“The Queen of Versailles,” a new musical from Tony Award honoree Stephen Schwartz, has announced its world premiere. The Broadway-aimed musical will play Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre from July 16 through Aug. 18. Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth will star in the musical directed by Tony winner Michael Arden.
Chenoweth will play real-life Jacqueline “Jackie” Siegel, socialite and former beauty queen. F. Murray Abraham will play her husband, David Siegel. Joining the duo are Melody Butiu and Nina White in the roles of Sofia Flores and Victoria Siegel, respectively.
A Tony winner for her featured role of Sally Brown in the 1999 revival of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” Chenoweth received additional nominations for creating the role of Glinda in 2003’s “Wicked” and for playing Lily Garland in the 2015 revival of “On the Twentieth Century.” Other Broadway appearances include 1997’s “Steel Pier,” 1999’s “Epic Proportions,” the 2006 revival of “The Apple Tree” and the 2010 revival of “Promises, Promises.” Chenoweth has played two concerts on Broadway, “My Love Letter to Broadway” in 2016 and “For the Girls” in 2019. For her turn as Olive Snook on the ABC series “Pushing Daisies,” she was honored with a 2009 Emmy Award.
In April, she will headline an benefit concert at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in honor of Roundabout Theatre Company’s late artistic director Todd Haimes.
Abraham has enjoyed a decades-long career on Broadway, having first appeared in 1968’s “The Man in the Glass Booth.” Additional credits include 1975’s “The Ritz,” the 1986 revival of “Macbeth,” the 1993 original Broadway production of “Angels in America,” the 1997 musical “Triumph of Love,” 2007’s “Mauritius” and 2015’s “It’s Only a Play.” Beyond the stage, he won an Academy Award in 1985 for “Amadeus;” for his work on the second season of the HBO series “The White Lotus” was nominated for his fourth Emmy Award.
Following her Broadway debut in 2015’s “Doctor Zhivago,” Butiu returned to the Main Stem in 2023’s “Here Lies Love,” in which she played Estrella Cumpas.
White is currently featured in the role of Theresa in “Kimberly Akimbo,” a role she played in the musical’s 2021 Off-Broadway run.
Featuring a book by Lindsey Ferrentino and a score by Schwartz, “The Queen of Versailles” is based on Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary of the same name. The musical chronicles Orlando billionaires Jackie and David Siegel as they set out to build the largest private home in America, a Palace of Versailles-inspired mansion with a $100 million price tag, with the threat of the 2008 recession looming.
“The Queen of Versailles” is being produced by Bill Damaschke, Seaview and Chenoweth via her production company Diva Worldwide Entertainment.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the role played by Nina White. This has been corrected.
Update (May 13, 2024): “The Queen of Versailles” will now play performances through Aug. 25, 2024.
