“The Queen of Versailles,” a Broadway musical starring Kristin Chenoweth, will close on Jan. 4, ending a disappointingly abbreviated run at a time when new musicals, long the industry’s creative and financial engine, are struggling.
The musical, based on a 2012 documentary about a Florida couple seeking to build a palatial home but stymied by an economic downturn, is yet another high-profile financial failure for Broadway: The show cost up to $22.5 million to capitalize, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that money will largely be lost. But the producers are obviously hoping that by giving potential ticket buyers six weeks’ notice of the closing, they can induce stronger sales over the holiday season, and the long window also gives Tony voters more time to catch the show for awards consideration.
The musical began previews Oct. 8 and opened Nov. 9 at the St. James Theater. The New York Times gave it a positive review, with the critic Laura Collins-Hughes deeming it “smart and sparkling,” but most reviews were mixed to negative. The show had a pre-Broadway run at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston in the summer of 2024; that run was promising enough to result in a Broadway transfer.
The show, produced by Bill Damaschke, Seaview, Sonia Friedman and Chenoweth, has an accomplished team behind it. Chenoweth, a Tony-winning musical theater star best known for playing Glinda in the original cast of “Wicked,” is the big draw for ticket buyers, and her performance has been widely praised. The “Versailles” score is by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the score for “Wicked”; the book is by the playwright Lindsey Ferrentino. The musical is directed by Michael Arden, a much-in-demand director who won Tonys for directing “Parade” and “Maybe Happy Ending.”
The show has been grossing $1 million per week since opening, which is not bad, but word-of-mouth has not been great, and advance sales have been soft, leading to the decision to close rather than risk exacerbating the financial losses.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
The post ‘Queen of Versailles’ to Close as New Broadway Musicals Struggle appeared first on New York Times.
