American Royalty Jackie Siegel Talks Grief, Kristin Chenoweth and The Queen of Versailles on Broadway

Jackie Siegel leads a larger than life existence, so it was only a matter of time before her story was turned into a musical. Her attempt to build a 90,000 square-foot Florida mansion in the midst of a national housing crisis was the subject of a documentary in 2012. That film, The Queen of Versailles, has been expanded into an elaborate stage production with music and lyrics by Wicked's Stephen Schwartz and a book by playwright Lindsey Ferrentino. Broadway royalty Kristin Chenoweth stars as Siegel, the diamante-festooned socialite who rose from obscurity to excessive wealth in a distinctly American tale of triumph and tragedy. Siegel talked to Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek about the stranger-than-fiction experience of seeing one's life dramatized on Broadway.

In a candid and wide-ranging conversation, Siegel reveals that she herself once tried her hand at Broadway, auditioning for the ensemble in The Will Rogers Follies. “They told me to give up, they said you’ll never make it on Broadway. It's really crazy because now 30 years later my name is up there in pearly lights on the marquee," she says. "It’s full circle.” Speaking of Tony winner Chenoweth, Siegel gushes, “She actually plays me better than I play me. I'm just so grateful to have an icon play me. I feel like we're soulmates, like we were meant to be together.”

Though the staging of The Queen of Versailles has been cause for celebration for Siegel, the past year has been marked by personal loss. “Six months ago, my husband passed away from cancer," she says. "My sister did a line of cocaine the same day and died that afternoon. I also lost one of my stepsons to brain cancer this year.” F. Murray Abraham plays Siegel’s late husband, timeshare millionare David A. Siegel, “When I saw [Abraham] on stage I started bawling my head off. Afterwards he found me and gave me a hug and I said, ‘Thank you for bringing my husband back to life.’”

The Queen of Versailles does not shy away from the tragic components of Siegel’s life. As painful as it is for Siegel to relive some of these moments, she’s thankful that they’ve been included, “One thing that's really amazing about the show is they did bring in a kind of side story with my daughter, Victoria, who died of a drug overdose. As a nation with a fentanyl crisis, this is like a big current topic, and I'm so glad they included that because this is really helping me to get a voice. I want to spend the rest of my life going out there and making a difference in this world.”

After two decades of construction, Siegel’s palatial estate is still a work in progress, though she’s hoping she can move in by January. One of her first orders of business upon its completion is to invite Chenoweth over. “I’m gonna bring her to my Versailles house, and we're gonna have a spa day because I have a spa at my house.” In the meantime, Broadway audiences can see Chenoweth chase Siegel’s "Caviar Dreams” from now until January 4 at the St. James Theatre.

Watch the full interview below.

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