Aaron Tveit has played some of theater’s most iconic leading men, but his portrayal of Freddie Trumper in the Chess revival might be his most electrifying performance to date.

Aaron Tveit / Via Polk & Co.

If you’ve made a trip to the Imperial Theatre, you’ve witnessed Tveit’s expert command of the stage. From the cocky swagger of “One Night in Bangkok” to the raw, unraveling vulnerability of “Pity the Child,” Freddie is an incredibly layered character. Not only does the chess grandmaster walk a fine line between two contrasting personalities, but he is also one of the most vocally challenging roles in modern musical theater.

It was a true honor to interview Aaron about stepping into this demanding production and what the music of Chess means to him.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You have an incredible resume. How does the role of Freddie stand out to you compared to your past Broadway shows?

Aaron: Thank you. I’ve been very fortunate to have a varied career. I’ve never really been a performer who does just one thing. Especially in theater, I always look for complicated characters.

I think Freddie is one of the most complex characters I’ve played yet. He is dealing with severe mental health issues, and I really wanted to touch on that as authentically as possible. I had many deep conversations about that with Michael Mayer, the director, and Danny Strong, the writer. It has been a lot of work and a lot of fun to dive into those layers.

On top of the acting, the singing is easily the hardest I’ve ever done. Those two factors combined have made the Chess Broadway score quite a mountain to climb, but I’m always seeking out those challenges.

It’s been really rewarding to be four or five months into the run and still be learning things about the show and the role every day. I’ve been a huge fan of the music for a very long time, and it’s still not quite sinking in that I’m part of this revival that fans have waited so long for.

Matthew Murphy / Via Polk & Co.

Freddie has these two sides: the swaggering public champion and this deeply wounded person. How did you approach balancing those character traits?

Aaron: That’s a great question. It all started with his mental health. If he’s struggling with manic-depressive disorder or undiagnosed bipolar disorder, the performance is all about those extreme highs and lows.

That gave me a lot of creative license. When he’s manic and excited in the public eye, he gets to be this “rock star” in his own mind. I think there’s also a lot of deep-rooted narcissism inside of him that feeds those qualities. The double-edged sword is that when the spotlight fades, he falls really hard to the other side.

During my time in Sweeney Todd, the associate choreographer, Chelsey Arce, and I started using different colors in the script to represent Sweeney’s rage. For Chess, I used that same technique, assigning a different color to Freddie in each scene based on where he sits on that manic-depressive spectrum.

Jenny Anderson / Via Polk & Co.

On the swagger side of things, “One Night in Bangkok” is such a highlight. It’s a very complicated scene, especially how you jump into the pants—how much rehearsal goes into that number?

Aaron: I’m so fortunate that I’m literally lifted by five of the guys in the ensemble, while two of the women hold my pants at a very specific spot for me to get in. Honestly, I’m doing the least amount of work in that moment—it’s the ensemble that makes the magic happen every night. I’m very lucky to be supported through that, both figuratively and literally.

That number is iconic. Even people who don’t know the full plot of the musical have heard that song, so there’s a big responsibility that comes with it.

We had this idea to find Freddie as he’s off his meds and self-medicating in Bangkok. We looked at what it would be like to prop him up and get him ready for his job as an on-camera analyst. We had so much fun with the ensemble and Lorin Latarro, the choreographer, finding our own unique way to stage it. It was a massive mountain to climb.

Matthew Murphy / Via Polk & Co.

On the “wounded” side of Freddie, “Pity the Child” is an incredibly vocally challenging and emotional song. When you’re performing it, are you thinking technically, or are you fully in the moment?

Aaron: That’s a great question. It really depends on the day. My hope is always that I’ve done enough technical work during the rehearsal process so that the singing becomes second nature. I try to navigate the vocal hurdles before I even step into the room. If you’re constantly worried about the high notes, you can’t focus on the emotional scene work.

That being said, we do eight shows a week, and it’s grueling. There are nights—like this past weekend when the weather changed and my allergies went insane—where you have to think technically. You’re trying to figure out where to place the sound while still staying in character. It’s a “split-brain” experience.

With “Pity the Child” specifically, I’ve known the song for years, but I didn’t fully understand the weight of it until this production. It’s the first time Freddie is forced to look inside himself. Discovering that with the audience every night is fascinating. It’s the hardest song I’ve ever sung, but also one of the most rewarding.

Matthew Murphy / Via Polk & Co.

You’ve mentioned this is your most vocally challenging role. How do you maintain your vocal health while doing eight shows a week?

Aaron: Vocal health is everything in a long run. If you’re doing a limited engagement, you can push through, but for a long run, you have to be disciplined.

I grew up studying classical music, so I have a very solid foundation. I’ve worked with the same voice teacher in New York for 20 years. I need to know I can do the show healthily before I even start. I also find that stressing about your voice actually makes things worse.

On a daily basis, I keep my baseline health high. It sounds simple, but it’s about sleep, eating right, staying hydrated, and steaming. Avoiding too many late nights out is just part of the job.

Gary Gershoff / Via Getty Images

The cast recording is out now. What was different about recording the Chess album in the studio versus performing the show live?

Aaron: Recording the Chess cast album was incredible. Our live sound at the Imperial is great, but the studio offers a different sonic experience. You get immediate feedback in your headphones, which allows you to access different colors in your voice that might be harder to hear on stage over a live orchestra.

For “Pity the Child,” we only did two takes. Most of what you hear on the album is that second take. They turned the lights down, and it was just me and the music. It was an out-of-body experience where I felt like I was floating above myself, just grateful to be recording such legendary music.

Chess / Via open.spotify.com

You have incredible co-stars, like Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher. What’s your chemistry like off-stage?

Aaron: It’s wonderful. The cast clicked immediately. Lea and I have known each other for years, but this is our first time working together. Nick and I were in Sweeney Todd recently, but we didn’t have a full rehearsal process together like we did for this.

We all love this show so much and approach the work with the same level of intensity. Plus, between the three of us, there are five kids under the age of five! We all look at each other and know when someone has had a rough night with the kids, and we pick each other up. Bryce Pinkham is also a total blast to work with. We’re very lucky to have this group.

Bruce Glikas / Via WireImage

Finally, what do you hope audiences take away from seeing your performance as Freddie in Chess?

Aaron: It’s twofold. First, I just want to share this incredible music that has been beloved for 40 years.

Secondly, the most rewarding part has been hearing from audience members who struggle with bipolar disorder or mental health issues. They’ve told me they felt seen by this story. I had a similar experience with Next to Normal. Mental health still carries a stigma, and if Chess can help people walk away with more empathy and an open mind, that’s the biggest reward for me.

Matthew Murphy / Via Polk & Co.

Thank you, Aaron, for a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Chess on Broadway.

This latest installment of Euphoria mentions sexual themes, animal cruelty, intense violence, gore, and major spoilers for Season 3, Episode 3.

The newest chapter of Euphoria premiered Sunday night, and it was a monumental event. A parade of familiar faces returned to the screen to celebrate Cassie and Nate’s wedding, including their former high school peer BB, Cassie’s mother Suze, and a brief, haunting return of Eric Dane as Cal, Nate’s father.

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However, as most fans anticipated, the wedding was far from a fairytale ending for the toxic duo. This week’s episode was packed with jarring moments that had the audience recoiling in discomfort. Here are the most disturbing highlights in the order they aired:

1. As established in the season premiere, Jules (Hunter Schafer) has leaned fully into her new role as a sugar baby—or, as Maddy bluntly put it, “a hooker.” This episode kicked off with Rue narrating the gritty details of Jules’s new career over a montage of her encounters with various older men.

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One of Jules’s recurring clients displayed a specific fetish that involved licking her hosiery while he engaged in self-gratification:

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In a following sequence, Jules is depicted crawling beneath a wealthy finance executive’s desk to perform oral sex while he remains active on a professional business call:

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Finally, we meet Ellis, who eventually became Jules’s exclusive client after she earned “more money than she ever imagined” from their arrangement. In a deeply unsettling scene, Jules strips for Ellis before he mummifies her entire body and face in layers of industrial cellophane, kissing her through the plastic barrier:

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2. Earlier in the season, global pop star Rosalía made her acting debut as Magick, a dancer at the Silver Slipper—the club where Rue has become entangled. While the sexual undertones this week were slightly less graphic than the previous episode, showrunner Sam Levinson still prioritized numerous long-take shots of her and the other dancers performing in skimpy lingerie:

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3. This sequence transitioned into the first instance of animal cruelty in the episode. A live pig was released into the club by Laurie, a rival to the club’s owner, Alamo. This led to a lingering close-up of the animal urinating on the floor. (Though we have to find the silver lining where possible: three weeks into the season, we finally have an episode with zero poop scenes. Progress!)

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4. What came next was a startlingly violent moment where Alamo shot the pig dead. The show included a gratuitous shot of a dancer, wearing very little, getting sprayed with the animal’s blood:

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5. Shifting momentarily away from the gore and sexual fetishes, Maddy managed to stun the audience in a different way. She left everyone speechless by choosing this daring ensemble for her ex-boyfriend’s wedding:

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6. However, Jules arguably stole the spotlight with this specific look:

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7. Returning to the visceral violence, the episode reached a bloody climax when Nate was savagely ambushed. He was beaten by the debt collectors he owes a fortune to immediately after he and Cassie arrived home from their nuptials:

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8. Unfortunately, Cassie was also caught in the crossfire of the brutal physical altercation:

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9. But nothing could have steeled viewers for the explicit, high-definition shot of Nate’s toe being severed as a final, gruesome warning from the henchmen:

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10. If that wasn’t enough carnage for one night, the episode concluded with a second animal death. This time, Laurie’s prized bird was killed, having been secretly poisoned by Alamo’s associates in an act of petty revenge:

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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel recently addressed the fallout after Donald and Melania Trump publically insisted he should be terminated from Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Nathan Howard / Getty Images

On a recent Thursday broadcast, Kimmel delivered an “Alternative White House Correspondents’ Dinner” monologue. During the segment, he took several comedic swings at the Trumps, specifically referencing alleged connections to Jeffrey Epstein. In one notable moment regarding the former first lady, Kimmel quipped, “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

ABC / Via youtube.com

Following that broadcast, the Trumps attended the official White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time during any of Trump’s terms. However, the evening was marred by a security breach when an armed individual breached a checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel, reportedly firing shots outside the ballroom. According to the New York Times, Cole Tomas Allen now faces charges including two counts of using a firearm and assault on a federal officer.

MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Melania Trump later used X (formerly Twitter) to criticize Kimmel, accusing him of “hateful and violent rhetoric.” She wrote, “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community”—a statement many viewed as a reference to Kimmel’s previous suspension regarding his comments on the MAGA movement.

Melania Trump / Via x.com

Donald Trump followed up on Truth Social by targeting the “widow” remark directly. He posted, “A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives. He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason. I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”

@realDonaldTrump / Via truthsocial.com

During last night’s episode, Kimmel tackled the controversy head-on in his opening monologue as the audience chanted his name. “You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job? We’ve all been there, right?” he joked.

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“As you know, they had to cancel the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington on Saturday night after a man with multiple guns and knives crashed the party and may have shot a Secret Service officer. Fortunately, the guy was wearing a bulletproof vest and is okay. They’re not sure exactly what happened, but they got the guy,” Kimmel explained. “No one was hurt, thank goodness. A lot of people were shaken up on a night that is supposed to be lighthearted.”

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Kimmel went on to clarify the context of the dinner, mentioning he hosted an alternative version because the official event had hired a mentalist instead of a traditional stand-up comic. “There was no big reaction to it until this morning, when I greeted the day facing yet another Twitter vomit storm and a call to fire me from our first lady, Melania Trump, saying I should be fired because of a joke I made—again, five nights ago. It was a pretend roast,” he noted.

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Defending the controversial “widow” line, he added, “Which obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination, and they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular.”

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“But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend—and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it,” Kimmel continued.

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“Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you, and as am I, as are all of us, because under the First Amendment, we have as Americans a right to free speech. But with that said, I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that,” he stated. He concluded by mentioning that Karoline Leavitt had predicted “some shots fired” just before the event. “If you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened, well then, maybe someone should look into this psychic lady, too.”

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You can watch the full monologue here.