Review: Kristin Chenoweth Glitters in World Premiere of THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES at Emerson Colonial Theatre

Jackie Siegel first came to the public’s attention as the subject of Lauren Greenfeld’s 2012 documentary, “The Queen of Versailles,” a real-life look at the former Mrs. Florida who married a billionaire and then, inspired by trips not only to France but to Las Vegas, set about building with him their own Palace of Versailles in Orlando.

After watching the documentary, playwright and Florida native Lindsey Ferrentino had the idea to turn the film into a musical, which she ultimately helped develop along with Tony Award-winning director Michael Arden (“Parade”). Also titled “The Queen of Versailles,” the richly entertaining new musical centered on Jackie and her still-unfinished dream house is now having its pre-Broadway world-premiere production at the Emerson Colonial Theatre through August 25 ­– with he sublime Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, to paraphrase Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” glittering and being Jackie.

Reunited with “Wicked” composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, Chenoweth dazzles, creating Jackie as an attention-seeking but warm-hearted character who pops like nobody’s business in every scene she’s in – and that’s a lot, as Chenoweth is seldom far from the spotlight. She is riveting, make her every moment on stage memorable. Indeed, Jackie just may be Chenoweth's Glinda of  today..

Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham (“Amadeus”) delivers a Tony-worthy performance as Jackie’s 30-years-older second husband, David Siegel, the “Timeshare King” who boasts that he singlehandedly got George W. Bush the White House, though he declines to share any details since, he says coyly, it may be that not everything he did was strictly legal. Abraham is perfect as the business tycoon, a barracuda who loves his family but gets his greatest pleasure from work.

Under Arden’s brisk and well-paced direction, the story of Jackie’s life is laid out, following her from a humble childhood in Endwell, New York – where Chenoweth’s divine soprano soars on the aspirational “Caviar Dreams” – to college and a position as a computer engineer with IBM, and then to a relocation, with her finance-guy first husband who will soon turn abusive, to Florida, a move that ultimately proves fortuitous when, after divorcing husband number one, she crosses paths with David. And before long, she marries the billionaire and begins amassing a vast trove of antques for her planned new home.

Other standouts in the cast include Nina White as Victoria, Jackie’s troubled daughter from her first marriage and her eldest child; Tatum Grace Hopkins as Jonquil, Jackie’s previously neglected niece whom she takes in; David Hildreth as Gary, David’s son from his first marriage whose relationship with his father is all business; Melody Butiu, a nanny from the Philippines who’s raising the Siegel children instead of her own; and Stephen DeRosa and Isabel Keating as John and Deborah Mallery, Jackie’s contentedly middle-class but always supportive parents.

Using the French Revolution as a framing device, Ferrentino’s book makes clear that, Jackie’s bodacious look aside, this is not a reality-TV story. In this telling, the two palaces of Versailles are linked not only by vast expanses of gilt but as metaphors for privilege and excess. Perhaps the most obvious question about them – why? – is answered winkingly by Louis XVI and Jackie in “Because We Can,” and the theme is further developed in “American Royalty,” first exuberantly and later – with the 1793 guillotining of Louis XVI and that earlier inveterate consumer Marie Antoinette foreshadowing the Great Recession of 2008 – more hauntingly in Chenoweth’s moving rendition.

In its earliest previews, the production was said to be running just under four hours. While it was under three hours by its August 1 opening night, additional trimming might be in order. That said, the music and lyrics are on par with some of three-time Academy winner Schwartz’s best, with affecting themes and plenty of his famed rhyming lyrics.

Dane Laffrey’s inspired scenic and video designs capture all facets of the Siegels’ world, integrating seamlessly with the action that finds Jackie and David moving around on everything from an industrial ladder and fiberglass horse to an authentic-looking golf cart. And there’s even a sweet nod to the beautifully gilded Emerson Colonial when Jackie leans on the iconic theater’s proscenium arch as if it were part of Versailles.

Christian Cowan’s costumes – from brocade finery for Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their courtiers to his everyday wear for Jackie’s parents, children, and domestics – help tell the story. But where Cowan’s work really excels is on the gorgeous gowns, cocktail dresses, and evening wear he has designed for Chenoweth. Whether in satin, sequins, or brilliantly colored marabou feathers, Chenoweth shows off each of them to stunning advantage.

Photo caption: Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham, seated, and the cast of “The Queen of Versailles." Photo by Matthew Murphy.

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