THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES To Close December 21, 2025 — Page 8

joevitus said: "Anyone know why Chenoweth has been out repeatedly? It couldn't have been scheduled this early on. Is she ill? Or ducking out because of bad reviews?

I'm glad Sherie's getting praise and getting a moment, but it feels a bit uncofortably like she's getting some of thisas a rebuke to Chenoweth (for we all know what). I think itsucks if that is the case."

…Girl what? This is actually the first time Chenoweth has been out unscheduled during the entire run. She also did Colbert on Monday and the Rockefeller Tree Lighting on Wednesday. This week has probably kicked her butt and her body just said NOPE! Whatever you said doesn’t even remotely make sense.

Sherie is a beloved and uncomplicated figure in musical theatre and a lot of the chatter surrounding her is the result of her turning in a performance that is, by all accounts, better than the headlining leading lady. Press has cooled on the show and Chenoweth since the closing announcement, so all the chatter about Sherie has basically invigorated some excitement into this otherwise tragically gauche show

Sherie’s take on Jackie is wildly different from Kristin's. While Kristin brings her cloying “aw shucks, y’all” ditzy charm to the role, Sherie leans into something colder, sharper, and almost dead-behind-the-eyes. Never once does Sherie's Jackie try to win the audience over or be likable - something I thought Kristin tried a little too hard for."



Now this sounds more compelling. Which brings up a bigger issue: was the piece too tailored for the star, since she was attached via Schwartz's commitment quite early? I have no faith that the show as conceived would've necessarily been a clearer piece of storytelling. But Scott seems to understand that the only hope to make this theatrically sharp is to strip the character of any traditional musical comedy trope characteristics: to de-sentimentalize a Cinderella story wherein Cinderella tricks mice and birds to get her to the ball, sans godmother. The show's biggest flaw has always been its bifurcated POV: enjoy this woman, and don't judge her -- but judge her just a little. It's kept the damned thing from building cohesively to her eventual entrapment in an windy, empty house - though as I pointed out on the other board, the finale ain't close to "Another Winter in a Summer Town." The show was designed to allow Chenoweth to stretch beyond her sunny optimistic demeanor; and yet in pushing her to find ruthlessness - and then finding the results too chilly for audience expectation - the creatives undercut her characterization by allowing too much Chenoweth sunniness to take over. Did they end up with a performance too often working against the material?

Updated On: 12/6/25 at 11:59 AM

Hearing kc fell back stage and is out
Falsettolands said: "Sherie is on again for the matinee. No word on whether Kristen will be back for the eve.

It’s just so so so so so unlikely, but I wonder if there’s a world where this may have some more oxygen in the tank for anadded fewweeks with Sherie at the helm."

Updated On: 12/7/25 at 01:07 PM

It’s just so so so so so unlikely, but I wonder if there’s a world where this may have some more oxygen in the tank for an added few weeks with Sherie at the helm.

That would be so incredible but sadly, so unlikely at this point. I had a feeling people would love Sherie in this role, and I love that she gets to go on more than she was scheduled. Would also love to see Ryah's take as well.

This news of a Chenoweth injury is horrifying. She has already endure two terrible unrelated head/neck injuries, and her problems date to Wicked in SF (at one Wicked preview I saw, she wore a bedazzled neck brace). If she's physically harmed again via a backstage accident, it's a dreadful turn at any point in a career; to occur with this show in its final struggling hour just heartbreaking. We can parse the flaws but this was a major marker for this actor. She believed in this piece. I hope she heals and can close the show.

*in 2012, she was injured on the set of The Good Wife: a 7-inch skull fracture, hairline fracture, broken teeth, cracked ribs, and nerve, muscle, and tissue damage.

Updated On: 12/6/25 at 09:00 PM

quizking101 said: "From what I heard from someone at the theatre, Kristin was injured severely (details nonspecific) and so it’s looking like Sherie may be on the rest of the weekend at least - possibly may get a Ryah show, but Kristin is down for now"

Ouch. Sounds a lot worse than simply a bruised ego.

Prayers up.

Robbie2 said: "Sutton Ross said: "It’s just so so so so so unlikely, but I wonder if there’s a world where this may have some more oxygen in the tank for anadded fewweeks with Sherie at the helm.

That would be so incredible but sadly, so unlikely at this point. I had a feeling people would love Sherie in this role, and I love that she gets to go on more than she was scheduled. Would also love to see Ryah's take as well."

huh,Ryah?"

Ryah Nixon is the Jackie Siegel understudy.

Only?

Holy cats! $1,300 sounded like a lot to me 😂

Any intel on who might be playing Jackie in today's matinee (Sun, Dec 7)? I saw KC play the role in previews and didn't care for her performance. I've been curious to see Sherie Rene Scott's performance, after seeing what people on this board thought of her. I booked a ticket to today's matinee on the chance, since Sherie played the last three shows (ghoulish bet on KC's slow recovery). I don't see anything on understudies.org yet for today.

Kristin posted that she suffered a backstage fall after the show on Thursday that injured her knees and neck. She says that she plans to go back in today after working with a PT but that things may look a bit different.