Aaron Tveit on Chess, Fatherhood and Why He Reads Backstage Instead of Scrolling

Chess star Aaron Tveit is a Tony winner, new husband and father, and if that weren’t enough, he spends his time between scenes reading backstage. Did we mention he’s also gone viral for how good his hair is? Six months into his run at the Imperial Theatre, “The American” and his gorgeous mane sat down with The Broadway Show host Tamsen Fadal at Open Jar Studios to discuss navigating eight-show weeks, fatherhood and the relevancy of Chess.

Don’t try to contact Tveit during a performance of Chess. The show is set in the ‘80s, a time when cell phones were a luxury, not a certainty. Tveit took a page out of the show’s book and picked up, well, a book. “I'm not really on my phone all the time, but because you have five minutes here and five minutes there backstage or in your dressing room, it's very easy to think, ‘Oh, let me open up this and scroll away for no reason,” says Tveit. “I try to make a real concentrated effort, so I read backstage.”

Alternating between reads he describes as “for me” and parenting books—Tveit has a 17-month-old at home—allows him to stay focused and avoid the stimulus of a smartphone. Luckily, his line of work still honors the tradition of silencing cell phones. “Theater is maybe the last place where people really put their phones away. It is one of the last sacred spaces where people turn that thing off,” Tveit points out. When people abide by the rules and turn off their devices, the impact can be immeasurable—especially in a show like Chess.

“I'm playing somebody that is dealing with mental health issues,” Tveit says. To be specific, the character of Freddie Trumper lives with bipolar disorder and paranoia. An original Broadway cast member of Next to Normal, Tveit got to see firsthand how someone portrays a person living with bipolar disorder in his co-star, Alice Ripley. With Chess, he notes similar experiences to Next to Normal. “There have been people that have seen the show that have said afterwards, ‘I have bipolar syndrome, your portrayal is so interesting and appreciated.’ Those things really mean a lot.”

While Tveit and the rest of the company have had a chance to settle in and cement their processes, self-care is still of the utmost importance performing eight shows a week. “I like doing long runs of shows because you really learn so much about the show,” Tveit says. “I feel like right now, my body and my voice feel really good doing the show every night.” Still, ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus wrote a score “so difficult that when I was in college, it was one of those things that nobody sang any of the songs from. It was like, ‘This is good to listen to, but you can't sing it because it's way too hard.'”

When things do get hard, Tveit has his co-stars Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher by his side. Beyond all being mega-talented, they’re also all parents, which creates a tight-knit support group of understanding that not every actor is afforded. “You never know how the night's going to go or if they're going to sleep or not,” he says of young children. “All of us knowing that we're all in the same situation takes so much pressure off."

After a difficult show or a tough day in general for any member of the trio, Tveit says the messaging is, "You know what? We got you today. We're going to lift you up." He adds, "It's been amazing for the three of us all to share that." Chess might be a one-on-one game, but there is nothing solitary about performing in a Broadway musical. Even a star like Tveit needs a boost sometimes.

Watch the full interview below.

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