The Broadway star thanked the closing night’s audience on Sunday “for choosing to come to something that’s new.”

Kristin Chenoweth admits ‘we took a big swing’ as Broadway flop Queen of Versailles closes early

The Broadway star thanked the closing night's audience on Sunday "for choosing to come to something that's new."

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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December 22, 2025 4:01 p.m. ET

Kristin Chenoweth in 'The Queen of Versailles'. Credit:

Julieta Cervantes

Kristin Chenoweth was holding back tears as she thanked the audience on the closing night of her Broadway musical *The* *Queen of Versailles*, which ended two weeks earlier than originally scheduled.

"You are such a special audience because you were here on the final performance of *The Queen of Versailles*," Chenoweth said in a video of the curtain call bows on Sunday posted on Instagram. "I just want to thank you for choosing to come to something that’s new. We took a big swing and we are so proud of where we landed — *so* proud."

The Tony winner, 57, starred in the musical on Broadway at the St. James Theatre beginning Nov. 9 (with previews beginning Oct. 8), but the show was abruptly canceled only three weeks after opening. Then, in another devastating blow, the final show was moved up even earlier from Jan. 4, 2026 to Dec. 21.

Kristin Chenoweth in 'The Queen of Versailles'.

Julieta Cervantes

After taking her bow, Chenoweth was given a large bouquet of flowers by Sherie Rene Scott, who shared the lead role with her for select performances. After Chenoweth thanked composer Stephen Schwartz and director Michael Arden, she went on to shout out the crew at the theater for "keeping us safe" throughout the show's limited run. She then ended her emotional speech by giving her thanks to her fellow cast members.

"The cast is always saying to me, 'Oh, Kristin, you lift us up,'" she said. "I say, 'No, you lift me up.' It's a beautiful circle. And we love, love each other like family. This will be a very hard one to say goodbye to. But never goodbye. I always say, 'To be continued.' God bless you."

Watch Chenoweth's speech in the video below:

*The Queen of Versailles* is based on Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary of the same name about billionaires Jackie and David Siegel trying to build a mansion in Florida inspired by the Palace of Versailles amid the 2008 financial crisis, which negatively impacted their assets and lifestyle.

Chenoweth stars in the musical with F. Murray Abraham, with music and lyrics by Oscar-winner Schwartz (featuring the first time Chenoweth and Schwartz worked together on Broadway since the original run of *Wicked*). The book comes from Lindsey Ferrentino, and it is directed by Tony-winner Arden.

Kristin Chenoweth reacts to her Broadway show 'Queen of Versailles' ending early

'The Queen of Versailles' review: A Broadway musical as empty as the mansion it portrays

The musical opened Nov. 9 to negative reviews, with **'s Dalton Ross writing that "the songs are just one of many problems plaguing an identity crisis of a show that doesn't quite seem to know what it wants to be."

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Despite the negative reviews and early closing, the show had been performing well at the office. According to *Playbill*, the musical made over $1 million a week after officially opening. However, it cost an estimated $22.5 million to launch, and was expected to run for much longer since ticketing websites had performances listed through March 29.**

*The Queen of Versailles* performed 32 previews and 41 regular shows during its Broadway run.

- Theater & The Arts

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Source: “EW Theater”