Lea Michele on How Idina Menzel Inspired Her Take on ‘Chess’ Role (Exclusive)

Lea Michele revealed how her former TV mom, Idina Menzel, inspired her to take on her latest creative challenge. 

Michele, 39, recently caught up with PEOPLE exclusively at the afterparty for the opening night of her new show, the Broadway revival of Chess, in New York City. During the conversation, the multi-hyphenate explained that she was first drawn to the project because of Menzel.

“I heard Idina Menzel sing [the Chess number] ‘Nobody’s Sides,’ and I said, ‘I have to sing that song every single night,’ ” Michele recalls.

Menzel, 54, played the Chess character Florence Vassy in a London concert version of the show in 2008. Michele has now taken on the role of Florence in the recent Broadway revival.

Menzel also played Michele’s biological mother in a number of episodes of the hit musical series Glee, which aired on Fox from 2009 to 2015. 

Michele went on to marvel at the fact that so many of her former Glee castmates are currently in Broadway productions. 

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“I mean, Jonathan [Groff]‘s here with me tonight, and I talked to Darren [Criss], and I’m so excited for Kevin [McHale],” she says, adding, “Glee has the most incredible cast with … talented people, so it makes sense that we would all be here.”

Groff, 40, is currently starring as Bobby Darin in the Broadway show Just in Time, while Criss, 38, is starring in Maybe Happy Ending. Meanwhile, McHale, 37, is headlining the off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

The Scream Queens actress went on to tell PEOPLE that she considers her latest role a “true gift,” despite the fact that it takes her away from her kids.

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“I’m a mom, I have two children. And it’s not easy leaving your kids every day, every night. But I get to do what I love and I get to sing these songs that I’m so inspired by working with a cast that I’m so inspired by. And it’s a true gift,” she says.

Chess, which also stars Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher, tells the story of two international chess champions and the woman caught between them in a high-stakes battle of desire and devotion,” per the show’s official website. It features music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA, with lyrics by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, and book by Rice.

Tickets for Chess are on sale now.