Like the film, the show charts the domino effects of the 2008 financial crisis, which stalled construction on the outrageous Florida mega-mansion as the Siegels faced foreclosure. But the musical also goes beyond the events of the documentary, showing how the Siegels bounced back financially even as they endured tremendous personal tragedy, including the death of Jackie\u2019s 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, of a drug overdose in 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kristin Chenoweth, left, plays the real-life Jackie Siegel in “The Queen of Versailles” on Broadway.<\/p>\n It’s unusual fodder for a Broadway show, but one that book writer Lindsey Ferrentino (\u201cAmy and the Orphans\u201d) hopes will challenge audiences with its cynical exploration of the American dream.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not an aspirational story,\u201d Ferrentino said in an interview late last month. \u201cTo me, it felt like this great American cautionary tale, and this saga of rise and fall and rise again.\u201d <\/p>\n ‘The Queen of Versailles’ musical aims to explore the ‘contradictions’ of Jackie Siegel Jackie Siegel walks outside her unfinished dream mansion in 2012.<\/p>\n Like all great characters, Ferrentino says Jackie \u201ccontains multitudes of contradictions.\u201d She is at times immensely selfish and delusional, but can also be \u201cvery generous and vulnerable. It\u2019s very easy to judge her and write her off, but it\u2019s also very easy to empathize with her.\u201d<\/p>\n The musical traces Jackie\u2019s humble roots in Endwell, New York, earning a computer engineering degree and working at IBM, before pivoting to a career in modeling and beauty pageants. As depicted in the show, she really did stay awake for her entire boob job, after negotiating a cheaper rate by skipping anesthesia.<\/p>\n Lindsey Ferrentino on opening night of “The Queen of Versailles” on Broadway.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, that\u2019s a great representation of her,\u201d says Ferrentino, a Florida native who long-followed the Siegel family drama from afar. \u201cShe knew what she wanted and she was going to figure out a way to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackie was a single mom just out of an abusive relationship when she first met David at a party in Orlando in 1998. They married two years later, despite him being 30 years her senior.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard the phrase \u2018gold-digger\u2019 used for Jackie, but she was very aware that men own the world’s gold, and if you want to get to the top, you’ve got to get a shovel,\u201d Ferrentino says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of calculated intelligence in her climb. I talked to childhood friends of hers that said even as a kid, she was doing carnivals on her block and charging entrance fees. She always had this thing where money and success were a driving factor for her.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackie Siegel poses for a portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.<\/p>\n Lest you worry that Jackie has been given the \u201cgirl boss\u201d treatment, the musical doesn\u2019t shy away from the thornier aspects of her personality. The show suggests that in Jackie\u2019s one-track pursuit of Versailles, she may have missed her daughter\u2019s cries for help. And the musical ends with Jackie very much alone, insatiable and grasping as she wanders her mansion that is still unfinished to this day.<\/p>\n In addition to the Siegels, Ferrentino interviewed documentarian Lauren Greenfield and members of the family\u2019s staff, many of whom still work for them. She also visited Versailles in both Florida and France, and sat in on Westgate timeshare presentations.<\/p>\n \u201cI approached it like a journalist would in trying to get a 360 view,\u201d Ferrentino says. \u201cThe only way that I, or any of our collaborators, agreed to do the musical is that we had full creative autonomy. They had to sign that over before we’d written a word. That\u2019s a scary place to be as a subject, but they have been amazingly hands-off.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Queen of Versailles’ is about the Siegels but it’s not an endorsement Jackie Siegel (Kristin Chenoweth) looks to Versailles as the namesake and inspiration for her own Florida home.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Queen of Versailles\u201d officially opened at the St. James Theatre Nov. 9, and has proven sharply divisive among critics and theater fans<\/a>. Many of them question whether it\u2019s wise to give a platform to a figure like Jackie, who along with her now-late husband David, has been a longtime friend<\/a> and supporter<\/a> of President Donald Trump. Chenoweth also came under fire in September<\/a>, after an Instagram comment expressing her \u201cheartbreak\u201d over the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a difference between putting a character on stage and glorifying them, and we have a great history in theater of antiheroes,\u201d Ferrentino says. \u201cIt’s a very dangerous place as a culture for us to only be putting characters on stage that we agree with, because that’s not why you go to the theater. We should not only be going to see morality plays.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather, she aims to look at our society at large through \u201ca critical lens,\u201d showing how the Siegel family is emblematic of broader, systemic issues.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are Republican billionaires,\u201d Ferrentino says. \u201cWe have a Republican billionaire as the president who is doing an insane construction project on the White House<\/a>, that very much mirrors what the Siegels are doing with Versailles. It\u2019s the most pressing thing to be looking at, frankly, when what’s happening as a microcosm in Orlando is being mirrored in Washington, D.C. Everyone in America \u2013 even liberal people who may not want to see billionaires on stage \u2013 is complicit in creating a culture where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and the wealth disparity is growing.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackie Siegel, right, and President Donald Trump look on on the day he signs the HALT Fentanyl Act in Washington, D.C. on July 16.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Ferrentino adds, \u201cyou can make art about the people that you vehemently disagree with, and you can find their humanity even in the disagreements. I feel lucky that we’re getting to do this weird, political musical on Broadway. Everyone can come and make up their own mind.\u201d<\/p>\n “The Queen of Versailles<\/a>” is now playing at the St. James Theatre (246 W. 44th Street). <\/p>\n![\"Kristin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/af1f7c76f617342ea048d9e503522700.jpeg\"\/)
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<\/p>\n![\"Jackie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/aab59eb6e0603266a5edead7f5a314dd.jpeg\"\/)
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