Lea Michele has notified theatergoers that she will be taking several scheduled absences from the Broadway revival of Chess, sparking an immediate wave of online reactions ranging from logistical relief to light-hearted jokes about fans’ ticket dates. Michele, who stars as Florence Vassey in the production, shared the list of dates via Instagram this week. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostKaterina Papacostas and Samantha Pollino, her understudies, will cover her scheduled days off from December 2025 to April 2026, according to an update from Playbill.Fans appeared to double-check their tickets as soon as the announcement appeared on social media, with some expressing relief and happiness that they had tickets for Lea Michele's upcoming performance.Some fans double-checked their dates and were glad to know they will be seeing Lea Michele on stage (Image via Instagram/@leamichele)A few others had similar reactions:Some fans on Instagram were glad their tickets were not on the dates Lea Michele would be absent from the stage. (Image via Instagram/@leamichele)Some other fans who had already seen the show commended Michele's performance.Fans seem to be appreciating Michele's performance in Chess on Broadway (Image via Instagram/@leamichele)More about Lea Michele’s scheduled absences and how the production is adjustingAs reported by Playbill on December 8, 2025, Lea Michele’s planned absences include two dates in December 2025, the 24th and 26th, and several more dates from January to April 2026, including the matinee show on April 11, 2026. These dates fall during the musical’s extended run at the Imperial Theatre, currently scheduled through May 3, 2026. The production has designated two understudies, Katerina Papacostas and Samantha Pollino, to cover the role of Florence Vassey during Michele’s scheduled time away. Chess reportedly marks Michele’s major return to Broadway following her run in Funny Girl in 2023. She appears alongside Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly Sergievsky and Tony winner Aaron Tveit as Freddie Trumper.Carl Woodward @mrcarl_woodwardLINKAaron Tveit, Lea Michele & Nicholas Christopher will lead the first-ever Broadway revival of CHESS - Fall 2025 🎭The revival features a new book by Danny Strong and is directed by Michael Mayer, with music composed by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics by Tim Rice. While planned absences of major stars are common in long-running productions, Lea Michele’s announcement was notable both for its specificity and its timing, coming just a few weeks after opening night and during strong early ticket demand for the revival.More about the journey of Chess on BroadwayA documentary from the YouTube channel Wait in the Wings provides an in-depth look at the complex history of Chess as the cult-favorite musical returns to Broadway. Released on June 18, 2025, Wait in the Wings explores how Tim Rice, Benny Andersson, and Björn Ulvaeus’s Cold War-era musical became one of Broadway’s most famously troubled productions. Originally set to be a major Broadway hit in 1988 under the direction of Michael Bennett, Chess instead closed after just 68 performances and 17 previews amid creative conflicts and shifting geopolitical relevance. Despite that early failure, the concept album’s lasting popularity and later concert revivals sustained its reputation. The musical began previews on October 15 and officially opened on November 16, 2025.