It’s been a long journey back to Broadway for Chess, which first opened and closed in 1988, and for nearly a decade, Bryce Pinkham has been part of the ride.
First performing in Chess in the February 2018 Kennedy Center production, after multiple readings and presentations, Pinkham has landed back on Broadway with the cult-classic musical. “It was before I had kids, and I have kids now, so that’s pretty special when I think about how I have been working on it that long,” Pinkham told Broadway Direct fresh off his opening night performance at the Imperial Theatre.
Starring alongside Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher, Pinkham is playing the role of The Arbiter in the musical featuring music and lyrics by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner Tim Rice, as well as a new book by Danny Strong.
Celebrating a huge milestone in the eight-year journey, take an exclusive peek inside Bryce Pinkham’s opening night with his wife and fellow theater star, Scarlett Strallen, by his side.
What is going through your head as you open Chess?
I’m thinking of my wife and my kids. Some of my wife’s first memories are going to the theater to see her dad in the original company of Chess in London. This moment feels very full circle for her as we bring our two littles to the theater to enjoy our updated version, and it’s very special for me to think of being onstage and making memories with them – dreams. Beyond that, I am thinking of the patience and persistence it took our team of producers and creatives to finally bring Chess back to Broadway. I have been collaborating with them on this expanded role of the Arbiter for nearly a decade, and the moment is finally here. Chess is back and better than ever.
Who are the people you would like to thank for being with you on this journey?
Well, without my wife Scarlett, my Queen, there is no way I am able to do this. She is foundational to my mental and physical health, and she has shouldered the unpaid labor of childcare in our home for the past two months as we rehearsed and previewed Chess, all while supporting me and my career, while continuing her own. She is the rockstar, and this moment is hers too.
I also have to thank the tremendous team it takes to bring a new Broadway production to life. Not just the outlandishly talented company of performers led by Lea, Aaron, and Nicholas, but also Michael Mayer and his directing team, the stage managers, music team (including our outrageously good orchestra!), sound team, lighting team, wardrobe team, backstage crew, and front of house staff.
A special thank you must go to our writer, Danny Strong, who has been a dream collaborator. He has given me freedom and agency in our process, keeping lines that I ad-libbed in rehearsal because they worked, and also cutting lines I ad-libbed in rehearsal because they didn’t! It’s the best type of relationship because we trust and respect each other immensely, and neither of us thinks we are bigger than the task at hand – making sure Chess takes off! It’s definitely been the part of the process I have cherished the most.
What’s a funny moment you’ll always remember from this preview process?
I’ll always remember the first preview; it was my first time talking to a real audience instead of a rehearsal room wall, and the response was just electric. The majority of my role is talking to the audience, and that relationship couldn’t really exist until previews, so finally getting to make people laugh was just the best feeling. Mostly the feeling of relief!
What do you hope audiences will take away from Chess?
I hope they will leave humming one of the many ear worms that made Chess famous – no one writes a better sing-in-the-shower bop than ABBA – but I also hope they leave having had a good time, having laughed a lot, and with a comforting reminder that humans in our recent past survived a very difficult moment in history and that we will do the same.
If you could meet your younger self for coffee, what would he say about this opening night moment?
My younger self would be so unbelievably stoked. All I hoped for as a young person was to find a way to support a family that was fun work to do. If he saw me on a Broadway stage with the caliber of singers we have in this show, directed by Michael Mayer, with a beautiful family to share this special moment with? My younger self would cry, and frankly, I probably will too.
