THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES To Close December 21, 2025 — Page 15

Thanks to both Auggie and Quiz 😚

saw this tonight. in many ways its every bit the abomination you all said it would be in terms of content/book/message, but i thought the first act was watchable.

i cant remember any comparable instance where a performer's charms so wholly undercut the overall piece like chenoweth's do here. she sounds FANTASTIC, and her cutie-pie charm saves many of the more leaden scenes. shes doing a really great job but shes playing a vapid monster, and so the performance makes no sense. i very much understand how sherie rene scott would do a better job playing this obscenity of a person, but i imagine the show suffers without all that chenoweth timing and charm.

the book is dreadful, and the Message appears way too late and way too briefly. Its wild how Jackie Siegel herself is listed in the playbill and part of the team here since the show ultimately depicts her to be the vile headcase she obviously is. Peak delusion that she put her own stamp of approval on this characterization, but the very fact of her involvement dooms the show.

F Murray Abraham is doing the work of a 66 year old, which is impressive since hes twenty years older, but its a throwaway role that has no coherence to it-- he seems like a decent guy until suddenly hes horrible to his wife, who doesnt react or seem to care. Seems like a mistake to have "star cast" this role at all. Nina White does nice work with unmemorable songs. Its a total crime that the housekeeper is given nothing to do--the perfect vehicle for commentary this show cant bother to make.

a very tepid response from a mostly full audience. TDF put us in front left orchestra (premium seats) and there were plenty of empty ones around us, so i understand the early close date.

kdogg36 said: "Dolly80 said: "I imagine this would be a security nightmare having Zegler on a balcony - open to all the crazies with guns in the states. Cannot see this happening."

I don't know if this discussion is on-topic on this thread, but I've never quite understood this line of thought. New York City is not really a dangerous place in general. Famous people are out in public all the time, in places that stalkers could figure out ahead of time if they wanted. Though I know Zegler is notpopular with the scumbag Right, I don't think she's famous enough to be a particular target. At some point, unless there's an immediate threat, I don't think we should let the crazies determine what can and can't be done."

I’ve never felt unsafe in New York… which I love by the way.. but she is (for some bizarre reason) a controversial figure to many. It takes one crazy person to create a real security danger.

Anyway, the show is slated to close in a week (Sunday December 21, 2025) and zero mention of it is on their social media. New posts and reels are being posted on their Instagram but nothing like “last chance to catch” or “final week(s)” just to give people a heads up. I’m sure people who had tickets past December 21 have since been notified and refunded so they find no need to mention anything publicly.

Here we go…

SteveSanders said: "quizking101 said: "I’ve also never felt unsafe in NYC. And yes, famous people are out in public all the time, but it’s also fundamentally different when a target is moving as opposed to stationary which, in this case, you are putting Zegler, stationary, front and center in a high traffic area for 5 minutes ."

It would be negligent for producers to not anticipate potential security issues of all sorts and determine how to mitigate them. Even in London, two bodyguards were stationed within feet of Zegler."

Could they put her behind some bullet proof glass? I know that would spoil the fun a little but I would have some small concerns. It’s not that I think NYC is inherently dangerous but Rachel Z is a poster child for right wing hate and I have an uneasy feeling that the risk while almost zero isn’t literally zero. So much crazy unchecked extremism happening these days.

We gave into our morbid curiosity and saw it. (Our plan landed early, we had time to kill before check in, and the line at TKTS was short.)

I definitely liked parts of it and will probably spend a lot of mental energy trying to figure out how/if it could be salvaged.

This reminded me of Cruise Ship Kander and Ebb.

The show just kept moving from bit to bit to keep the tone from getting too dark or the irony from getting too thick. There were several throwaway moments that could have hit hard, but the show seemed too scared or uncertain to mine the drama or satire. This is definitely in keeping with Jackie’s “can do” delusional and negligent character. Unfortunately for the show, Jackie is a shallow and unlikable person. Following her lead is a fatal flaw.

The second act works much better, mostly because it sticks to a central story. Unfortunately, the heavy family moments and in-your-face political commentary don’t feel earned.

Not sure if the creators were too kind to Jackie or if Cheno doesn’t have the depth to pull it off. I’ll be curious to see this at Encores in 25 years, if only for the opportunity to reflect back on our current muddled and maximalist cultural moment. Brain rot indeed.

The score is fine. Schwartz can write musical theater in a way that escapes most current composers. The series of adult contemporary power ballads don’t do much to provide insight into the characters or themes. If the point of the show is that Jackie lacks an interior life and has cliched ambitions, the surface level melodies and bland orchestrations establish the character well. I’ll have the “American Royalty” motif stuck in my head for more than I’m comfortable with.

EDSOSLO858 said: "Anyone at today’s closing?"

Updated On: 12/21/25 at 04:35 PM

Just Lupone.

EDSOSLO858 said: "Anyone at today’s closing?"

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