During the 2025-Broadway season, theater-goers have had the chance to see The Queen of Versailles, a new musical starring Kristin Chenoweth, best known for her performance in Wicked, and F. Murray Abraham, an Academy Award winner for his performance in Amadeus. This musical adaptation of Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary details the lives of Jackie Siegel, a former Miss Florida, and her husband, David Seigel, a timeshare company owner, as they struggle to build America’s largest private residence in Orlando, Florida. With a talented cast, and music and lyrics by the renowned Steven Schwartz, the show was expected to be a tremendous success.
The musical began previews on Oct. 8, 2025, and it opened on Nov. 9, 2025, at the St. James Theatre. Despite earning revenue of $1 million per week, only two weeks after opening, the show unexpectedly announced it would be closing on Jan. 4, 2026. After surprising audiences with this news, the end date of the production shockingly changed to Dec. 21, 2025. Weak advanced ticket sales and the inability to match the high costs of running the show have been cited as the reasons for the production’s shortened run.
“This was supposed to be a full season, and it is sad to see it end so quickly. When a show looks successful from the outside, with big stars and an amazing production team, you assume it is going to go far. This really shows how unpredictable Broadway has become,” said senior Aurora Mata.
The news signals the growing and consistent post-pandemic trend of uncertainty for Broadway musicals. High production costs and low-ticket sales are a large part of why shows cannot make it. Reviews and word of mouth can also make or break a show.
“This story shows the highs and lows of chasing the American Dream. It is glamorous and dazzling, but it also forces you to think about the cost of ambition. The musical does not shy away from showing both sides, which makes it emotionally powerful,” said senior Ethan Borda.
The reviews of The Queen of Versailles have been mixed. Although critics highly praise Chenoweth’s spectacular performance and Schwartz’s fantastic score, they point out areas of weakness such as inconsistencies in pacing and tone throughout the show. Furthermore, some say the show is tone deaf. The financial collapse of 2008, highlighted in the show, may be too close to home for many in today’s economic and political climate and it may be especially difficult to promote audiences during the holiday season.
Prior to its Broadway debut, the musical premiered at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre in July of 2024, where it set record-breaking box office numbers and built significant buzz. Chenoweth and Abraham reprised their roles for Broadway and, joined by the full ensemble and original creative team, they fueled expectations that the production would run well into 2026.
The sudden early closing has been a disappointment for cast, crew, and fans alike. It is a let-down that a show with so much talent behind it is closing less than two months after its official opening. Everyone involved poured so much into creating something bold and new. For many theater lovers, The Queen of Versailles offered a rare blend of real-life drama and theatrical spectacle, an exploration of wealth, loss, and the pursuit of something bigger than oneself.
The decision to close the show underscores the challenges of maintaining a large-scale musical on Broadway, especially when ticket sales waver, even when weekly revenue appears strong.
Tickets for the remaining performances at the St. James Theatre are available through Dec. 21, 2025, giving audiences a shortened window to see the show before it takes its final bow. Despite its unexpectedly brief Broadway life, The Queen of Versailles has left a notable imprint, proving once again how quickly fortunes can rise and fall, both onstage and off.