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

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

No One Mourns the Wicked? Now that is funny.

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 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 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 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.

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

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.

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

Rentaholic2 said: "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."

This show deserved at the very least, a Best Original Score nomination… and I will die on that hill.

Had it opened in the spring (and possibly with Sherie Rene Scott instead), I think it could have picked up a few nominations despite its flaws. I keep seeing new clips with Sherie, and it just works. The show’s flaws are still there, but her performance seems to bring out the charm and humor that as others have pointed out, makes me wonder whether different casting (and perhaps a different opening window) could have changed the conversation around the show.

It’s such a shame, because with more refined direction and a stronger creative vision, it could have fared much better. Even with its imperfections, there was a lot of potential here and seeing these clips reminds me of some great moments the show had.