The Animal Magic Behind Kristin Chenoweth’s Canine Co-Stars in The Queen of Versailles

Lydia DesRoche has worked with everything from snakes to goats in her years as a Broadway animal trainer, and now she is the woman behind the two dogs who play Midas alongside headliner Kristin Chenoweth in The Queen of Versailles. Sitting on the floor backstage with the fluffy and friendly collaborators, The Broadway Show correspondent Perry Sook asked DesRoche if she has the best job in the world. She did not hesitate: “Yes. Yes, I do.”

This is DesRoche’s sixth Broadway show with live animals. “Snakes, goats, chickens, rats, kittens,” she says, ticking off past credits with pride. For Versailles, the brief from the director was specific. “Michael Arden said, ‘Lydia, I would like you to find me a white Pomeranian who doesn’t bark and likes to be carried.’ And I said, ‘Oh, easy peasy.’” She searched until she found pups who fit the bill, then brought them to Chenoweth. “She had the ultimate say. We brought them all to Kristin, and she found who she meshed best with.”

The two dogs in the role of Midas, Adam and Marie Antoinette, settled into their own casting. “They sort of chose it on their own,” DesRoche says. “Adam does most of the show unless he’s not in the mood. Marie is the understudy. There’s one scene where Adam gets a little too excited about Kristin’s costume, so Marie does that. He’s a very quirky guy.” DesRoche believes every performing animal should want to be on stage. “Even the goats and chickens wanted to be there. It’s always been voluntary.”

Perla Martinez, the show’s dog handler, spends the performances at their side. Her favorite part is simple. “Getting to know the dogs and their personalities,” she says. “And knowing that when I hand them off, they’re going to do a great job because they have all their needs met.” The vest she wears while doing her job holds everything the canine co-stars could want: wipes, leashes, treats, a comb, pee pads and anything else they might need. It all makes for an incredibly cuddly backstage environment.

DesRoche, who has claimed Adam and Marie Antoinette as her own, stays connected to every animal she’s worked with on Broadway by placing them with members of the community. She still hears from all 23 puppies she trained for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. “They’re always part of the Broadway family,” she says.

Watch the video below if you want to be utterly charmed.

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