‘Queen Kristin’ reigns supreme in Broadway tryout

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – At the age of 56, Kristin Chenoweth remains a force of nature.

Over the nearly three hours of the world premiere of the Broadway-bound musical “The Queen of Versailles” at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, the Tony Award-winning icon is rarely offstage and exudes the same energy and star-power from the hilarious opening number, “Because We Can” to the bittersweet finale “This Time, Next Year.”

As Jackie Siegel, who shape-shifts from computer engineer to Mrs. Florida to the wife of “Time Share King” David Siegel, Chenoweth is a glamorous dynamo with one motto: More, more, more.

The show is based on the 2012 documentary film by Lauren Greenfield and the life stories of the Siegels, who set out to build the largest home in America – a reported $100 million — based on the Palace of Versailles.  

The book by Lindsey Ferrentino is chock a block with great good humor, starting with “Because We Can”, which unfolds over several scenes as Jackie and then the Sun King himself explain their motives for building their own versions of Versailles, and the beauty of excess.

Ferrentino conjures up the court of King Louis IX (Pablo David Laucerica) and Marie Antoinette (Cassandra James) om several occasions, not only to give context and commentary but also to make a social justice statement late in the piece on the tragic wages of  excess, and what happens when an obsession blots out everything else.

And while Chenowith is everything you expected and more, give credit to her co-star.  It’s getting fairly late in his career for film, TV and stage star F. Muray Abraham’s work to be a revelation, but here it is. The man can sing, and he has the comic chops to pull off a country-flavored musical number called “The Ballad of the Time Share King.” Or to be serious when as David he asks Jackie in song to “Trust Me.”

And, of course, Chenowith and iconic composer Stephen Schwartz reunite after their mega-successful partnership in “Wicked,” still going strong on Broadway since 2003.This score by Schwartz slides gracefully and effectively among several genres in telling the Siegels’s story and includes the signature tune, “Caviar Dreams,” which spawns several reprises and serves as an anthem when it comes to Jackie’s expensive tastes.

Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Mallery was born in 1966 in Binghamton, N.Y, .the daughter of John and Deborah Mallery, who were happy with their small one-bathroom home in Endwell, N.Y., near Binghamton But Jackie, born with both ambition and a strong work ethic, wants better.  

After college, she endures sexism as a computer engineer before a quickie marriage and a move to backwater Florida, where daughter Victoria was born. She becomes Mrs. Florida, partly perhaps due to some “body re-designing” and at a party after her divorce captures the attention of David Siegel, a veteran of several marriages at that point.  She and David — 30 years her senior —  wed on Jan. 2, 2000.

Early on, the Siegels’ planned palace spins out of control when David won’t give up the Benihana restaurant he is building in the house and Jackie insists on having her own Godiva chocolate store. And – the piece de resistance – is when workmen walk by touting a portrait of Marie Antoinette with Jackie’s face where Marie’s was.

The theme of “American Royalty” is recalled again and again in song and is an inescapable part of the story.

The staging of “Versailles” is as glamorous as its star. The ongoing documentary being filmed  is always front and center; the cameras are ubiquitous in the scenic design by Dane Laffey, which includes scaffolding and  video screens,  a busy construction site one second and then the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles the next.

Chenoweth sports a dizzying number number of costume designer Christian Cowan’s creations, including a parade of form-fitting minidresses; she also manages to stay afloat atop tall platform shoes,

Early on, the mood and lighter touch of the piece was the way to go, but when the time comes for darker themes – Jackie and David are both very flawed characters – both Ferrentino and Schwartz are up to the task.

The housing crisis of 2008 forces David to lay off 6,000 employees of the Westgate Resorts, stops the construction of Versailles in its tracks and threatens ownership of the property. In the end, though, it appears to be only a speed bump as David gets back on his financial feet and the spending continues.

Nanny Sophia (Melody Rutin), who oversees the Siegels’ brood of eight children – only two of whom are portrayed in the production – sings of having to give up her entire personal and family life to stay with the family. Her dream is to make enough money buy a home for her family back in the Philippines.

Nina White has a fine supporting turn as Victoria, Jackie’s daughter by her first husband, whose early problems are ignored. She is shuffled off to the side and descends, slowly but surely, into despair. Her descent is chronicled in two songs: “Pretty Always Wins” and “The Book of Random,”

Her adopted sister and former cousin, Jonquil (Tatum Grace Hopkins), whom the Siegels rescued from poverty, ultimately rejects her parents’ lifestyle and leaves the home.

David is a brilliant businessman but he treats his own son Gary (an excellent Greg Hildreth), who works for him, with disdain.   

Director Michael Arden knows this show’s road to success on Broadway runs through Chenoweth, who was given a raucous welcome by theater-goers for every scene she appeared in on the official opening night.

A note: As of July 2024, the Versailles house in Windermere, Fla., featured in the Discovery+ series “The Queen of Versailles Reigns Again” is still unfinished, but the real Jackie Siegel remains a model, TV personality and socialite.

Yes, “Versailles” is already a glorious theatrical spectacle, but it is almost three hours and a kidney-straining Act I at times does test your patience. The show is not scheduled to hit Broadway until the 2025-26 season, and only tweaks are in order to make sure that Chenoweth, Abraham, an excellent score and the sublime production values are all in sync.

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Lindsey Ferrentino, directed by Michael Arden. At the Emerson Colonial Theatre through Aug. 25. Tickets from $39. www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com

Kristin Chenoweth as Jackie Siegel in “The Queen of Versailles.” Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy