Theater Update: Lea Michele and her ‘Chess’ co-stars know the score

November 12, 2025

Dear Theater Fans,

Jesse Green and Josephine Sedgwick collaborated on a gorgeous multimedia piece exploring the rich 200-year history of Black musical theater via the “Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way” exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. You’ll want to carve out some time for this one, a piece chock-full of interesting historical tidbits, archival photography and audio clips.

Then switch modes and prepare for battle! At least, Alexis Soloski was in competition mode when she met up with the stars of “Chess” — Lea Michele, Nicholas Christopher and Aaron Tveit — at Slate NYC to play Skee-Ball, table tennis and more. Alexis also went behind the scenes of the stage adaptation of “The Hunger Games” at a specially built theater in London.

Back home in New York, we have a slew of Critic’s Picks this week. Laura Collins-Hughes praised the new Broadway musical “The Queen of Versailles,” with Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham, for striking the right tone and found Anne Washburn’s “The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire” to be a delectable mystery; Jason Zinoman commended the smart, 1980s-set adaptation of “Richard II,” starring Michael Urie; and Tim Teeman was completely immersed in Martyna Majok’s newly revised “Queens.”

Elisabeth Vincentelli also had a couple of smart reviews this week: She traveled to Minneapolis for the stage adaptation of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” and returned to New York to revisit the storied Stephen Schwartz musical “The Baker’s Wife,” starring Ariana DeBose and Scott Bakula.

Correction: Last week, a headline with an obituary of Diane Ladd mistakenly carried Laura Dern’s name. Dern is Ladd’s daughter, and is very much alive.

Please reach out to me at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com with suggestions for stories or to offer your thoughts about our coverage. And urge your friends to subscribe to this newsletter.

Have a wonderful week,
Nicole Herrington
Theater Editor

Elcha via New York Public Library

Black Musical Theater, 200 Years and Running

The nearly forgotten Black stars, songwriters and strivers who made Broadway what it is today.

By Jesse Green

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