like? And the fact that it did happen, all of my emotions started flooding out and I was like, sharing it with my mom, which was really, really special, but then wiped up the tears, gathered all my stuff, put my heels, ballet slippers, knee pads, everything back in my luggage and headed straight for the airport to finish Newsies in Kansas. But yeah, that was my audition. And finding out how I booked Chess Story, it's. It's really special. I loved every aspect of it.
- [18:40]
A
It's quite wonderful and I thank you so much for sharing it. And there'll be many more stories like this in your career that come with such joy and enthusiasm and excitement and incredible hard work and focus and devotion and discipline that all comes along with the territory that you're in. So I. I applaud you.
- [19:05]
B
Thank you, Lauren. Thank you. I appreciate it.
- [19:08]
A
Of course. I'm Lauren Clash Schneider with Class Notes for Broadway Radio with Regine Sophia, cast member of Chess at the Imperial Theater. Thank you.