THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES Original Broadway Cast Recording Thread- Page 3

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 9:17am

I agree, plenty of the lyrics are just bad. But that tracks for Schwartz.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 9:20am

This might have one of the worst opening numbers I've ever heard. The guy who wrote Magic To Do, No One Mourns The Wicked, and Deliver Us should not be physically capable of writing a number this bad.

[east side story]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 10:24am

No One Mourns the Wicked? Now that is funny.

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 10:57am

I will continue to believe that there are many wispy threads in this musical that could have been followed for a much more interesting and engaging show. “Dead Lizard” and “Book Of Random” and even “This Time Next Year” all feel like completely different paths this story could have taken in style and tone. I wish they had stuck with one of them.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 11:05am

Highlights are few and far between here. 100% agree about the lyrics.

It's fun to hear Stephen getting his Bach on during the French Court portions, a good counterpoint to the pop-country stuff elsewhere.

"Each and Every Day" is absolutely gorgeous, one of his better ballads.

I'm getting "Legally Blonde Remix" vibes from the overall feel and the fast, energetic strings of "This Is Not the Way."

"The Ballad of the Timeshare King" and "Pavane for a Dead Lizard" are just bizarre. (But so is a lot of this score.)

I wish we had gotten a Sherie bonus track. A duet version of "Each and Every Day" would have been wonderful. 

 

 

Updated On: 4/3/26 at 11:05 AM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 11:08am

Falsettolands said: “Dead Lizard” 

It's funny you mention this song, because it's perhaps the worst song I've ever heard in any musical, at least in terms of its entirely maladaptive function to the story. It takes two of the (previously) most sympathetic characters and has them sing a comical song about starving their pet to death, making me hate them, too. I cannot imagine how such an idea survived even a cursory discussion among the creative team.

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 11:24am

kdogg36 said: "Falsettolands said: “Dead Lizard”

It's funny you mention this song, because it's perhaps the worst song I've ever heard in any musical, at leastin terms of its entirely maladaptive function to the story. It takes two of the (previously) most sympathetic characters and has them sing a comical song about starving their pet to death, making me hate them, too. I cannot imagine how such an idea survived even a cursory discussion among the creative team."

And I think I’m just suggesting there’s a completely different musical where Dead Lizard doesn’t feel out of place. One that actually criticizes and destroys these people. That skewers a system that could give them this much excess. It’s a different QOV musical about this subject entirely. But it would maybe be more compelling than this current Versailles’ messy hodgepodge of half-baked sympathy with the faintest stench of satire.

Updated On: 4/3/26 at 11:24 AM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 11:31am

Falsettolands said: "And I think I’m just suggesting there’s a completely different musical where Dead Lizard doesn’t feel out of place. One that actually criticizes and destroys these people. That skewers a system that could give them this much excess. It’s a different QOVmusical about this subject entirely. But it would maybe be more compelling than this current Versailles’messy hodgepodge of half-baked sympathy with the faintest stench of satire."

Of course! I didn't mean to criticize your post, and that does sound like a better musical. David Yazbek would have been a good choice to write that score, I think.

 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 11:37am

kdogg36 said: "Falsettolands said: "And I think I’m just suggesting there’s a completely different musical where Dead Lizard doesn’t feel out of place. One that actually criticizes and destroys these people. That skewers a system that could give them this much excess. It’s a different QOVmusical about this subject entirely. But it would maybe be more compelling than this current Versailles’messy hodgepodge of half-baked sympathy with the faintest stench of satire."

Of course! I didn't mean to criticize your post, and that does sound like a better musical. David Yazbek would have been a good choice to writethatscore, I think.

"

I didn’t think you were! I agree with you- as it currently stands, what purpose does Dead Lizard serve? To show that these two are now friends ? I don’t know how you can have this much expertise and that song manages to make it all the way to your final product.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 2:17pm

God I love Nina White here, I hope she gets a star turning role soon. If all were right in this world she would be a lock for best supporting actress.

[2]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 2:42pm

Call_me_jorge said: "God I love Nina White here, I hope she gets a star turning role soon. If all were right in this world she would be a lock for best supporting actress."

It will be a crime if she doesn't receive a nomination for her perfectly heart-filled performance. She would be an unquestioned frontrunner if the creative team had not made such a turgid show.

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 10:35pm

I have to agree about Nina White. She’s working her butt off in this. Sounds incredible.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/3/26 at 10:57pm

Let's also get Cassondra James back on the Broadway stage, please. 

[binau]

Posted: 4/4/26 at 3:13am

All the hatred and idea that this is tone deaf and distasteful got me all excited but I just find it all so boring, including ‘pretty wins’, sorry. The score is a chore to listen to and I don’t see much salvageable unlike say Lempicka, Boop and even Redwood. 

Updated On: 4/4/26 at 03:13 AM

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 4/4/26 at 6:16am

It's nice to hear Kristen's voice again. I still enjoy the act one and act two finales. But the album reminds me how little agency Jackie has. Her husband gains, loses and regains a fortune. She squanders it. That's the plot. 

In the act one finale she insists she'll take control and save Versailles. In act two she makes some half-baked fundraising attempts. But her husband ultimately saves things with his crooked off-stage dealings. I prefer an active protagonist. Jackie, for all her spark, is a passive heroine. 

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 4/6/26 at 11:55am

I'm sure a lot of the criticism of this show is warranted, but I'm not going to lie, I'm enjoying the score a lot more than Two Strangers.  

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 4/6/26 at 3:45pm

Why have they removed Kristin's photo from the streaming images?   I've never seen what they're using before.  Is it from Boston? 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/7/26 at 10:41pm

BroadwayBen said: "Why have they removed Kristin's photo from the streaming images? I've never seen what they're using before. Is it from Boston?"

Nope--Boston had the same image as Broadway and the pre-release for this album...