Miss America Cassie Donegan Steps Into Broadway’s Inner Circle At The Queen Of Versailles

Doors tend to open in unexpected places when you are Miss America. For Cassie Donegan, crowned in September, that has meant everything from climbing a hidden ladder to a rarely seen upper ledge of the Empire State Building to slipping into the velvet seated V.I.P. lounge at the St. James Theatre in midtown Manhattan.

Donegan was there to see The Queen of Versailles, the new Broadway production starring Kristin Chenoweth, a longtime friend from musical theatre circles. Before the show, Donegan sat quietly with a Diet Coke and her Miss America sash nearby, reflecting on the unlikely path that had led her from regional theatre stages to pageant success and now into Broadway’s most exclusive spaces.

Chenoweth’s musical, based on Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary, tells the story of Jackie Siegel, a former Mrs Florida winner who married a timeshare magnate and began building a sprawling Versailles inspired mansion in Florida, complete with grand ambition and unchecked excess. When the 2008 financial crisis struck, construction stalled and the dream unravelled, shifting the story from spectacle to something far more sobering.

For Donegan, the themes hit close to home. Raised in small town Virginia by a family that ran local businesses including a tobacco farm and mechanic shop, she remembers the echoes of the recession, even if she was too young to fully grasp its impact at the time. Today, she lives modestly in Sunnyside, Queens, sharing a one bedroom apartment with her two dogs and celebrating the simple luxury of a responsive leasing office.

As the curtain fell and the audience rose in a standing ovation, Donegan joined the applause. After most of the crowd had departed, composer Stephen Schwartz and writer Winnie Holzman briefly greeted patrons nearby. Moments later, Chenoweth returned to the stage in casual clothes, apologising silently for being on vocal rest before embracing Donegan warmly.

The cast gathered for photos as a handler produced Donegan’s tiara and sash. Without hair pins, she balanced the crown carefully, drawing smiles from the performers. When asked about her pageant talent, Donegan answered simply, “I sing,” prompting approving reactions from the group.

On her way out, as the theatre wound down and the lobby lights dimmed, Donegan reflected on a lyric from the show about caviar dreams. She spoke about realising that sometimes life places you inside the very hopes you once prayed for, even if they arrive without excess or extravagance.

Her own ambition remains clear. She still dreams of appearing on Broadway herself. For now, she takes pride in the fact that she earns her living as a professional actor, something she once thought impossibly distant. Winning Miss America, she noted, did not require lavish spending or opulence. It required belief, persistence, and balance.

“You don’t have to be the Queen of Versailles to be the Queen of Versailles,” Donegan said, smiling.

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