TV: Checkmate! Watch Raul Esparza, Karen Olivo, Ramin Karimloo & More Sing from Kennedy Center's CHESS

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will soon present the Broadway Center Stage production of CHESS, the epic rock opera about love and political intrigue set against the backdrop of the Cold War as two superpowers attempt to manipulate an international chess championship for political ends.

As previously announced, CHESS stars Raúl Esparza (Company, the Kennedy Center's Sunday in the Park with George and Merrily We Roll Along) as American chess champion Freddie Trumper; Ramin Karimloo (Anastasia) as rival Russian chess star Anatoly Sergievsky; Tony Award® winner Ruthie Ann Miles (The King and I, Here Lies Love) as Anatoly's wife, Svetlana Sergievsky; and Tony Award®winner Karen Olivo (West Side Story, In the Heights) as Florence Vassy, a remarkable Hungarian refugee who becomes the center of the emotional triangle. The production also features Bradley Dean (Dear Evan Hansen) as Ivan Molokov, Sean Allan Krill (Honeymoon in Vegas) as Walter de Courcey, and Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder) as the Arbiter.

Written in 1984 by songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (Mamma Mia!) and lyricist Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King, Evita), CHESS has been seen in numerous productions around the world. The original concept album spawned two international hit singles, "I Know Him So Well" and "One Night in Bangkok." Presented as a part of Broadway Center Stage, a Kennedy Center-produced series of musicals in semi-staged concerts, CHESS will run February 14-18, 2018 in the Eisenhower Theater.

Below, watch as the company performs "Commie Newspapers," "The Deal," and "Endgame."