Author: Robyn Roberts

The Broadway production of Queen of Versailles, recently starring Sherie Rene Scott in the lead role, offers a captivating theatrical adaptation drawn from the buzz-worthy documentary directed by Lauren Greenfield. The transition from film to stage unveils the legendary story of American wealth and aspiration through a fresh and vibrant lens. You can expect to experience both glamour and vulnerability on New York’s premiere Broadway platform at the gorgeous St. James Theatre.

Inspired by Greenfield’s 2012 documentary that chronicles the lives of Jackie and David Siegel, a billionaire couple building the largest house in America. The Broadway show reimagines their story with sharp wit and poignant drama fit for a stage, easily marrying 18th Century French royalty with modern day glitz. Originating from the book by Lindsey Ferrentino, Stephen Schwartz of Wicked fame is behind the music and lyrics. Queen of Versailles captures the delicate balance between excessive opulence and the human cost that lies beneath. Led by director Michael Arden, the production seamlessly combines humor, tension, and insight, offering a rich portrayal of the family’s ambition and challenges during the 2008 economic downturn.

The cast dazzles in bringing this story to life, with Sherie Rene Scott stepping gracefully into the leading role of Jackie Siegel, made famous by Broadway darling, Kristin Chenoweth. Scott’s standby performance is both nuanced and engaging, emphasizing the emotional depth and resilience of her character amidst the chaotic circumstances of over-indulging. The recognizable and esteemed actor F. Murray Abraham plays her billionaire husband, David Siegel with passion and conviction. Abraham lends a wealth (pun intended) of convincing love and affection for his wife, as he also grapples with family and fortune and the addiction to having “more.”

Supporting roles feature a talented ensemble whose chemistry and energy only enrich the show’s narrative, creating a dynamic atmosphere that easily keeps you thoroughly engaged. Time moves fast here because you are indeed having fun.

For theatergoers keen on shows that blend social insight with entertainment, Queen of Versailles offers a unique experience. It prompts reflection on themes like consumerism, resilience, and the elasticity of the American Dream, all within the dazzling world of a Broadway musical.

Moreover, the show incorporates moments of humor and irony, gently poking fun at the idea that more money can solve everything. The production balances spectacle with intimate character moments, ensuring the story remains thought-provoking, rather than simply lavish and superficial.

Queen of Versailles on Broadway is more than just a story about wealth. It’s is an exploration of dreams, setbacks, and the human condition beneath the glittering surface. The show begs the question of every audience member, what truly matters when the palace walls come crashing down? And that alone, is a beautiful takeaway.

Don’t miss your chance to witness this fun musical feat before it closes on January 4th, 2026. Tickets at queenofversaillesmusical.com

By Robyn Roberts

The cast of Chess on Broadway delivers an electrifying and emotionally resonant performance, guided by director Michael Mayer, and ignited by legendary score of writers, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice.

Chess arrives on Broadway with the confidence of a grandmaster and the vibe of a genuine crowd-pleaser. From the first flicker of the chessboard motif to the last sustained note, Chess makes a compelling case for the show’s return to the spotlight, embracing its Cold War intrigue and pop-opera sweep with clarity, style, and heart.

Aaron Tveit commands the stage as Freddie Trumper, infusing the role with magnetic energy and a rock-inflected vocal brilliance that captures both the character’s bravado and vulnerability. Lea Michele’s Florence Vassy lends vocal clarity with dramatic depth, anchoring the show’s complex love triangle with a performance that balances strength with sensitivity. Nicholas Christopher, playing Anatoly Sergievsky, offers a nuanced approach, his rich baritone and understated intensity gives gravitas to the Russian chess champion’s moral and personal struggles within.

The performances match the production’s ambition. The central trio generates genuine heat and nuance, suggesting the triangle not as a plot convenience but a collision of bruised egos, genuine affection, and clashing personal identities. Vocally, the cast delivers the goods. Rangy, expressive, and attentive, yet what lingers is the specificity in their actions. A glance that lands like a dagger, a breath held one beat too long, a gesture that reveals more than a lyric could alone. The Chess ensemble is a live wire, snapping into crisp formations and lending high-stakes urgency to press conferences, game matches, and media frenzies.

Musically, it’s a feast. Chess marries ABBA’s pop sophistication with theatrical sweep. The band gives the score real weight, as 1980’s synth-pop shimmers without feeling dated, guitars snarl where they should, and the strings add depth and ache. “One Night in Bangkok” crackles with satirical bite and percussive snap.

Great music and choreography aside, perhaps most impressively, the evening never loses sight of the human story. For all the spectacle, the production keeps returning to the people at the center of the story. What it costs to win, what it costs to walk away, what it means to be seen only as a symbol. By the curtain, the applause feels as much for the clarity as for the craft. Chess plays like the great musical it’s always threatened to be. Big, bold, and fiercely alive. See it at New York’s Imperial Theatre before it ends in early May, 2026. Tickets at https://chessbroadway.com/

By Robyn Roberts

A hilarious, side-splitting lesson on the power of subjectivity and personal conviction between friends.

Performing for only 17 weeks at The Music Box Theatre, ART on Broadway delivers laughs as big as the A-list cast. Set in Paris, present day, you can easily expect to be tickled by the dry quips shared between three best friends, as early as the opening act.

Bobby Cannavale’s character, Marc, finds himself utterly confused by the six-figure purchase of a painting acquired by his friend, Serge, played by Neil Patrick Harris. The tug of war between two strong opinions, where Marc sees a silly, expensive mistake while Serge sees a modern masterpiece, can only be won with a third player playing both sides. Enter their friend, Yvan, played by the delightfully dizzying James Corden, who’s too consumed with his own potentially expensive predicament to care about another’s art choice.

Corden is the angsty, high strung, high octane compliment to Cannavale’s confident swagger and Harris’ steady matter-of-factness. The chemistry and playful dynamics between the three friends are most convincing. The battle of differing opinions or the inability to commit to one at all, tests the loyalty between the friends, revealing the sneaky ways in which subjectivity can crack even long held bonds.

Will one painting ruin the friendships of three grown men? See ART on Broadway by December 21, 2025 at New York’s storied Music Box Theatre to find out. Playwright Yasmina Reza and Director Scott Ellis have executed a very fun and funny feat that’s only 100 minutes long.

It’s easy to expect critiques of fine art to be dramatic. But if you can make it hilarious as well, then why not go ahead and call it a masterpiece. Depending on who you ask, of course.

Tickets at: https://artonbroadway.com/

By Robyn Roberts

Based on the book, Right from Wrong, by Jacob Dunne, Punch on Broadway tells the story of a young man battling himself and everyone else in Nottingham, England. Adapted for the stage by British playwright, James Graham, and directed by Adam Penford, Punch hits every reservoir of emotion between the opening and final act.

Jacob, played flawlessly by Will Harrison as the lead antagonist turned protagonist, takes the audience along with him as he grapples with cause and effect of his environment versus his life choices. Jacob found understanding and community in the Nottingham streets while his single mother worked long hours to build a respectable life for her son. Jacob is also plagued with a spectrum of disabilities which only add fuel to his internal fire to snuff out a modicum of meaning or purpose to his life. Punching back at everyone and thing that have taunted or dismissed, Jacob becomes a habit that ultimately knocks him onto his most painful, but inspired trajectory yet.

The Punch cast is small and mighty, with many actors playing multiple characters within Jacob’s scarred reality. Costumes and set changes are minimal too, because in this story, it’s the characters’ rollercoaster of raw emotions that need no filler or color. As an audience member, you’ll revisit loss and grief, the anxiety of self-doubt, the rush of a new flirty crush, the weight of societal and familial pressures. You may laugh at times or cry at others, but you’ll easily leave humbled by your own life choices, and the idea of real second chances.

Harrison lends buckets of dialed-in energy to his portrayal of Jacob, amongst many other standout performances. Lucy Taylor as Jacob’s “mum” will leave you breathless as she reckons with the fate of the boy she raised. And then you meet another mum, played by Judith Lightfoot Clarke, whose grief is most palpable after the one punch that would change all.

Open now and running until November 2, 2025, go to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and experience Punch on Broadway before it ends. https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/shows/2025-26-season/punch/